OZEN enters Boots as it looks to disrupt the sensitive-toothpaste market

A challenger oral care brand, OZEN, has launched in Boots, bringing new innovation to the category with its patented toothpaste technology for sensitive teeth.

According to the brand this is the first "meaningful innovation" that the category has seen in nearly 30 years.

The technology tackles an issue that affects a large majority of UK adults, according to a research study commissioned by OZEN. It found that 87% of UK adults had experience tooth sensitivity, with 27% adding that they make everyday compromises to avoid the sharp pain triggered by hot, cold or sweet food and drinks.

The toothpaste uses a technology called AeroGraft™, which OZEN's founder, NHS maxillofacial surgeon Dr Niall Kent, developed over ten years of research at University College London.

The technology "takes a new approach to sensitivity", according to the brand, and is made from aerogel, one of the lightest solid materials known to science and used in NASA space missions.

Using the technology OZEN has developed a sensitive toothpaste that physically seals exposed tubules in teeth while releasing calcium and phosphate ions to form a protective mineral layer on the tooth surface.

The brand explained that unlike most sensitive toothpaste that work by numbing the nerve or slowly blocking tiny channels inside the tooth over days or weeks, OZEN's technology works within minutes.

In a consumer trial of 1,140 adults, 84% said OZEN outperformed their current sensitive toothpaste, the brand shared.

Dr Kent shared that he discovered aerogels while helping his brother, a sculptor, research new materials. This inspired him to apply aerogels to dentistry.

The brand is now launching two products across 800 Boots stores: a daily-use sensitive toothpaste and an oral gel, which is designed to be applied directly to sensitive areas before hot or cold drinks or other common sensitivity triggers.

The brand describes the gel as the "first product of its kind in the category".

Dr Niall Kent, Founder of OZEN, commented on the launch: "Sensitive teeth affect millions of people and can have a significant impact on their lives. It stops people enjoying an ice cream, a hot drink, or sweet foods. I’ve even seen people attending A&E from the pain.

"I knew the existing treatments were masking the problem rather than solving it. The technology had not changed in decades.

"We borrowed from aerospace  and art  to do what dentistry had not. No one had thought to look there.  This  really  is  sensitivity  done  different."

Anni Seaborne, Team Dentist for England Rugby, added: "Tooth sensitivity remains one of the most undertreated conditions in dentistry. 

"The treatments most people reach for work by plugging microscopic channels in the tooth, and that protection disappears the moment you eat or drink. Patients have been managing sensitivity, not treating it. 

"The mechanism behind AeroGraft™ represents the first serious attempt to change that."