The desire to have a sharp white smile has become an important issue to many people. The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) has estimated that the demand for tooth whitening has increased by 300% over the past decade. Tooth whitening is the number one dental procedure requested by people under the age of 20 and between the ages of 30 and 50. Initially, tooth whitening was performed in the dentist’s office and this might require several visits. The process has become simpler and is now offered as an over the counter product allowing people to perform their own tooth whitening.
Two companies, Procter & Gamble and Colgate Palmolive, dominate the market for over the counter tooth whitening products. As of 2003, these companies had about 84% of the market. Americans spent about $297 million on home use tooth whitening products during the year ending March 23, 2003. This was an increase of 90% over the prior year’s sales. Each company has introduced additional brands of tooth whitening products for use at home. The names of some of the major brands are provided in Table 1.
Other companies have been entering the home use market. These include Bident, Mentadent, and Rembrandt. The overall market for tooth whitening products grew by 596% between 2000 and 2005; in 2005 there was a decline of 23% because of the introduction of other products.
Overall cosmetic dentistry has surged with growth rates of 12.8% in 2006 and 10.9% in 2007. The demand for bleaching and whitening of teeth has been one of the top requested services. However, the cost of using a dentist has become too high for some people and the result is the growth in over the counter products. With the increases in the older population, the need to look young has become even more important. And having a bright white smile is a major part of “looking young.”
Dr. Katz, a highly respected economist was a founding professor of Simmons Business School, has published many papers, and consulted for Fortune 100 companies. You can see his firm J.P. Katz | Economic Expert Witness and learn more about the business valuation services he provides for tax, legal and financial reasons.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Dentist Vancouver WA // Jan 22, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Procter & Gamble and Colgate Palmolive have marketed the heck out of “tooth whitening” toothpaste. It seems that every toothpaste known to man has that feature (it didn’t before?).
Besides that they have each come out with tons of new teeth whitening products. You can see why that segment is going up. The two companies found something they liked and are using it to death.
Mark
Portland, OR
2 Dentist Vancouver WA // Jan 22, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Procter & Gamble and Colgate Palmolive have marketed the heck out of “tooth whitening” toothpaste. It seems that every toothpaste known to man has that feature (it didn’t before?).
Besides that they have each come out with tons of new teeth whitening products. You can see why that segment is going up. The two companies found something they liked and are using it to death.
Mark
Portland, OR
3 Jonathan Campbell, DDS // Jan 25, 2010 at 9:17 pm
I wonder as a dentist if there are actually any benefits to the dentist supervised whitening offerings other than prediction as to who will whiten predictably and who will not. I routinely advise patients that have interest in whitening but are concerned about the costs to use P&G’s white strips. The one concern many mention is that the strips are messy and a little difficult to keep positioned on the teeth. That is probably an advantage of professional whitening; less mess and better fitting trays.
4 Jonathan Campbell, DDS // Jan 25, 2010 at 9:17 pm
I wonder as a dentist if there are actually any benefits to the dentist supervised whitening offerings other than prediction as to who will whiten predictably and who will not. I routinely advise patients that have interest in whitening but are concerned about the costs to use P&G’s white strips. The one concern many mention is that the strips are messy and a little difficult to keep positioned on the teeth. That is probably an advantage of professional whitening; less mess and better fitting trays.
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