Crest and Oral-B Advance Healthy Oral Care Habits in the U.S. Through Access, Education and Innovation

A healthy smile expresses who a person is and how they feel, but something as simple as a smile can sometimes be taken for granted. Tooth decay is the No. 1 chronic disease in America, with children in underserved communities disproportionately impacted. Black and Hispanic children experience a higher rate of tooth decay, but are less likely to see a dentist. As champions for unleashing healthy smiles, Crest and Oral-B commit to advancing oral care habits to ensure all Americans have a smile they are happy to share with the world.

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At Crest and Oral-B, we aspire to establish healthy oral care habits for a lifetime and enable all Americans to have a healthy smile. (Photo: Business Wire)

“Crest and Oral-B are on a mission to unlock the life-changing power of healthy oral care habits, because everyone deserves a healthy smile,” said Carlos De Jesus, Senior Vice President, NA Oral Care, P&G. “For over 60 years, our brands have provided people with products that deliver better oral health results. We are committed to improving oral care for all, while educating people on how small changes to their oral care routine can make a big impact on overall health.”

The brands’ efforts will focus on enabling access to dental products and services, education, and product innovation that deliver better outcomes for people and the planet.

Promoting Healthy Smiles Through Access

Crest and Oral-B aspire to enable 100% of Americans to have access to oral care products, oral health education and dental care. In 2020, Crest and Oral-B donated more than $2.5 million in products and care to support healthy smiles across the U.S. The brands also donated more than 400,000 Oral-B toothbrushes and Crest toothpastes through partnerships with organizations like America’s ToothFairy and Dental Lifeline Network.

Limited access to dental care and oral health issues cause children to lose 34 million school hours each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control¹. Crest and Oral-B are increasing efforts to provide free dental check-ups to kids through partnerships with organizations such as the University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College Dental Hygiene Program.

Encouraging Healthy Smiles Through Education

Crest and Oral-B are committed to furthering healthy habit education through dental professionals and with our brand voices to establish healthy oral care habits for a lifetime.

The brands have provided more than $140 million in continuing education to dental professionals over the past 10 years. Crest and Oral-B will continue to work with these professionals across all 50 states to provide resources and tools that inspire healthy at-home oral care habits and promote understanding on the connection between their oral routine and overall health. We are also engaging kids through educational materials and activities to establish healthy habits, like brushing twice a day, early on to ensure they grow into a smile they are confident in.

Advancing Healthy Smiles Through Products and Innovation

Crest and Oral-B design products and solutions that enable effective oral care results and inspire responsible consumption to support a healthy planet.

For better oral health results, it is important to choose high-performing products.

• Brush with an Oral-B electric toothbrush. It improves gum health by removing up to 100% more plaque than regular manual toothbrushes.
• Toothpaste matters, too. Unlike standard toothpaste, Crest Gum & Pro-Health toothpaste neutralizes bad bacteria to improve gum health.
• Complete your oral care routine with floss and rinse. In a clinical study, 100% of patients with unhealthy gums saw improvement in gum health when using Oral-B iO, Crest Gum Detoxify, Glide Floss and Crest Pro-Health Multi-Protection Rinse together.

The brands are designing out waste and re-shaping the future of product and packaging. For example, Oral-B Clic manual toothbrush with replaceable brush heads uses 60% less plastic, Crest is converting to recyclable toothpaste tubes by 2025, and both Crest and Oral-B already have an alternative recycling program to make it easy for consumers to give their used products new life. Better habits for the planet also require responsible sourcing and manufacturing. Crest and Oral-B localized manufacturing in the U.S. makes more than 90% of our toothpaste and manual toothbrushes for the U.S. market. All U.S. facilities also purchase 100% renewable electricity and send zero manufacturing waste to landfills.

These actions are rooted in the P&G global Oral Care platform “Healthy Smiles. Healthy Lives. Healthy Planet.” and will contribute to the Company’s goal to educate and enable 2 billion people to adopt healthy oral care habits by 2030.

Visit the Crest or Oral-B websites to learn more about our vision to enable everyone to have a healthy smile for life.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands. For other P&G news, visit us at www.pg.com/news.

¹ Centers for Disease Control: Oral Health Fast Facts

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