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Growing older may bring a new of set oral health concerns, but baby boomers are tackling aging head on by taking oral care into their own hands.

"Baby boomers are hearing words such as gingivitis and periodontitis applied to themselves for the first time, and they don't like it. Unlike previous generations that accepted tooth loss as a natural part of aging, boomers want to know what they can do to keep or restore their oral health," said Kelly Kaplan, vice president of marketing for Dental Concepts.

What's more, both dentists and medical doctors are recognizing the link between poor oral care and illnesses, such as heart disease and blood-borne disorders. With news such as this, it's no wonder that dentists are increasingly recommending to their patients the y take up the teeth pick and tongue scraper in between visits.

Building the tool business

Dental Concepts has built its business on bringing the dentist's tools to the home by making them available in chain drug stores. Baby boomers' newfound interest in oral care helped ramp up company sales 41 percent for the year ended May 19, according to Information Resources Inc. data. For fall, Dental Concepts will launch the new OraCare line--three dental instrument kits grouped by therapeutic need.

The largest of the three kits, the OraCare Healthy Mouth Kit retailing for $5.99, contains five polycarbonate tools most recommended by dental professionals, such as a gum stimulator, sulcus brush, mirror, sensitive teeth pick and tongue scraper.

Ed Kuehnle, IRI's group p resident for North America, said that dentists have reported anecdotally office visits have been down in the last several years, most likely as a result of improved products and technologies now available on drug store shelves. Now, consumers often find an antidote for their dental troubles by simply strolling down the oral care aisle. In fact, the oral pain relief category grew a healthy 9.2 percent to more than $90 million in the drug store channel for the year ended May 19, according to IRI.

Del Pharmaceuticals leads the category, accounting for more than 25 percent of all dollars spent on oral pain relief products. And the comp any is seeking to widen its share further with the launch of products, such as Orajel Medicated Oral Pain Swab Applicators and Orajel Medicated Mouth Sore Swabs. The new technology combines medication with a handy, portable applicator to allow users to treat pain on the spot by simply snaping off one end to release one pre-measured dose.

Both new Orajel products, available in open stock and six-piece profit chutes, retail for $6.49 each.

While preventative oral care certainly is top of mind at the dentist office and at home, so are cosmetic concerns. Analysts, such as Kuehnle, name baby boomers as the force behind the whitening trend. "This group is notoriously concerned with staying younger longer," he said.

Kuehnle expects the whitening trend to build momentum throughout 2002. Accordingly, a host of suppliers, such as Colgate and Mentadent, are ramping up their efforts in the whitening space.

In May, Colgate launched an at-home teeth whitening product called Colgate Simply White, which is due to hit retail shelves this September. Simply White introduces a lower price point to the whitening category, retailing for a suggested $14.99.

Mentadent is looking to grow the at-home whitening category wits a whitening kit of its own, retailing for $18.99 to $22.99. The Mentadent Tooth Whitening System, gearing up to make its way to the oral care aisle this September, is an at-home whitening kit that includes a dual-chambered pump of peroxide gel and an activator paste.