Dental Health Exploration Project A fundamental exploration of the current socioeconomic issues surrounding paediatric dental care.
Contents
Overview
Secondary Research
Primary Research & Development
Brief & Outcome
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A brief overview of the exploration project
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A quick look at the current market conditions and research already undertaken to create a foundation basis
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Interviews with market figures, directors, parents and the target market to find critical insights and areas for developments
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The outcome of the project and what this means moving forwards
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Overview Throughout this exploration I will attempt to understand the current market situations and problems in the field of dental health, particularly pertaining to children’s dental health
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Why is dental care such a chore?
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Time Plan Initially planning the exploration phase will help to guide the exploration project itself. With help from outside sources
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17 OCT
24 OCT
Breifing
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31 OCT 07 NOV 14 NOV 21 NOV Set own breif
Self Check
Choose final area
Continous secondary
Basic creativ thinking MAKE CONTACT
1500 6
3000
4500
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28 NOV
05 DEC
12 DEC
19 DEC
26 DEC
02 JAN
y research e.g Mintel / NHS etc
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Outcome exploration WRIGLEYS DENTIST
Presentation Prep
VISIT MT CARMEL
Analyse feedback 6000
FIRST DRAFT
DISSERTAITON 7
Initial Research
This section is aimed at exploring the initial area through secondary resources
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Mapping Research and initial thoughts By conducting secondary research I could understand a variety of problems that the market currently faces.
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ONE THIRD
of children aged 12 have signs of visible tooth decay
48%
of adults are unhappy with their teeth
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Sugar
Sugar remains a hot topic for the dental sector. With the most prevalent age between 11 and 18. Ages 4 - 9 often intake TRIPLE
3X
Ages 10 - 12 often intake MORE
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Driving Factors
Price Adult toothpaste average at £1.21 Children’s toothpaste average at £2.40 but the ingredients are the same
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Smart tech
iGeneration 62% of parents indicate that they would be interested in smart oral care technology for their children
Tooth decay on the rise Tooth decay cases rose by more than 3% last year
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Brand Recognition
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g
Carin
Colgate is one of the oldest and most well known brands in the UK. They often instil confidence with their effective products.
Confident Effec t
ive ful
h Yout
Fun Good rt
Expe
Innovative Enga
ging
Value
Known as a very Youthful brand Aquafresh are identifiable by their three-colour product. Selling for good value to win customer satisfaction.
Sensodyne are commonly viewed as a more upmarket brand that are ‘worth paying more for’ due to their expert style products.
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Ideal Morning Routine
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The ideal routine consists of more than just a brushing teeth with toothpaste twice a day
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Routine Break-down
Brushing teeth half an hour after finishing food/drink Brush teeth for a duration of 2 minutes to achieve best results
Children’s toothpaste to target the appropriate age group with the correct amount of fluoride
Mouthwash is key to rinsing the teeth of bacteria and sugary acids that cause tooth decay
Flossing when finished to clean the gaps between the teeth 20
Understand the current market conditions, kids behaviours and latest techniques to take a new angle on an existing market
Interim Brief
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Primary Research
Gaining a fundamental understanding of the current issues from a primary focus
Customer Journey Walking through a customer journey to critically analyse brand presence and awareness.
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Observations Products often scattered around the shelf and are difficult to arrange neatly • Tall toothbrushes struggle to stand without tertiary packaging. Reducing shelf appeal • Branded products can be extremely expensive compared to own brand counterparts. • Could there be a market for owned brand/own brand?
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Market example: Electronic
Oral B are the largest supplier of electronic toothbrush for children in the UK. Their latest product the ‘Stages Power’ engages with the children by pulling on familiar faces such as their favourite hero to get them excited about their dental health. • The toothbrush is also linked to a timer app. There are both positive and negative features with this. • By timing themselves children are more likely to have a sustained thorough clean. • However, this timer may also lead to complacency within the routine without better interaction
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•
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Costly for a product that might not always be used
Brush heads may need to be replaced more often to stay in fashion
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Definitely more engaging than a manual toothbrush
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Market example: Toothpaste
Aquafresh, often found to be the brand of the youth and energetic at their core are strong players in the paediatric toothpaste market. With their trademark triple band finish the simple change is enough to engage children at a higher level than the standard minty white toothpaste. Although the toothpaste itself can be very costly. Its almost as if parents are taxed when trying to help their children develop with healthy strong teeth.
Fluoride is a key component in children toothpaste and re-mineralising teeth, however, incorrect information has lead to many parents viewing fluoride in a negative light
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•
Can be up to double the price of adult toothpaste for the same amount
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Viewed as a fun alternative with alternative appearance
•
Displays correct information on the box educating the parent before purchase
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Online Survey By engaging the parents of children between the ages of 6 - 12 I can attempt to understand the struggles that they are having with their children’s dental health routine.
What products are used as part of your child’s routine? Toothbrush, Toothpaste and additional products
Toothbrush and Toothpaste
Only 4 respondents specifically stated that they use children’s toothpaste
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What words do you associate with teaching your child to brush their teeth?
Messy Initially fun Time Consuming Difficult Initially parents found it fun when teaching their children to brush their teeth, this subsided due to the integration of routine Almost half of the respondents stated that it can get a little messy when teaching their children to brush their teeth
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Contacts
Matthew Kent Senior Corporate Affairs Manager, Global Oral Care at Wrigley Agreed to give advice and guidance throughout the project. May provide key insights on how this can appeal to a mass market and products of the past.
Mount Carmel First School L. Burrows Year 2 teacher Primary school in Redditch. Close connection with school and opportunity to gather children’s thoughts.
Amanda Oakey Director of Educational Resources, Oral Health Foundation Amanda is responsible for providing high quality information and oral health education products to health professionals across the UK.
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David Arnold Director of Communications, Oral Health Foundation Working with the dental and health profession to encourage campaigning, fundraising, events, activities to be run at practice-level and in local communities. Relationship building with like-minded organisations – everyone from the BDA, FGDPUK, Cancer Research UK to other charities and bodies, as well as companies who have shared interests in oral health too – Wrigley, Oral-B etc.
Sharon Campion Parent Parents will be the primary consumers, introducing the outcome to their children so it is vital to gather information on how we can improve the experience for them also.
By contacting a variety of professionals in different fields I am able to broaden the scope of the project. 33
Wrigley Meeting Matthew Kent
Senior Corporate Affairs Manager, Global Oral Care at Wrigley
Matthew was very pleased to aid me during the initial exploratory phases of my project and indeed throughout the rest of my time challenging dental health care. After setting some initial topics that I would like to touch upon, We agreed that a Meeting via phone would be the best way to proceed. The information gathered during this stage from an Oral health professional in the FMCG market proved invaluable.
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Findings Snacking culture throughout the day has lead to multiple attacks on the mouth. Brushing twice a day isn't enough anymore
Parents are often unaware that poor dental hygiene with baby teeth also passes on the bacteria to adult teeth
Dental health is biologically linked to risks in Hypertension and Heart disease
Dental programmes often pay for themselves by saving the NHS millions over an extended period of time
Insights & Outcomes Speaking to Matthew gave great insight into approach by large FMCG companies as to how they attempt to tackle such a public health issue. Matthew also spoke about the recommended daily amount. Some people may not know how much a pea sized amount is therefore I need to think of a common unit of measure 35
Education Visit Mount Carmel First School Primary school in Redditch. Close connection with school and opportunity to gather children’s thoughts.
By visiting Mount Carmel I have been able to learn how dental health is implemented into the education system. This also gives me ample opportunity to have direct contact to the target audience of this exploration. I initially approached the class and teacher with a short series of questions: • Do they find it boring brushing their teeth • What else do they do as part of their routine • How can it be made more fun? E.g. if the toothpaste fizzed orange for example I also managed to engage the children in an interactive activity by demonstrating how much toothpaste they use to brush their teeth
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Interactive Task After asking for the children’s individual opinion I set a small interactive task for them to show with their little finger how much toothpaste they use when brushing their teeth
Only 1 in 5 children knew the guideline amount.
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Findings
A large part of the class found brushing their teeth very boring!
?
Very few children knew alternatives to the standard Toothbrush and toothpaste as part of their dental routine.
On the positive side, children were aware of the necessity of dental health, But it still felt like a chore to them
The class stated that simple changes in colour, texture, taste and toothbrush functionality would be enough to improve the experience
Insights & Outcomes Engaging with the children in an interactive setting allowed me to understand with what matters to them as part of their routine and how this can be improved moving forward. 39
Oral Health Foundation Amanda Oakey Director of Educational Resources, Oral Health Foundation
Amanda Oakey has agreed to help throughout the project. As an educator for dental health Amanda has a large amount of knowledge in the area, that can be vital to the project. Upon initial discussion there were a variety of findings that were unexpected and intriguing. Amanda verified the validity of the project and praised the research conducted so far. In her owns words the potential scope of this project is almost endless. However, by taking key insights from a variety of sources I am able to dial in the scope to produce a clear-cut objective.
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Findings Information can get very complex for children. E.g. When to brush after before eating What products to use at an early age
A pH of 7 needs to be maintained especially before brushing teeth. This is often ignored leading to damage when brushing. How do you show pH?
Toothpaste should not be rinsed with water after use as it continues to work
Children are easily influenced and will often pick up the fear of the dentist from their parents
Insights & Outcomes Speaking to a high ranking member of the worlds leading dental healthcare regulators, Amanda confirmed that one of the largest issues revolves around the amount of attacks on the mouth throughout the day. This does not only apply to Wrigley and their products. 42
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Initial Concept Generation
Brushing Station An audio/ visually driven station that celebrates and monitors dental hygene and performance
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By sketching out vague concepts from feedback and research that I have already received I am able to approach the next set of interviews with some practical thought provoking topics.
pH tester concept A concept built on the idea that we test our pH before brushing to maximse positive outcome potential
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Rough modelling
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Using Multi-morph to make very crude models of an initial reactionary idea to the engagement side of children’s behaviour, maybe if they make their toothbrush they can be a little more engaged in the process.
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Dental Buddy: Case Study
Dental Buddy is a resource created by the Oral Health Foundation. They often found that information regarding oral healthcare can be passed around and result in a variety of misinformation or complexity when it comes to dental health. With some communities not able to access a dentist at regular intervals this resource provides the latest correct information, ready to be presented by teachers, parents and community leaders. After speaking to Amanda Oakey she admitted that Dental Buddy is actually aesthetically limited and doesn’t give the appeal that they would currently like.
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Positively impacts society by spreading information and raising awareness
Providing a tool for communities to teach each other without institutional education
Unfortunately the interface and experience could be designed better and does not appeal as well as it could
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Interview with a Parent Sharon Campion
Parent to a 7 year old child Met through PTFA Meeting
Miss Campion agreed to be interviewed to provide some very helpful and realistic insights into the routine of children and how it feels to be a parent during the learning period. Several points and insights were made, User engagement has been confirmed as a leading role in the development of a positive attitude towards oral health care. With price being a major drawback to the children’s specific market.
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Findings
F
As a parent Sharon was aware of fluoride but noted its potential for negative effects
Toothpaste taste can be a large off put for children as it can be sharp and unforgiving. This opens a lot of potential for a different approach
Cost is a major drawback for children’s toothpaste and is noticed by parents
Visual and audio interaction are effective, however this might get a little boring if they are always the same
Insights & Outcomes Speaking to a high ranking member of the worlds leading dental healthcare regulators, I found that one of the largest issues revolves around the amount of attacks on the mouth throughout the day 51
Key development insights Information can get very complex for children. E.g. When to brush after before eating What products to use at an early age
A large part of the class found brushing their teeth very boring!
The class stated that simple changes in colour, texture, taste and toothbrush functionality would be enough to improve the experience
Adults stated that it can get a little messy when teaching their children to brush their teeth
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Supporting insights
A pH of 7 needs to be maintained especially before brushing teeth. This is often ignored leading to damage when brushing. How do you show pH?
Parents are often unaware that poor dental hygiene with baby teeth also passes on the bacteria to adult teeth
Cost is a major drawback for children’s toothpaste and is noticed by parents
Being under general aesthetic as a child has large health risks and costs the NHS dearly, for something that is preventable with good oral care
Dental programmes often pay for themselves by saving the NHS millions over an extended period of time
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C R I T E R I A
• Simple but informative
• Fun but clean
• Recommended amount
• Potential for Initiative
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The solutions should be simple enough to be understood by children even if the instructions themselves are extensive
Excitement should be at the centre of the solution, However, the solution should also be clean so that it can engage with parents on a marketing level
Encouraging children to brush frequently and using the correct recommended amounts will help to improve their dental health for a prolonged period. Ensuring proper cleaning and long lasting positive habitual behaviour
Research insights show that the long term benefits to initiatives outweigh the initial investment. There are massive potentials for service, policy and campaign solutions with the problem as it is currently framed
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Understand the current market conditions, kids behaviours and latest techniques to take a new angle on an existing market
Interim Brief
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Creatively explore and engage with the key criteria in approaching dental health in the children aged 6 to 12
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Possible Outcomes
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Brand family
Educational Resource
A product family that engages the audience whilst challenging the issues found during this exploration
An educational resource, open to both children and parents alike to enhance dental health experience
Product station
Initiative
Product stations would allow the introduction of multiple features and smart technology to help children to self manage their oral health
Campaigns and initiative’s with long term goals to benefit both consumers and businesses alike
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Fluoride is often mistaken for a negative product Educating parents on the positive effects of fluoride, bust the myth
Shelf presence is severely lacking in most product categories This could potentially be exploited
Poor dental health can have a serious detrimental affect to major bodily function Raise awareness via education
Often getting bored by brushing can lead to poor maintenance Engage the children to succeed
Aquafresh are branding perfectly by adding simple touches Aim at a youthful brand
Brushing twice a day is simply not enough anymore Alternative product that may be used during the day
Children often don’t know their recommended amount Education and products should display this
Initial Research
Further Research
Wrigley Meeting
School Visit
Simple design changes can be enough for positive response Don’t underestimate the power of simplicity
Initiative have shown large promise Opportunity to develop initiative that is beneficial to all parties
Creating an engaging routine may be the key to success How can you create an routine whilst changing behaviour?
Smart technology on the rise parents must engage with the iGeneration Look into how Smart technology could be applied
Price remains a hot topic for the paediatric dental care market Solutions must be cost effective
Design Opportunities
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Children often get confused, when to brush after food etc. Information on routine should be clear and precise
Visual and audio feedback work wonders! How can this be implemented into potential solutions
pH balance should be maintained as much as possible Potential to design for pH neutral brushing times
Taste can be overwhelming but also misleading Emphasise product benefits whilst producing taste
Oral Health Foundation Interview
Parent Interview
Messy learning Any products must be clean but effective
Toothpaste should not be rinsed which leads to product wastage Emphasise the potential for non rinsing
Thank you This project is ongoing and I am excited to see where this may lead. I hope you enjoyed this brief insight