Unilever aims to help millions with oral care through digital platform

Unilever aims to help millions with its oral care

On a mision to protect Vietnamese smiles

According to research from King’s College London, 69 per cent of the world’s dentists serve just 27 per cent of the global population. A World Health Organization report also reveals that while 82 per cent of people in high-income countries have access to oral health services, that figure plunges to just 35 per cent in low-income ones.

By the age of 65, in Vietnam people have lost on average six teeth, four out of five Ghanaians have lost all their teeth, the average Indonesian will have 11 missing teeth. In Bangladesh, the average person has lost seven teeth by the time they turn 60.

A chronic shortage of formally trained dentists and prohibitively high costs often lead to oral health issues being ignored and treatment delayed, especially in middle and low-income countries. But Unilever’s family of oral care brands is setting out to make positive change.

To mark World Oral Health Day on March 20, P/S from Unilever Vietnam held the online event “Dental Care Advice with Experts” to share useful oral care knowledge. At the same time, the brand introduced a toll-free hotline 1800 7004 to answer questions about dental healthcare for everyone.

The call centre under 1800 7004 operates from 8am to 9pm daily from Monday to Sunday.

Unilever held the online event “Dental Care Advice with Experts” by P/S

P/S has accompanied Vietnam for more than 25 years on its mission to protect smiles.

P/S' journey to protect Vietnamese smiles

With dental trips to schools from cities to rural areas, from plains to high mountains, P/S has helped provide dental health care and education to millions of pre-school and primary school students and teachers.

In 2014, the brand also cooperated with Operation Smiles – The World Smile Surgery Organization – to regain confidence and radiance on the lips of less fortunate children.

P/S has helped examine and educate about oral health for millions of students and teachers

As of 2019, P/S has helped nearly 12 million Vietnamese reduce tooth decay. This is an encouraging number for P/S and Unilever to continue their efforts on the journey to protect the smiles of Vietnam.

Global campaign to support 200 million people

Unilever’s oral care brands are also launching a campaign that offers millions the chance to get access to free professional dental care and advice straight from their mobile phones or at pop-up dental camps closer to home.

Through this campaign, Unilever's oral care brands are providing teledentistry services to help tackle barriers such as cost, distance, and dentist availability on a vast scale. People can check in with a dentist digitally via video call, WhatsApp, and on Facebook – all completely free of charge.

The brands are also organising dental camps where people will be able to access free in-person check-ups. Together these services will help an estimated 200 million people across the world take control of their oral health, avoiding severe pain, costly and complicated treatments, and ultimately tooth loss.

Mariano Sampietro, global vice president of Oral Care at Unilever said, “Our brands are on a mission to unleash the power of healthy smiles and eradicate oral diseases for everyone. We believe that everyone has a right to good oral health, and access to convenient and affordable expert dental care. Through this campaign, we hope to raise awareness to ensure people understand the importance of acting early, from the moment a problem arises.”