New challenger oral care brand OZEN has officially launched today in over 800 UK Boots stores, bringing the first new patented toothpaste technology for sensitive teeth in nearly 30 years.
Founded by NHS maxillofacial surgeon Dr Niall Kent, OZEN enters a $2.3bn category dominated by products that have seen little meaningful innovation since the 1990s.
Developed over ten years of research at University College London, OZEN’s AeroGraft™ technology takes a new approach to sensitivity. It is made from aerogel, one of the lightest solid materials known to science which is used in NASA space missions.
Unlike most sensitive toothpastes — which work by either numbing the nerve or slowly blocking tiny channels inside the tooth over days or weeks — AeroGraft™ works within minutes. It physically seals exposed tubules while releasing calcium and phosphate ions to form a protective mineral layer on the tooth surface. Aerogel is ultra-light, highly porous and extremely reactive when it contacts saliva. It activates the moment it enters the mouth, and is resistant to acidic conditions.
In a consumer trial of 1,140 adults, 84% said OZEN outperformed their current sensitive toothpaste.
The inspiration for AeroGraft™ came not from dentistry but from art. Dr Kent was helping his brother, a sculptor, research new materials when he came across aerogels.
This led to him exploring whether the same material science could be adapted for dentistry, using aerogels to help support the natural mineral repair process and protect the surface of sensitive teeth.
OZEN launches in Boots with two products: a daily-use toothpaste at £10 a tube, and an Oral Gel for £15. The gel is the first product of its kind in the category, designed to be applied directly to sensitive areas before hot or cold drinks or other common sensitivity triggers.
Dr Niall Kent, Founder of OZEN, said: “Sensitive teeth affect millions of people and can have a significant impact on their lives. It stops people enjoying an ice cream, a hot drink, or sweet foods. I’ve even seen people attending A&E from the pain.
I knew the existing treatments were masking the problem rather than solving it. The technology had not changed in decades.
We borrowed from aerospace and art to do what dentistry had not. No one had thought to look there. This really is sensitivity done different.”
Anni Seaborne, team dentist for England Rugby, said: “Tooth sensitivity remains one of the most undertreated conditions in dentistry.
The treatments most people reach for work by plugging microscopic channels in the tooth, and that protection disappears the moment you eat or drink. Patients have been managing sensitivity, not treating it.
The mechanism behind AeroGraft™ represents the first serious attempt to change that.”
