This week, I checked in with oral care brands disrupting the $10.8 billion marketplace through innovative product and service offerings that more closely align with the beauty category than the old-school dental offerings of the past. This disruption also aligns with changing regulation of dyes used in oral care products, increasing awareness around microbiome mouth health and an ongoing discussion about the safety of fluoride, which RFK, Jr. vows to remove from U.S. drinking water if confirmed as health secretary. Additionally, L’Oréal Group partners with IBM for a multi-year AI-focused partnership, Sephora appoints a new international president, and grassroots wildfire relief efforts fueled by beauty insiders continue.
According to Mintel market research company, the oral care market is projected to reach $10.8 billion this year, representing a 6.3% annual growth rate. In 2019, oral care charted at around $8.4 billion.
This is partially fueled by oral care disruptors offering alternative products and services that are either more affordable, beautiful or better aligned with the natural-is-better values of today’s consumer.
“Oral care is in a moment of transition and transformation,” Rebecca Watters, Mintel’s associate director of U.S. household and personal care, told Glossy. “The market’s expansion is largely propelled by consumer behavior shifts and industry advancements. As holistic health becomes a focal point, consumers realize the crucial link between oral hygiene and their broader health goals.”
Puneet Nanda, the founder and CEO of TikTok-famous oral care line Guru Nanda, believes that legacy oral care companies are likely to suffer over the next few years due to changing regulation of dyes by the FDA and increased consumer awareness around microbiome mouth health.
“Red No. 3 [food and product colorant] just got banned [by the FDA], and [I predict] practically all the FD&C numbered dyes are going to get banned, [which are] all the dyes that brands have been putting into every toothpaste and mouthwash on the market,” Nanda told Glossy. Think: the bright blue mouthwash or vibrant green toothpaste currently on store shelves. Reformulating an oral care product could take up to three years, said Nanda, which could create white space for innovative brands to usurp legacy brands that have long held market share.
This is on top of an ongoing discussion about the safety of fluoride, which potential health secretary RFK, Jr. is eager to remove from U.S. drinking water if confirmed.
“The debate surrounding fluoride could reshape the [oral care] product landscape,” said Mintel’s Watters. She told Glossy that hydroxyapatite, which is a fluoride alternative, could gain steam in 2025. Meanwhile, alcohol-free mouthwash and oil-pulling-inspired mouth rise are gaining in popularity thanks to awareness of the impact of ingredients like alcohol.
According to the National Institute of Health, alcohol, the main ingredient in many mouthwashes, “kills both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria within the oral microbiome indiscriminately.” And according to a 2024 study published in the “Journal of Medical Microbiology,” alcohol-based mouthwash may disrupt the oral microbiome, leading to gum disease and certain cancers, as reported by Medical News Today in June.
Guru Nanda’s Nanda found success on TikTok discussing these topics and, as a result, Guru Nanda’s oil-pulling product is the top-selling product on TikTok Shop, according to Dash Social [formerly Dash Hudson]. Nanda told Glossy that consumers want more natural, cheaper oral care products.
TikTok’s algorithm also nurtured other up-and-coming oral care brands over the past few years. According to Dash Social, HiSmile whitening products was an oral care leader on the app as of last week with 5.1 million followers, while bad breath-focused mouthwash line TheraBreath achieves the highest average video views per post, with nearly 1.3M views. Other standouts on the app include brands Hello and Twice, which both make a full range of oral care products with omnichannel distribution in drug and mass stores.
When it comes to engagement with prospective customers on social, Dash Social found that Toms of Maine, Dr. Bronners, Quip, Listerine and Bite led engagement rates, in that order. These rates ranged from 3.3-6.1% from October 2024 to December 2024.
Other disruptive brands focused on leading the oral care category have targeted the aesthetics of it all by cranking out more beautiful offerings. This includes brands like CocoFloss floss, Boka toothpaste, and “Shark Tank”-famous floss brand Flaus.
Flaus’s hero product, a $99 electric flosser available on Amazon and DTC, generated more than $1 million dollars in 2023, Samantha Coxe, founder and CEO of Flaus, told Glossy. This was part of the brand’s 600% year-over-year growth.
“The oral care renaissance we’re witnessing isn’t just a trend — it’s a fundamental shift in how we think about our mouths, our health and our daily rituals,” Flaus’s Coxe said. “Consumers are now treating their mouths with the same sophistication they bring to their skin-care routines.”
Stimmie, a reusable toothpick alternative that also stimulates the gums, is also primed for growth after inclusion into Air Milkshake’s December 2024 gifting suite in Los Angeles.
In 2020, Canadian dental hygienist Stephanie Nightingale developed the $3.99 tool, which can last for up to three months and save thousands of single-use toothpicks from being thrown away. She raised funds to launch via Kickstarter last year. Stimmie is based on thousands of conversations with patients as she completed their cleanings.
“I knew the problems were there [with single-use toothpicks] but was unsure how the consumers would respond [to Stimmie],” she told Glossy. The campaign gained traction quickly and she raised more than $30,000 in days. Stimmie launched DTC in 2024.
“Oral care will evolve and get smarter and prettier, but it’ll always come back to the dental practice [for products that patients truly need],” Stimmie’s Nightingale said. She’s eager to enter big box, convenience and beauty retail since she sees Stimmie as an impulse purchase. Ulta Beauty is at the top of her list as the retailer expands its oral care offering amid the closure of thousands of drugstores across the U.S.
“We’ve seen a rise in niche or traditionally unaesthetic categories like oral care, especially from growing conversations across social platforms” said Penny Coy, svp of merchandising at Ulta Beauty. She told Glossy that customer goals when improving their oral care include improved hygiene and a brighter smile, as well as better sleep, gut health and energy.
As a response, Coy brought in Moon by Kendall Jenner, a charcoal-based toothpaste incubated by Shaun Neff’s Beachhouse and released in 2019; Therabreath; and Urban Veda tongue scrapers, as well as others, as part of the retailer’s expansion of its wellness shop this month.
Dental services are also getting a facelift.
“Millennials and Gen Z have been somewhat an afterthought for the traditional dental industry,” said Evan Schlossberg, CEO of The Gleamery, a premium teeth cleaning and whitening studio that opened its first studio in West Hollywood in July of 2024. “Millennials and Gen Z are recognizing that taking care of your mouth is just as important as working out or eating healthy.”
Gleamery aspires to serve customers every three months for cleaning, whitening and, more recently, straightening via aligners, all done by a licensed hygienist in an aesthetic environment that’s open nights and weekends. The service providers are also sensitive to dental aversion, so creature comforts like headphones, compression boots and sound therapy are free to add on.
This doesn’t replace visits to a dentist, but Schlossberg believes they should be different offerings. “The traditional dental model has both preventative and restorative [offerings] under the same group, which is actually quite unique within the broader healthcare industry,” he told Glossy. This de-incentivizes visits due to commonplace dental aversion.
“No longer viewed as a standalone category, oral care is now integrated into a broader health and wellness narrative, [and] this trend is blurring the lines between oral care and adjacent sectors such as beauty,” Mintel’s Watters told Glossy. “Ultimately, oral care is evolving to support not only healthier smiles but also overall well-being, solidifying its role as an essential component of modern health and wellness strategies.”
Executive moves:
- Catherine Spindler will take over the role of president of Sephora’s Europe and Middle East operations on January 27. Spindler joins the LVMH-owned company from Lacoste where she was the Deputy CEO. She succeeds Sylie Moreau who joined the company from Coty in 2021.
News to know:
- L’Oréal Group has partnered with tech juggernaut IBM. Announced by IBM on Thursday, the two companies have entered a multi-year collaboration to leverage IBM’s generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technology to uncover new insights in cosmetic formulation. The tech company hopes to facilitate L’Oréal’s use of sustainable raw materials for energy and material waste reductions.
- Sephora is set to redesign its U.S. stores. Some locations “will get major redesigns, and some will get minor,” Artemis Patrick, president and CEO of Sephora North America, announced at NRF’s Big Show on Monday, as reported by Retail Drive. These changes are driven by research, including customer surveys and the use of in-store heat maps to track shopping patterns. Renovations of Sephora’s more than 700 U.S. stores are estimated to take five years.
- Announced on Thursday, Estée Lauder Companies has entered a partnership with Exuud, an Atlanta-based “smart fragrance expression hardware platform” redesigning home fragrance molecules with an aim to decrease fragrance desensitization. That is, how fast one acclimates to a scent and can, therefore, no longer smell it. “We invested in this technology because we think it’s more than just an incremental improvement,” Sumit Bhasin, ELC svp of global fragrance innovation, product development and R&D said in a statement. “We think it could change the way we experience fragrance.”
- MCoBeauty, an indie Australia “fast beauty” brand launched in 2020 and known for its product dupes, launched in the U.S. through retail partner Target. Most products range between $10-$15 and are available now in-store and online.
- Grassroots wildfire relief efforts created by beauty industry leaders continue to expand in Southern California after wildfires displaced close to half a million people and burned more than 12,000 structures. Josie Maran’s multi-brand #BeautyTogether initiative is backed by brands including Summer Fridays, Tatcha, YSE, Vegamore and dozens more. Meanwhile, the @moms4relief effort has grown thanks to support from Kate Mcleod, The Ordinary, Armani and Facile. And @givinggenerously has taken donations from CocoKind, Splits59, Calpak and many more.
Stat of the week:
As gourmand fragrance notes, like vanilla and pistachio, continue to trend, raspberry is picking up steam. According to Spate market research company, raspberry notes have grown 363% year-over-year. Popular Google searches include “black raspberry vanilla perfume” and “vanilla and raspberry perfume.”
In the headlines:
Glamnetic founders launch Digi Beauty. My spa is in ashes. My hope is not. The hidden cost of Korea’s beauty industry. Beauty industry mourns Olivia Garden’s founder, Jean Rennette. Touchland unveils first fragrance collection. Big beauty brands embrace AI skin analysis. Skinfix is bringing exosomes to Sephora.
Listen in:
Dr. David Shafer, MD, plastic surgeon and founder of metabolic aesthetics clinic Advitam, joins the Glossy Beauty Podcast to discuss the impact of GLP-1s, NAD therapy and more.
Need a Glossy recap?
Technology is at the core of Ulta Beauty’s next phase of growth. Shiseido shuts down metaverse projects, implements layoffs. To Rednote? To Reels? If TikTok is banned, where does beauty go? How the brand behind TikTok Shop’s top-selling product is diversifying its social strategy ahead of potential ban. Female Founder Collective’s ‘NY Loves LA’ campaign raises $1.7 million for L.A. Fire Department in 1 week. ‘A semblance of normalcy’: LA’s retail community contemplates next steps in the wake of historic wildfires. Celebrities made fragrance a business mainstay. Can influencers do the same? NuFace kicks off 20th anniversary with skin-care tool promising rapid results.
