HONG KONG/LEIPZIG, Germany: Following its release in all major worldwide markets last year, Colgate-Palmolive has introduced its new toothpaste for the treatment of tooth hypersensitivity in China. Sensitive Pro-Relief, which features Pro-Argin technology, is claimed to block stimuli of pain receptors within teeth by sealing open dentine tubules with a calcium-rich layer.

According to company officials, the toothpaste has been available at high-street chemists and major supermarkets since January. Until now, the brand had only been available to dental practitioners in Hong Kong.

Colgate leaders who teamed up with representatives from the Chinese Stomatological Association (CSA) at a joint press conference in Beijing said that the new toothpaste will revolutionise the way millions of consumers treat and prevent pain due to hypersensitivity. They said that it can be used before or after dental procedures, such as prophylaxis and scaling. When applied prior to a professional dental cleaning, Sensitive Pro-Relief will also provide a significant reduction in dentine hypersensitivity, measured immediately after the dental cleaning, as compared to a control prophylaxis paste, they added.

Colgate currently rivals with GlaxoSmithKline, a UK-based manufacturer of consumables and oral health-care products, who also claims to offer a solution to dentine hypersensitivity with their Sensodyne toothpaste brand.

As in other countries in the region, dentine hypersensitivity has increasing become an oral-health issue in China, according to CSA officials. The results of a recent survey by the CSA Prevention Committee indicate that nearly 30 per cent of Chinese adults aged between 20 and 70 suffer from the condition.

The condition affects up to 57 per cent of people worldwide.