Now, Toothache Can Make You Grin

Have a cavity in your teeth and fret that the dentists bill will give you a major ache? Not to worry -- buy Pepsodent toothpaste instead and get Rs 1,000 for your pains.

Thats the message that soaps, detergenets and oral care products giant Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) is sending out.

Heres how the scheme works. If you have cavities, youll have to buy Pepsodent toothpaste, fill a form in the package and send it to Pepsodent Dental Insurance, an agency HLL set up in New Delhi, before April 30, 2003.

Next, get a certificate from your dentist that you have caries and submit it and your dental bills to the Pepsodent outfit in New Delhi.

HLL will then verify your claim and send you a Rs 1000 cheque or demand draft within 30 days.

Pradeep Banerjee, category head, oral care, HLL told journalists here today that HLL had worked out a deal with New India Assurance Company to offer Pepsodent users free Rs 1,000 dental insurance cover.

"Under this intiative, Pepsodent offers its consumers an insurance cover against expenses for the extraction of permanent teeth owing to severe caries and periodontitis, two of the most common dental ailments, and the cost of medication," Banerjee said.

The insurance is available to users of Pepsodent in respect of permanent tooth or teeth, who are under 50 years. Children with milk teeth are not covered by the scheme.

Describing it as an unique concept, Banerjee said the insurance cover under the scheme would be provided for one year, and comes into effect six months from the date of issue of the Pepsodent dental insurance certificate.

The scheme is clearly meant to boost Pepsodents sales. But Banerjee refused to divulge sales targets.

He said the objective was not to increase sales but to strengthen Pepsodents proposition that it was a germ protector.

"It also displays our commitment towards improving oral hygiene for our consumers," he added.

Launched in 1991, Pepsodent is HLLs flagship oral care brand. Its other power brand is Close-Up.

Pepodent has steadily increased its market share from 16.4 per cent last year to 17.3 per cent in August 2002.

In the Rs 2,500 crore oral care, arch -rival Colgate Palmolive is the market leader, with a market share of over 35 per cent.

No other toothpaste manufacturer offers similar schemes, though Vardhaman Chemicals Amar toothpaste recently tied up with Tata AIG for providing personal accident cover.