A Design Decision That Made My Teeth Hurt—Literally
A story about my experience with Sensodyne toothpaste.
The Problem
I went to the dentist for my 6-month teeth cleaning appointment a few weeks ago. I told them my gums had been hurting and didn’t know why. They didn’t find anything wrong with my teeth and asked me what had changed around the time the ache started.
The Culprit
I use Sensodyne, a toothpaste for sensitive teeth. My teeth are forever extremely sensitive due to a lengthy orthodontic treatment (I had really bad teeth!), so it’s pretty much the only toothpaste I can use.
My teeth started aching around the same time I switched to one of their products that promotes the “added benefit” of teeth whitening.
Thanks to my dentist, I discovered that I unknowingly purchased toothpaste that included a strong abrasive in it — feel free to research more on Relative Dentin Abrasivity (RDA) — which made my toothpaste no longer suitable for extra sensitive teeth. I also learned that people with sensitive teeth should look for toothpastes with less ingredients (i.e. “added benefits”).
I’m baffled that a brand that markets to people with sensitive teeth would make a toothpaste that causes pain. So what is really the problem here?
Discovering the Design Problem
Up until now, I have been content with my toothpaste brand and I have tried out several of their products to find the right one for me. This can feel overwhelming when I’m deciding which one to buy since there are about 19 different toothpaste varieties (Hicks Law 101).
Even though there are so many options, I never thought that there was a dramatic difference between one toothpaste or the other when it came to reducing sensitivity. Now that I know that some of their toothpastes are not as effective for people like me, I will be very careful with my experimentation in the future.
To help me define the design problem, I started with some assumptions:
- Sensodyne wants to help people with tooth sensitivity.
- Their target customer is someone with tooth sensitivity.
- The customer’s main goal is to reduce tooth sensitivity.
I also thought about what I wish I had known before I grabbed “Sensodyne Repair & Protect Whitening” and came up with two questions:
- What degree of sensitivity does each product cover?
- How does a customer know what works for their own level of tooth sensitivity if all of the labels look the same?
Asking myself these questions helped me identify the design problem that led to my teeth aching: The degree of sensitivity the toothpastes cover is not obvious.
There is nothing that says “this toothpaste is for people with moderate to severe tooth sensitivity” or “this toothpaste is for people with mild tooth sensitivity”.
My Proposed Solution
Add information to the label that shows the customer the best product for their degree of tooth sensitivity.
Below is an image with my solution: a toothpaste with a sensitivity level identifier.
The placement of the indicator makes it stand out while preserving their current design. It’s the next thing you notice after you see the logo, because of its proximity, size and color.
Not all solutions involve large changes.
What I Learned
It is easy to overlook the problems that are caused by adding more features to an existing product when you’re trying to cater to multiple people and offer more options. This experience only serves to reinforce the idea that user experience design is very important.
If you truly want to know if your product meets your customer’s needs, then there is no better way to find out than by talking to them.
You can expand your product and the reach it has without obscuring the main reason people buy it. Make it easy for people to find what they need and they’ll be loyal forever.
