96% of the Population Do Not Visit Dentists, Innovation Needed for Education
The low awareness of oral and dental health remains a major challenge in Indonesia. Data from the Ministry of Health indicates that around 96% of the population does not visit a dentist within the past year, while only 2.8% brush their teeth correctly. This situation is influenced by various factors, from fear to limited access to easily understandable health information.
To address this challenge, Unilever Indonesia through the Pepsodent brand has launched TeethTalk Academy for Dentfluencers, a training programme that encourages dentists and health advocates to be more active in delivering education via social media. The programme aims to form a generation of dentfluencers who are not only scientifically credible but also capable of communicating in an engaging and relevant manner with digital audiences.
Developed in collaboration with Omnicom Advertising, the programme targets dentists, dental medicine students, and health advocates to combine clinical expertise with digital content production skills.
The inaugural workshop was held in March 2026, covering topics from content ideas, production techniques such as lighting and editing, to personal branding and social media interaction strategies. The programme also features Milad Shadrooh, a British dental influencer, alongside local creators like Zaki Alfadilah, Twomann, and Vinco.
Senior Global Brand Director for Oral Care at Unilever, Madhurjya Banerjee, assesses that an engaging communication approach is key to improving public understanding of oral health.
“In the digital era, engaging delivery makes science-based messages easier to understand and reach more people,” said Madhurjya.
Milad Shadrooh added that social media can be an effective medium to change public perceptions of dentist visits, which are often considered frightening.
With a more humane and communicative approach, oral health education is expected to reach the younger generation more broadly. This initiative also forms part of Pepsodent’s transformation, from a mere hygiene brand to a driver of culturally relevant oral health conversations.
In the future, TeethTalk Academy will be expanded to various regions in Indonesia and regional markets, while building a sustainable dentfluencer community. This step reflects an important change in health education approaches—from conventional models to adaptive, inclusive, and easily accessible digital-based communication.