Sensodyne is a brand name of toothpaste and mouthwash targeted at people with sensitive teeth. Sensodyne is owned by GlaxoSmithKline and is marketed under the name Shumitect in Japan. Sensodyne is a brand of toothpaste that was first sold by Block Drug, a Brooklyn, New York-based company established in 1907 by pharmacist Alexander Block. By 1925, manufacturing dental care products had become the company’s focus. Leonard N. Block followed his father into the family business which relocated to Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1938. The toothpaste was first marketed in 1961 as a desensitizing toothpaste based on a strontium chloride formulation. In 1980, Sensodyne launched a new toothpaste containing potassium nitrate, a mild local sedative.
