Oral‑B Announces The Big Rethink 2026, Launching One of Europe’s Largest Disability‑Focused Oral Health Studies

BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 13, 2026--

Oral‑B today announces The Big Rethink 2026, the next evolution of its flagship oral health inclusion programme, developed in partnership with the International Association for Disability and Oral Health (iADH). The new phase introduces Project Steady, one of Europe’s largest real‑world studies exploring oral care experiences among people with disabilities, their carers and dental professionals. The programme aims to reduce everyday barriers to oral care through inclusive design, evidence-based research and professional education.

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Oral health for Whole-Body Health

Since its launch in 2022, The Big Rethink has been grounded in a clear belief: oral health is fundamental to whole‑body health, confidence and quality of life. For people with disabilities, barriers to daily oral care can have wider health and social implications - making inclusion an essential part of improving oral health outcomes.

The mouth is the gateway to the body and therefore acts as a mirror to your overall health. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) oral disease affects nearly 3.5 billion people, 1 Oral-B is on a mission to make the invisible connection between oral health and whole body health visible and to empower people to take their health into their own hands.

A growing and unequal challenge

New research from the Oral-B European Disability Study 2025 reveal that 41% of Europeans identify as living with a disability, representing a four‑point increase wave‑on‑wave 2, driven by a broader range of visible and invisible conditions. Based on a survey of more than 9,000 adults across nine European markets 3, the findings reveal a significant disparity in daily oral care experiences.

Project Steady: One of Europe’s largest real‑world oral health studies

At the heart of The Big Rethink 2026 is a six‑month, multi‑country study gathering real‑world feedback from people with disabilities, their carers and dental professionals across Europe. The study known as Project Steady represents the next wave of The Big Rethink, focused on understanding lived experience and identifying practical ways to remove everyday barriers to oral care. The Europe‑wide study builds on learnings from an earlier pilot phase led by dental professionals, which highlighted how everyday usability challenges can disrupt oral care routines.

In the pilot case study of dexterity impaired patients run in February-March 2026 in collaboration with Dr Ana Molina, 90% reduced areas with high amount of plaque after one month of using the accessory with Oral-B iO2, with 40% also showing improved gum health5.

Consumer feedback highlighted practical everyday benefits, with consumers commenting:

From insight to action

As part of the large study, participants will use Oral‑B’s iO2 electric toothbrush alongside a new adaptive accessory, designed to address two common, practical challenges to brushing:

The expected outcomes are:

Oral-B Disability Champion Programme

Oral-B has recently launched a test for 200 Disability Champions across Europe to test the adaptive accessory with respective patients

Oral-B launched the Disability Champions Award Programme as part of its ongoing mission to make oral care for accessible to everybody. In partnership with the iADH, the programme aims to make the dentist office experience across Europe more inclusive and positive for those with disabilities and their caregivers.

A long-term commitment to inclusion

The Big Rethink 2026 complements Oral‑B’s ongoing initiatives:

By pairing large‑scale research with inclusive design and professional education, The Big Rethink 2026 marks a decisive step in addressing barriers to oral care and supporting better whole‑body health for more people.

Paolo Grue, Senior Vice President, Oral Care Europe, Procter & Gamble, said: “We are incredibly proud to be continuing and evolving The Big Rethink. Since its launch, it has shown that oral health is not an isolated issue - it is fundamental to whole‑body health, confidence and quality of life. With Project Steady, we are building on that commitment by launching one of our most ambitious research initiatives to date listening directly to people with disabilities and translating real‑world insight into practical, inclusive solutions. This is how we create real, lasting progress. When inclusion leads, better oral health and better overall health follows."

Professor Pedro Diz Dios, President, International Association for Disability and Oral Health (iADH) said: “The link between oral health and general health is well established, yet many people with disabilities still face daily obstacles to basic oral care. Research of this scale, rooted in everyday experience, is essential if we are to develop evidence‑based solutions that genuinely improve oral health outcomes and advance health equity.”

Regina Rubio Odgers, Senior Scientist– Oral Care R&D, Oral‑B, said: “What we heard consistently through earlier phases of The Big Rethink was that small, everyday design challenges can have a significant impact on people’s ability to maintain oral care routines. This study allows us to take those insights into real‑world testing -ensuring solutions are shaped by lived experience and designed to work in everyday life.”

Dr. Ana Molina, Dental Professional and Clinical Lead, Oral‑B Pilot Study, said: “Running the pilot study showed us how small, practical barriers can quickly disrupt daily oral care routines. By testing solutions in real‑world conditions with patients and carers, we were able to generate insights that are directly relevant to both clinical practice and product development. This next phase allows those learnings to be scaled and strengthened.”

About Oral-B

Oral-B® was founded in 1950 by a California periodontist, who invented an innovative toothbrush to help his patients achieve healthier teeth and gums at home. Oral-B® continues to stay true to his mission and is today the worldwide leader in the over $5 billion brushing market. Part of the Procter & Gamble Company, the brand manufactures electric toothbrushes and toothpaste for adults and children, oral irrigators, and interdental products.

About the International Association for Disability and Oral Health (iADH)

The iADH is a global organization with over 8000 members from all sectors of health and social care interested in disability and oral health who work to share their scientific knowledge, research, clinical skills and collective experience to reduce barriers to care and improve oral health outcomes for people with disability.

1Oral Healthhttps://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/oral-health(Accessed April 2021)
2 2025 base n=9085; Showing data from Oral-B European Disability Study 2025; Increases and Decreases wave-on-wave are highlighted – these are from comparisons against data collected between 2021 and 2023
3 2025 base n=9085; Showing data from Oral-B European Disability Study 2025; Increases and Decreases wave-on-wave are highlighted – these are from comparisons against data collected between 2021 and 2023
4 2025 base n=9085; Showing data from Oral-B European Disability Study 2025; Increases and Decreases wave-on-wave are highlighted – these are from comparisons against data collected between 2021 and 2023
5 Oral-B Pilot Case Study report

Oral B Announces The Big Rethink 2026, Launching One of Europe’s Largest Disability Focused Oral Health Studies

Oral B Announces The Big Rethink 2026, Launching One of Europe’s Largest Disability Focused Oral Health Studies

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia on Thursday unleashed a third straight day of massive drone and missile attacks on Ukraine, demolishing an apartment building in Kyiv where five people were killed and dozens injured, authorities said. More strikes elsewhere in the country wounded more than two dozen civilians.

As dawn broke on a clear day in Kyiv, a scene of devastation came into focus in the capital’s leafy Darnytsia neighborhood, located between a suburban forest and the Dnieper River. Wisps of smoke rose from the collapsed nine-story apartment block, where emergency workers dug under concrete slabs and took people away on stretchers. The building's entrance was smashed in the strike, preventing residents from escaping.

All 18 apartments in the building were destroyed, officials said. Among the dead was a 12-year-old girl, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. At least 20 people were believed to be missing.

Ukrainian officials noted that the attack coincided with U.S. President Donald Trump’s trip to China. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have sufficient leverage to compel Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his 4-year-old invasion of Ukraine.

“At the very time when leaders of the most powerful countries are meeting in Beijing, and the world hopes for peace, predictability and cooperation, Putin launched hundreds of drones, ballistic and cruise missiles at the capital of Ukraine,” Sybiha wrote on X.

“Only pressure on Moscow can make him stop,” Sybiha said of Putin.

Russia fired ballistic and cruise missiles in the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that Moscow had launched more than 1,560 drones against Ukrainian population centers since Wednesday. In all, some 180 sites across the country were damaged, including more than 50 residential buildings, he said.

British Defense Secretary John Healey called Thursday's attack “shocking” and said he had accelerated U.K. deliveries of air defenses.

Russia has hammered Ukraine with large-scale aerial attacks following a May 9-11 ceasefire that Trump said he asked Zelenskyy and Putin to heed. Fighting continued over those 72 hours, although reportedly at a reduced intensity.

The attacks undercut recent suggestions from Trump and Putin that the war, which began with Moscow's all-out invasion of its neighbor in 2022, is nearing its end.

More than 30 people were injured in the apartment building collapse, while emergency workers rescued 28 residents, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.

In neighboring blocks, windows had shattered from the blast wave.

Lyudmila Hlushko, 78, said she heard explosions and the sound of rockets about 3 a.m. “Then the house shook violently and there was a loud bang, breaking the glass in my house,” she told The Associated Press.

Another resident, Nadiia Lobanova, said “it was a terrible night.”

“We’re used to this. Well, it’s impossible to get used to this, but somehow we held on,” she added.

Damage was recorded across six districts of the capital, according to head of Kyiv’s Military Administration Tymur Tkachenko.

The Ukrainian cities of Kremenchuk, Bila Tserkva, Kharkiv, Sumy and Odesa also were bombarded, officials said.

“We are now experiencing the largest strikes since the start of the full-scale invasion,” air force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat told Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne.

Ukraine’s air defense forces are under severe strain, he said. Even so, the interception rate of drones and missiles was over 93%, Zelenskyy said.

Air defenses shot down or jammed 693 Russian targets overnight, including 41 missiles and 652 drones of various types nationwide, the air force said.

Fifteen missiles and 23 drones scored direct hits across 24 locations, it said. Debris from downed drones fell in another 18 locations.

Strikes on energy infrastructure left customers in Kyiv and 11 other regions temporarily without power, national grid operator Ukrenergo said.

On Wednesday, a rare daytime attack on Kyiv killed at least six people, Zelenskyy said. That assault, which involved 800 drones, struck about 20 regions and was among the longest such attacks of the war.

In other developments Thursday:

— The Hungarian government summoned the Russian ambassador over a drone attack near Hungary’s border with Ukraine. The step marked a stark shift in tone by new Prime Minister Péter Magyar toward Moscow after years of cozy relations with the Kremlin under former leader Viktor Orbán.

— Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina resigned after her government’s coalition partner withdrew its support and left her without a majority. The government has been under pressure over its handling of multiple incidents involving stray drones suspected to be from Ukraine crossing into Latvian territory.

Associated Press journalists Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, contributed.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

A woman kisses her relative evacuated from a house heavily damaged after a Russian strike on residential neighbourhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A rescue worker evacuates a woman from a balcony of a house heavily damaged after a Russian strike on residential neighbourhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A rescue worker walks on the rubble of a house heavily damaged after a Russian strike on residential neighbourhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A policeman look at a building damaged after a Russian strike on residential neighbourhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Rescue workers clear the rubble of a house heavily damaged after a Russian strike on a residential neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Rescue workers carry an injured woman on a stretcher from a house heavily damaged after a Russian strike on a residential neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives at the Bucharest B9 summit held at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)