Sensodyne Commercial 2003

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.

In 2000, Block Drug was purchased by Smith Kline Beecham P.L.C., which became GlaxoSmithKline 

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.