CAD/CAM international magazine of digital dentistry

I news _ CAD/CAM CAD/CAM systems like this NobelProcera optical scanner from the Swiss manufacturer Nobel Biocare will see extensive growth in countries like Japan. (DTI/Photo courtesy of Nobel Biocare, Switzerland) _Manufacturers of dental CAD/CAM systems will have to look towards the Far East, as growth in this industry segment in countries like Japan is expected to outpace traditional markets in Europe and North America, a new report by the Millennium Research Group suggests. AccordingtothepaperreleasedbytheCanadian marketintelligenceprovideronThursday,CAD/CAM markets in Europe will not show improvement before 2014, while Japan will see dramatic growth owing to under-penetration in dental offices and increasing interest by dentists in investing in the technology. Inaddition,decreasedreimbursementforconven- tional metal restorations by national health insur- ance will increase the competiveness of new materi- als for manufacturing prosthetics, the report states. Despite its recent economic troubles, Japan is currently the largest market for dental CAD/CAM and prosthetics in the Asia Pacific region after Aus- traliaandSouthKorea.Sincethecountryhastoim- portmuchofitsCAD/CAMtechnologyfromabroad, the field is largely dominated by European and US manufacturers, such as Sirona Dental Systems, No- bel Biocare or 3M Espe. A few domestic companies have launched their own systems in recent years, such as Kuraray Noritake Dental’s KATANA system, which is now distributed worldwide. Millennium Research Group predicts that the global market for dental CAD/CAM will exceed US$540 million by 2016, to constitute over one tenth of the overall market for dental equipment. With over 60 per cent, chairside systems like intra- oral scanners will most likely have the largest share in this segment, the company said._ 40 I CAD/CAM 3_2012 CAD/CAM systems market in Japan to gain momentum