CAD/CAM - international magazine of digital dentistry

I 39 industry news _ European Dental Prosthetics and CAD/CAM Systems I CAD/CAM 2_2013 Over the next few years, the sales of intra-oral scanners will reach double-digit growth. Dentists will increasingly opt for these scanners instead of chairside systems owing to their affordability and practicality. The prices of these scanners will decrease, making them even more affordable. The average selling price of an intra-oral scanner was a little over €28,000 in 2012, an investment that medium-sized laboratories and dentists can easily afford. The main competitor in this market is Sirona. The company has over 20 years of experience in the intra-oral scanners segment. Its latest product, the CERECOmnicam,has introducedanew technology withcolourscanning,whichallowsthedentaltech- niciantoscanthenaturalcolouroftheteethin3-D. A similar product was launched by 3Shape at the 2013 International Dental Show in Cologne. TRIOS Color can scan and capture the teeth and gingiva quickly, realistically and in great detail. Intra-oral scanners are evidently becoming the new standard at dental practices. _CAD/CAM blocks segment experienced double-digit growth CAD/CAM blocks had a good year in 2012, de- spite the lingering effects of the eurozone crisis. Even though block prices have remained stable or dropped owing to increasing competition from Asian companies, the double-digit growth in unit sales largely made up for price cuts, as the segment grew by over 10 per cent in 2012. The growth in theblockssegmenthasbeenfuelledbytheincrease in CAD/CAM system sales, particularly chairside systems. Chairside systems come with a milling machine that mills the restorations from blocks. As sales of chairside systems have increased sig- nificantly and will continue to do so up to the end of 2019, the blocks segment has followed that demand closely. The majority of crowns milled from CAD/CAM blocksonchairsidesystemsaremadeofall-ceramic material. However, most dental restorations are producedfromzirconiabecausedentallaboratories are still the main providers of dental prosthetics. In 2012, zirconia crowns represented over half of the CAD/CAM blocks segment, with the remainder being divided between porcelain and acrylic/com- posite products. By 2019, porcelain blocks are ex- pected to close the gap, exceeding half of all blocks sold. This trend is consistent with the ever-increas- ing demand for all-ceramic restorations and the technological developments that make ceramic restorations more resilient and natural-looking than their counterparts are. _AmannGirrbach and Dental Wings are among the rising stars of CAD/CAM systems segment The CAD/CAM systems segment is experiencing new, dramatic trends. Smaller, cheaper and more- efficient milling machines capable of milling a vari- etyofmaterialsaretakingtheirplaceinlaboratories of various sizes and even in some dental offices. AmannGirrbach has made great progress with its motto “the in-house company”, promoting labora- tory independence by providing affordable milling machines. The future of scanner software lies in open sys- tems that create a scan file that can be sent to any milling centre in the world. Dental Wings is making great strides by providing this open-architecture software and affordable scanners to both labora- tories and dentists. Through exclusive partnerships with Straumann and 3M ESPE, Dental Wings is aiming at creating common global software for a variety of stand-alone scanners. Alongside these rising stars, companies like Sirona, 3Shape, 3M ESPE and DeguDent maintain their significant market share in the CAD/CAM sys- tems segment. Sirona is the clear market leader in chairsidesystemsand3Shapedominatesthestand- alonescannerssegment,albeitwithothercompeti- torssuchas3MESPE,StraumannandNobelBiocare following closely. The CAD/CAM systems segment is expected to become more competitive as new players emerge and devices become more afford- able and efficient._ Editorial note: The information contained in this article is taken from a detailed and comprehensive report published by iData Research, titled “European markets for dental prosthetics and CAD/CAM devices”. This report is part of a global series covering Latin America, Asia PacificandtheUS. Dr Kamran Zamanian,President & CEO, iData Research Inc. Ceren Altincekic,Market ResearchAnalyst, iData Research Inc. IData Research is an international market research and consulting firm focused on providing market intelligence for the medical device, dental and pharmaceutical industries. CAD/CAM_about the authors