Worldental Daily Istanbul 2013

Industry Advance Issue A t the 2013 FDI Annual World DentalCongress,manufacturers from around the globe and Turkey will come together to compete as well as to do business with each other.Whilethecountryattheedgeof Europe is considered to be one of the fastest-growingeconomiesintheworld at the moment, there is little reliable dataaboutitsdentalmarket,especial- lysincetheDentalManufacturersand DealersAssociationofTurkey(DISSIAD) left the Federation of the European DentalIndustryseveralyearsago. According to DISSIAD president and chairman of Öncü Dental Yuksel Akyol, who spoke to members of the press about last year’s IDEX in Istan- bul, the Turkish dental industry cur- rently exports dental equipment worth US$50 million. The majority of dental equipment used in the country is im- ported and, with a few exceptions, most foreign manufacturers operate through local partners. The size of the overall market, including equipment anddentalconsumables,isestimated to be €150 million, which is signifi- cantly lower compared with other countriesinEurope,suchasGermany, which boasts a market worth over €3 billion. With rates of 6 to 7 per cent per year, however, the Turkish dental marketiscurrentlygrowingfasterthan all major markets on the continent combined. Productsmostindemandareimag- ing devices, dental lasers and im- plants.Infact,Turkeyhasbecomeone of the fastest-growing markets in the implant segment, congruent with strong economic growth that weath- ered the recession far better than the US and nearly any region in Europe. AccordingtoareportbyCanadianmar- ket research provider iData Research published by Dental Tribune last year, the Turkish dental implant, final abut- ment and computer-guided surgery segmentisexpectedtogrowatacom- pound annual growth rate of 20.4 per centfrom2008to2018. In order to benefit from low labour costs and growing demand for tooth replacements, among other factors, foreign implant companies, such as Swiss implant specialist Thommen Medical, who recently signed a dis- tribution agreement with BioPort in Istanbul, have begun to establish domestic subsidiaries or local distri- bution partners, which are constantly expandingconsumers’options. Implants are also developed and manufactured in the country. Istanbul company AGS Medikal Ürünleri was the first to start domestic production of fixed tooth replacements in 2011. Meanwhile, other companies, includ- ing Dental Implant KA, have followed initsfootstepsandhavebegunmanu- facturing their own implant solutions. According to market experts, they will be able to compete internationally in the long run owing to their price advantage. Demand for dental equipment will alsobefuelledbyanincreaseinpublic health spending, as well as dental tourism, which will require dentists, particularly in private practice, to up- date their equipment and technical knowledge in the next few years. According to reports by Turkish news- paper the Hürriyet Daily News, who spoke to President of the Health Tourism Board Dr Dursun Aydın last year, Turkey currently generates rev- enues of €1 billion from foreign pa- tients, with most people coming from the US and countries in Europe with high treatment costs, such as Ger- many and the UK. Market observers currently estimate the potential size ofthismarkettobe€3billion. 10 www.fdiworldental.org AD DentalproductsmarketinTurkey growsexponentiallyatlowerlevels Demandexpectedtobefuelledbyimplantsanddentaltourism