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ePaper created 2017-05-10, 16:12:25 | version 1.38.0
| business new technologies and dental market Demand for patient comfort and product innovations drive the US dental materials markets Authors: Salma Mashkoor & Kamran Zamanian, USA The US market for dental materials is experiencing remarkable changes, mainly due to demand for pa- tient comfort and improved productivity. The need to improve patient comfort during dental proce- dures has demanded pricier products, encouraging market value growth. On the other hand, increasing productivity has been at the forefront of innovative delivery systems and CAD/CAM technology. Unlike the waste-saving measures provided by efficient delivery systems, CAD/CAM technology is creating a consistent downward pressure on the dental ma- terial market. As digitisation cannibalises the tem- porisation and impression materials segments, the growth potential of dental materials is threatened. As a result, the competitive landscape is being reor- dered to accommodate the growth areas of the overall dental materials market, although the lead- ing competitors in the market tend to maintain their dominant positions. Innovative delivery systems Delivery systems within the dental material mar- kets have been evolving, largely tailored towards efficiency and reducing material waste. For most materials, the traditional delivery system involved hand mixing a powder and liquid formula. Although dentists could manage with this technique, it typi- cally led to inaccurate mixing, resulting from either too much liquid or powder. The powder and liquid ap- proach remained somewhat relevant for dental im- pressions, mostly being used for alginate materials. Nonetheless, this method was originally used in ce- ments, direct and temporary restoratives, bonding agents and core build-up materials and has since fallen in popularity. The overall movement in delivery methods has been targeted towards auto-mix sys- tems, with the exceptions of dental anaesthetics and bonding agents. Although auto-mixing may demand a relatively premium price point, it successfully re- duces waste, overcomes the prolonged clean-up time, eliminates the tedious task of hand-mixing and removes the risk of improper mixing.1 Some markets have taken it a step further with even more innovative delivery systems. For in- stance, direct restoratives are progressing towards unit doses. This is largely due to the fact that the preferred materials for composite restoratives are contained within capsules. As there are no auto-mix systems currently avail- able for bonding agents, this market has evolved towards unit doses, which entail pre-packaged capsules and lollipops. There has also been an emer- gence of vial deliveries, which dispense bonding agents from the bottle into a mixing well before the material is applied with a microbrush. Collectively, these tactics allow for the material to be activated quicker and decrease waste. Core build-up materials have also experienced a slight upturn towards pre-mixed materials, such as pre-packaged pens. However, this strategy is still relatively new.2 Emergence of CAD/CAM dentistry CAD/CAM dentistry swept across the dental ma- terial market, capping the growth potential of both temporary restoratives and dental impressions. The need for dental impressions is dwindling as digital scanners are becoming more affordable and popu- lar. Nonetheless, alginate impressions are relatively resistant against the downward pressure caused by digitisation. As an inexpensive preliminary impres- sion, alginates will serve as a hand-held model for dentists in addition to a scanner model.3 On the other hand, the temporary filling market has already been contracting. With the emergence of intraoral scanners, the preparation phase of res- torations will be eliminated as they may be assem- bled and applied in a single dental visit. This trans- lates into temporary restorations no longer being essential in the preparation stage of the final prod- uct.4 However, temporary materials will not go into 06 CAD/CAM 2 2017