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ePaper created 2018-01-31, 10:01:59 | version 1.38.0
| business US dental prosthetic market set to grow with digitalisation Salma Mashkoor & Jeffrey Wong, US Digitalised dental products, whether produced by ad- ditive or subtractive technologies, are expected to dis- rupt the US dental prosthetic market for the foreseeable future, according to a report by international market re- search and consulting company iData Research. This will be especially true in the denture market. With increas- ing innovations, emerging competitors, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals, the digital market is expected to grow substantially over the next several years. As digital products are offered at higher prices, their growth will drive the total dental prosthetic market at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.4 per cent. “The digital dentistry market had an estimated value of nearly $650 million in 2017 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.6 per cent through 2024.” The report highlighted recent milestones in digitalisa- tion of the US dental prosthetic market (which encom- passes crowns, bridges, inlays, onlays, veneers and dentures) beginning in 2015, when DENTCA received FDA approval for the first resin material used to 3-D print parts of dentures. Later in 2017, EnvisionTEC received FDA approval to sell its E-Denture material, providing both dental laboratories and offices with the ability to fabricate pink denture bases. Currently, AvaDent holds the majority of the nontraditional complete denture mar- ket, as it is the only company with a fully digitalised den- ture product. AvaDent has a proprietary method of mill- ing both the pink base and white teeth from a single puck, whereas other competitors mill out the pink den- ture base only and it is then integrated with teeth by a technician in the laboratory. In their overview of the digital dental industry, consist- ing of CAD/CAM systems, CAD/CAM materials and rapid prototyping systems, report authors iData Research an- alysts Salma Mashkoor and Jeffrey Wong said they are expecting that market growth will result from innovative product applications, such as the increasing user base of intraoral scanners or even new indications for innova- tive rapid prototyping systems. Unfortunately, compet- itive price cuts and inexpensive solutions are reducing potential market growth. This is especially true for rapid prototyping systems, which have an unsaturated market relative to that of CAD/CAM materials and systems. The digital dentistry market had an estimated value of nearly $650 million in 2017 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.6 per cent through 2024. Since the rapid prototyping system market is relatively new in comparison with the other digital dentistry mar- kets, new indications for printers will continue to emerge, such as 3-D temporary prostheses. Stratasys recently received FDA approval for its VeroGlaze material, which can be used in the mouth on a temporary basis for up to 24 hours. Its biocompatible PolyJet photopolymer has also been medically approved for temporary in-mouth placement. Printers are currently too costly for an in-of- fice setting and the technology is still advancing in this regard. Once these barriers are overcome and the nec- essary FDA approvals are acquired, the use of 3-D tem- porary prostheses will grow, stimulating sales of in-office printer units. CAD/CAM systems too are experiencing an uptick of new applications, as demonstrated by intraoral scan- ners, Mashkoor and Wong noted. In the past, the intra- oral scanner market was entirely reflective of use by gen- eral practitioners. However, in recent years, the user base has expanded to include orthodontists and other spe- cialists, a trend that is expected to continue in the future. Orthodontists and dental surgeons are quickly adopting the technology, as general practitioners are now sharing scanners in multipractice organisations. As the user base for intraoral scanners expands, unit sales will increase, thereby encouraging growth of the total CAD/CAM system market. Similarly, the increasing applications of rapid prototyping systems will boost both laboratory and clinical sales. 50 CAD/CAM 1 2018