A shift from traditional dental equipment to technologically advanced products has resulted in a redistribution of market share in favour of caries detection devices and intraoral cameras
Vancouver, BC – According to a new series of reports on the European markets for dental operatory equipment by iData Research, caries detection devices and intraoral cameras continue to experience growth, despite strong resistance in the European market, because of a general shift towards technologically focused capital spending. These markets are relatively new and therefore growth will steadily increase over the forecast period. This trend will be greatly augmented by an increasing number of younger practitioners entering the dental profession over the coming years.
The sales of these technologically advanced caries detection devices and intraoral cameras will be driven by the steady adjustment of dental practices to more advanced methods of treatment and diagnosis, and the growing importance of preventative dentistry over traditional treatment. In addition, the increased awareness of the health risks of radiography to patients, particularly children and pregnant women, has caused patients to prefer methods of caries detection that do not use radiography. This has encouraged dentists therefore to add caries detection devices to their existing practices. The structural degeneration detection technology (SDDT) market will outpace the light-induced fluorescence technology (LIFT) market because of higher unit sales. This is due to the early entry of these systems onto the market and practitioners’ familiarity with the technology. SDDTs are also seen as more robust and failsafe than LIFTs.
“The average sales price for caries detection devices has experienced a slight decrease over the past few years due to increased competition from new entrants into the market,” explains Dr. Kamran Zamanian, CEO of iData. “However, the effect of a lowering average selling price (ASP) will be reduced due to the expected shift in market preferences towards more expensive and more sophisticated SDDT devices and away from less expensive LIFT devices.”
Market growth in the intraoral camera market will also remain stable since the growth in unit sales is almost entirely countered by the decrease in the ASP. Overall, market value will increase at a steady rate, as unit volume growth will outpace the decline in ASP for both products.
ACTEON’s Sopro division is the leading competitor in the caries detection device market in Europe with a large presence in France and the United Kingdom. ACTEON’s SOPROLIFETM is the most expensive device in the digital caries detection market in Europe, but has the added benefit of being able to function as an intraoral camera. Dürr Dental is the second-leading competitor in the European caries detection device and intraoral camera markets. Similar to Dürr Dental, KaVo also has a strong presence in German-speaking regions. KaVo was notably the first company to release a digital caries detection device in Europe with its DIAGNOdentTM product line, and it is the most widely recognised and tested product in the caries detection field.
Carestream Dental with nearly a quarter of the intraoral camera market has been very successful in Southern European countries with its CS 1200® line of intraoral cameras. The popularity of cameras varies greatly from country to country. Germany, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium have been far more receptive to purchasing cameras than countries such as Italy, Spain and France. In France, the country where cameras are the least popular, many dentists do not even replace old cameras once they stop working. Despite this, many dentists and chain clinics are seeing the potential behind these cameras in terms of their ability to sell patients on new treatments.
