The Dental CAD/CAM device market features growing unit sales and falling prices; the CAD/CAM block and disc market will see rising growth as more than just dental labs shift toward this technology.
Vancouver, BC – According to a new series of reports on the US market for dental prosthetics and CAD/CAM devices by iData Research, the introduction of inexpensive CAD/CAM devices is resulting in a greater emphasis on competitive pricing due to new market entrants. This has been quite pronounced within the intraoral scanner market where there is a great potential for growth. Competitive pricing has also been prevalent for the CAD/CAM disc market. Prices for the average disc have been dropping consistently because more prosthetics can be milled per unit of material compared to traditional CAD/CAM blocks. In an industry dealing with a large number of units and stiff pricing competition, cost reduction has become all too important.
“The dental lab market is continuing to shift towards the usage of mills for producing prosthetics rather than by hand,” explains Dr. Kamran Zamanian, CEO of iData. “As newer material types such as composites and hybrid zirconia/resin substances are introduced, thus updating the current zirconia technology, prices will increase slightly to match innovation, at least affecting the market for CAD/CAM blocks.”
Pricing competition has led to declining average selling prices (ASPs) for various CAD/CAM devices. Newer intraoral scanner products, which are less expensive than existing options, will result in a rapidly decreasing ASP. The lower cost of intraoral scanners lowers the barrier to entry for dental and orthodontic offices to engage in a CAD/CAM workflow. The ability to also rapidly produce devices on a same-day basis and at a lower long-term cost will allow dental and orthodontic offices to increase patient numbers. Therefore, despite shrinking ASPs and market consolidation, the CAD/CAM device market will maintain strong unit sales and market growth over the forecast period as labs and dental offices continue to shift towards milling their own prosthetics and moulds.
Due to new competitors in the market, pricing that is largely set by the market leader Sirona has been decreasing in order to remain competitive. Sirona’s dominance in the large chair-side CAD/CAM system segment has contributed to majority of the company’s market share in recent years. However, Sirona has placed more emphasis recently on its intraoral scanners with multiple products on the market in order to compete with companies such as Align Technology. Align Technology is perhaps most famous for its orthodontic Invisalign system, an outlet that can use its popular iTero™ intraoral scanner.
Ivoclar Vivadent leads the CAD/CAM block and disc market as a result of its purchase of Wieland Dental in late 2012. It acquired a variety of disc options under the Zenotec and Zenostar names and as a result can offer its own milling system. However, a new company, Sagemax, has become the largest disc manufacturer in the country due to its product compatibility with multiple mills including those from Ivoclar Vivadent, Roland, Röders, Zirkonzahn, Amann Girrbach and Sirona. Other competitors in the CAD/CAM devices market include Glidewell Laboratories, 3M ESPE, Vita North America, DENTSPLY, 3Shape, Nobel Biocare, Carestream Dental, Dental Wings, and B&D Dental Technologies among others.
