Oral Care Products & Other Dental Consumables Market (Dental Biomaterials, Specialty Products, & Restoratives) Current Trends, Opportunities & Global Forecasts to 2016

The market for oral care products (or dental consumables) consists of biomaterials, prostheses, endo, ortho and periodontic products, restoratives, alloys, cements, bonding agents, impression materials, preventives, disposables, and other products. The global market for these products was valued at $13 billion in 2011 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6% from 2011 to 2016.

The increasing ageing population across the globe and a concurrent increase in demand for enhanced oral care offers huge opportunities for product innovation and differentiation to dental care providers. Most providers practice direct customer interaction to improve sales and increase awareness towards their products as well as overall oral health. Moreover, increasing awareness in the developing nations about oral hygiene and new product developments has also given a boost to the market for dental consumables. Rising demand for aesthetic dentistry and growing dental tourism further ensures growth of this market in coming years.

Emerging technologies will have a great impact over the overall growth of the market, as these will help reduce the overall turnaround time for dental procedures and also improve the efficiency of practitioners. For instance, introduction of CAD/CAM technology has considerably reduced the designing time for dental prostheses like crowns and bridges and 3D imaging techniques have improved patient diagnosis and procedure planning. While lack of consumer awareness in developing economies may hinder market growth, industry players still have immense growth opportunities due to less stringent regulations with respect to introduction of new and advanced products and also their pricing. Increasing insurance coverage in the developed countries and rising income levels in developing nations like India and China are also expected to contribute significantly to the growth of this market.

Europe forms the largest regional market for dental consumables, marked by the presence of numerous market leaders based in this region and a large ageing population that can afford expensive dental procedures. Americas hold the largest share in this market with significant developments and growth in the dental industry and a huge number of dental manufacturers operating in various segments with a global presence. Asian countries like India, China, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore are likely to provide significant growth opportunities due to the rising population and increasing per capita incomes of the large middle class populations. Further, the rising awareness levels about dental & oral health and hygiene will ensure a constant increase in the consumer population opting for dental services.

Major players in the global oral care products market include Dentsply International (U.S.), Ivoclar Vivadent (Liechtenstein), Danaher Corporation (U.S.), Heraeus Dental (Germany), 3M-ESPE (U.S.), and GC Corporation (Japan).