Tooth loss among the elderly population will create some growth in the $3 billion global dental implant market despite the recession, according to "Implant-Based Dental Reconstruction: World Dental Implant and Bone Graft Market, 3rd Edition" by premier life sciences market research publisher Kalorama Information, though not the impressive double digit growth rates of prior years.
"The numbers so far suggest that basic restorative work, preventive, day-to-day procedures will continue unabated by the economic downturn, though teeth-whitening and purely cosmetic dentistry will suffer," says Bruce Carlson, analyst for Kalorama Information. "These are big purchases and in a recession, tentative spending is contagious. That will taper the kind of fast growth we've seen here."
Simple demographics will force some growth in the market -- the U.S. elderly population that is projected to be twice as large in 2030 as it was in 2000 -- and tooth loss rates are high among this population, but there will still be customers who will have to put off implants. Economic problems are often compounded because many older Americans do not have dental insurance. Financing dental care for those elderly on a fixed income is particularly difficult compared with other age groups, and less than a quarter of older persons are covered by private dental insurance.
The recession is expected to pose a challenge for future sales of dental implants because the dental implant industry relies heavily on the ability of patients to pay for treatments out of their disposable income. Equally impacted is the dental bone graft market, which has a growth trajectory proportional to growth in the dental implant market. Kalorama forecasts both market sectors will experience gains of 5% in 2009, the lowest annual increase in more than a decade for either.
Since the last edition of Kalorama's "Implant-Based Dental Reconstruction," economic conditions have changed in the U.S. and world markets, but the industry has also changed: mergers, new products, an increase in computer design and trained dentists are driving growth, as is reimbursement. This latest study provides a detailed view of these changes and the state of the dental implant market today. For further information visit:> About Kalorama Information
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