Dental implant market growth rates slow due to financial instability and unfavorable reimbursement, according to Millennium Research Group

June 8, 2009—Waltham, Massachusetts—According to Millennium Research Group’s (MRG’s) new Asia Pacific Markets for Dental Implants 2009 report, implant market growth rates are slowing as financial instability continues to linger and patients remain reluctant to invest in elective procedures. The high cost of dental implant procedures and unfavorable reimbursement in Australia, Japan, and South Korea will continue to limit market growth in the near-term; however, the Asia Pacific dental implant market will start to recover beginning in 2010, alleviating the downward pressure on procedure volumes and allowing for historical double digit market growth rates to resume.

The study shows that the Australian dental implant market is experiencing more fallout from the economic downturn in 2009 than it did in 2008 due to patients’ dwindling disposable incomes. As both Japan’s and South Korea’s economies are heavily export-dependent, rising unemployment rates have reduced disposable incomes, resulting in patient hesitation to undergo any elective procedures, such as dental implant treatment.

“Unfavorable reimbursement structures are hindering the markets in Australia, Japan, and South Korea; these countries don’t have a public reimbursement policy for dental implant treatment,” says Kevin Flewwelling, Manager of MRG’s Orthopedics and Dental divisions at MRG. “This forces patients to pay for treatment out of their own pockets. Although private insurance does exist in some of the markets, coverage is inconsistent.”

Other options of dental implant treatment, such as bridges, are less expensive and sometimes covered by reimbursement programs. As a result, many patients often choose these alternatives or forego dental treatment altogether. Despite the negative impact of the global financial crisis in 2009, annual dental implant and final abutment unit growth in Asia Pacific continues to increase at higher rates compared to the US and European dental implant markets and will continue to do so through 2013.

MRG’s Asia Pacific Markets for Dental Implants 2009 report provides coverage of key industry competitors, including Astra Tech, BIOMET 3i, Dentium, DENTSPLY Friadent, DIO Implant, Japan Medical Materials, MegaGen, Nobel Biocare, OSSTEM Implant, Straumann, Zimmer Dental, and many more.