Digitization and Improving Efficiency of Diagnosis and Restoration will Spur Market Growth
Dental practices and dental laboratories in the United Kingdom have recognized the importance of adopting digital dental solutions. Digital dental solutions are recording substantial growth and are expected to continue expansion as business models and significant value offerings continue to evolve in tandem with the fast-paced world of connected health. Digital dental solutions are also increasingly being utilized in diagnosis and restorative dentistry, especially in implant and oral treatment planning. Despite higher efficiency and clinical effectiveness, the high cost of digital dental solutions has been one of the key market growth restraints, especially in solo practices. Dental practices and laboratories are moving toward digitization of their practices in order to improve the workflow efficiency and increase the accuracy. This drives the demand for digital dental solutions such as CAD/CAM solutions and digital imaging systems.
On their part, vendors are launching new devices and scanners that will meet the needs of different types of dental practices and their workloads. Digital dental solutions also enable dental practices to decrease the turnaround time of devices manufactured in dental laboratories and improve diagnosis and impression accuracy while reducing cost in the long run. The biggest challenge is posed by the higher cost of digital dental solutions compared to the existing solutions in the market. As more than 75% of all dental practices are solo practices, affordability becomes a key criterion for adoption. Moreover, interoperability and software platforms of digital systems should be compatible with each other, thereby enabling smoother workflows in dental practices and dental laboratories. The high investment cost and capital expenditure involved in hardware procurement will continue to be the biggest challenge for adoption in the near term (three to five years).
In terms of patient awareness, adoption of digital platforms by patients for education and communication is growing rapidly. On the other hand, the adoption of digital technologies by dentists or dental professionals is slower compared to patients and public. The demand from patients is likely to push dentists to adopt more digital technologies in order to reduce the waiting time and improve the aesthetic options provided in the field of dentistry.
Research Highlights
This research service provides an overview on the digital dental solutions market in the United Kingdom and provides a four-year forecast from 2016 to 2020. The uniqueness of this study lies is that it provides insights gathered from more than 350 end users, including dental practitioners and dental laboratory technicians. The segments include intraoral scanners, extraoral scanners, intraoral imaging, extraoral imaging, CAD/CAM Milling systems, and 3D printers.
