Technology Advances, Consumer Preferences Transform European Dental Materials Markets

The demand to eliminate waste, enhance patient comfort, and ensure quality continues to drive technological advancements in the dental materials market.

By Kamran Zamanian, Ph.D., CEO, and Celine Mashkoor, market research analyst, iData Research Inc.

The dental materials market is ever-evolving. This trend has developed as a result of an incessant introduction of revolutionary products to the market, designed to improve workflow, eliminate waste, enhance patient comfort, and ensure quality. Products rarely stay on the market for an extensive period of time, as room for improvement always exists. This fast-paced and short-lived pattern continues to be relevant not only for a single segment, but rather spills over into the various dental materials markets.

Technological Trends And Shift In Preferences
The various dental material segments are all undergoing changes in regard to their packaged delivery methods. Traditionally, dental materials were strictly offered in a powder/liquid form that required hand-mixing and proved to be tedious, inaccurate, and messy. The inefficiencies of this method have paved the way for more modern delivery forms. First, there was the introduction of syringe-based solutions. However, recent concerns over cross-contamination resulting from use in multiple patients have caused wealthier regions to move towards a newer delivery form — capsulated doses. These doses are inherently more expensive yet prove to be clear and concise, easy to use, and designed strictly to serve a single patient. Another innovative measure overtaking the dental materials industry in terms of delivery is automatic mixing machines and syringes.

Germany and Scandinavia are now largely characterized as single-dose oriented markets with auto-mix options enjoying prominence, especially within the impression materials market. More cost-sensitive regions like Italy, Iberia, France, and the UK continue to be considered syringe-based markets, but in time the entire market across Europe is set to move towards the newer technology. The shift towards capsulated doses and auto-mix delivery forms will thereby push the market forward, largely because of the higher unit prices that correspond to these more modern delivery forms.

Dramatic Shift In Preference Towards Self-Etchants
Within the bonding agents market, the question of efficiency continues to be of concern. Over generations of adhesives, the number of components and steps involved has been diminishing. This evolution has arisen due to dentists’ needs to minimize their operating time. As a result, Europe is currently experiencing a shift away from conventional etchants, specifically total-etch agents, towards more efficient and innovative solutions. In wealthier regions, it has become common knowledge that self-etchants are more than satisfactory and greatly minimize dental processes. There has been a dramatic shift away from conventional etchants in the Nordic and Benelux regions, as well as in Germany. However, this shift has been lagging in regions such as the UK and Iberia, which prove to be more cost-sensitive and often trail behind the adoption curve. Instead, these regions demonstrate total-etch use that represents 80 to 90 percent of unit sales in Europe.

A more recent innovation that is set to acquire the total-etchants market share is the “universal” agents introduced in 2012. Universal bonding agents possess the flexibility to take on a total- or self-etch mode and are universal in all other aspects. The shift away from conventional to more modern self-etching and universal agents is set to drive the bonding agent market forward from approximately €130 million in 2013 to over €173 million in 2020. Soon enough, total-etch agents will be deemed outdated across Europe.

New Technological Innovations In The Impression Materials Market
The most likely segment to be impacted by novel innovations is the impression materials market. This market has been characterized by constant research and development, and manufacturers have been aiming to solve the shortcomings of various proposed material types. The shift from alginate to condensation silicone to addition silicone to more modern VPS (vinyl polysiloxane), hybrid, and polyether materials testifies to the constant evolution taking place within this market. More recent are innovations such as scannable impression materials, which allow dentists to immediately scan their mold and send a digital version to a lab. Also popular are auto-mix machines, which avoid waste and allow for more precise solutions with enhanced dimensional stability.

The intricacies involved in impression-taking with the current material options, the difficulty present in the removal process, and most importantly the lack of accuracy delivered in the resulting imprint have ultimately signaled the need for further improvements. Though Impregum products by 3M ESPE and various VPS and now VSXE (Identium Vinylsiloxanether) materials seem to be appealing, generating an accurate imprint of the intraoral cavity with ease still proves to be a challenge. These innovations have driven the market forward; however, the introduction of intraoral scanners will ultimately lead this market to decline.

Scanner technology will replace the messy waste and numerous discrepancies tolerated with the use of impression materials. This will consequently result in the contraction of the impression material market with a more aggressive decline in more innovative regions. Soon after, the impression material market will decline more drastically as the adoption of intraoral scanners spreads throughout Europe. As intraoral scanners become more affordable and user-friendly, it is expected that they will gain widespread acceptance and leave little demand for impression materials.

Growth trends by segment for the European dental materials market, 2010 – 2020

Changing Consumer Preferences Generate ‘Pull’ Demand For Restorations
The above sections have demonstrated how dental professionals’ concerns have paved the way for innovative technologies to solve existing inefficiencies. Also notable in supporting the restructuring of the market are consumer expectations and preferences. These preferences include increased emphasis on environmental concerns and safety hazards, greater importance on dental aesthetics, preference towards minimally invasive dentistry, and higher expectations placed on patient comfort.

The first three demands mentioned all point to the growth of resin-based materials. Amalgam, which was the original and long-lived inexpensive gold standard for restorative procedures (both direct and indirect), is now being phased down and even out in several regions across Europe. The initial catalyst for this shift has been the growing awareness and concern of mercury contained in amalgam, which has posed an environmental threat and potential safety hazard to patients. However, this alone does not suffice as the sole purpose for amalgam disappearing from the market. In line with this trend is the fact that consumers are placing more importance on the aesthetics of their teeth. This has been demonstrated through greater demand for whitening procedures and veneer placements.

Resin-based materials are now catering to this need and are growing to be offered in a variety of colors that guarantee the utmost aesthetic qualities. Composite resin and resin modified glass ionomer (RMGI) materials are further being promoted as customers are demanding less-invasive treatments that conserve more of their natural tooth. The growth pattern of the restorative market is consequently as follows: the amalgam market will be declining at a CAGR of over 13% across Europe over the course of the next 6 years, while composite resin products will be growing at a CAGR of over 8%. The shift in the market has been and will continue to be dramatic over the next decade, boosting the various restorative markets forward in terms of market value (this includes cements, core buildups, and filling materials). The overall restorative market will consequently grow and reach a value of over €800 million across Europe in 2020.

Product Demand Driven By Patient Comfort
The growing emphasis on patient comfort has been driving product demand in a couple of dental material sectors, notably the impression and anesthesia markets. In regard to impression materials, patients’ complaints mostly pertain to the unpleasant taste and texture of the material, the annoying wait while the imprint sets (which often necessitates retakes), and the forcefulness and apparent difficulty in removing the material from their mouth. The dissatisfaction with the taste has led to the introduction of various flavors that provide a more pleasing experience for the customer. The difficulty in removal, however, has led to chemically altered materials like “soft” polyether that are removed with the use of a simple instrument. As mentioned previously, the tedious process of impression taking has consequently led to the development of intraoral scanners, which will soon deem impression materials obsolete.

Another market particularly impacted by patient demand for comfort is the anesthesia market. Patients’ complaints about the ineffectiveness and long waiting period before the anesthetic sets in has paved the way for the introduction of various alternative anesthetic drugs. Of particular importance now is the movement from lidocaine drugs towards articaine use in dental clinics. Numerous clinical trials have concluded that articaine sets in faster and performs at a deeper and more effective level relative to other local anesthetics on the market. This has caused the contraction of the lidocaine market in favor of the articaine market. In markets like the UK lidocaine still commands the majority of dental anesthetic sales, with approximately 60% of the market. However, across Europe articaine now represents over 50% of the market, with dominating prevalence especially in Germany, where articaine was originally conceived.

Unit sales by drug type for the European dental anesthetic market, 2013 and 2020

Strong drivers of technological advancements in this market include dentist dissatisfaction and the need for more efficient and effective materials. In addition, dentists’ need to keep their patients satisfied in order to guarantee repeat business has led to a more amplified focus on consumer demands. Consumer expectations mainly dictate a comfortable, quick, and smooth patient experience with a quality end product that does not necessitate a return due to failure. It is these two groups of clients (one direct and the other indirect) that have fueled the innovative nature of the dental materials industry and have led to vigorous research and development efforts that have generated cutting edge products like universal bonding agents, intraoral scanners, and top-of-the-line tooth-like restorative materials.

Competitors Shaping The Market
Those who maintain the leading position in the market have found success due to their vigorous R&D efforts towards the development of cutting edge products. Consistently found at the frontier of innovation is 3M ESPE, which has unsurprisingly emerged as the market leader in just about every dental material market. Their Scotchbond Universal Adhesive is said to represent the “first truly universal adhesive” introduced to the market. Its universality is not restricted to a single aspect but instead is applicable to its capabilities to be a total- or self-etch agent, to be used in both direct and indirect procedures, and to bond to all surfaces including enamel, dentin, glass ceramic, zirconia, noble and non-precious alloys, and composites. This product has paved the way for other competitors that now offer universal agents, like Ivoclar Vivadent and Kuraray.

3M ESPE is also leading the direct restorative market and impression materials market. Of particular importance is its Impregum Soft Polyether product, which has a chemical component unknown to other manufacturers and allows 3M ESPE to basically monopolize the polyether market. In anticipation of the intraoral scanner takeover, 3M ESPE was also one of the first companies to design a system of their own.  In 2012, 3M EPSE announced its advanced digital impression system, the 3M True Definition Scanner.

Additional Information is Available
iData’s series on the markets for dental materials covers: dental cements, impression materials, direct restorative materials (e.g., composites), bonding agents, core buildup materials, and dental local anesthetics. The full reports provide a comprehensive analysis including units sold, market value, forecasts, and a detailed competitive market shares and analysis of major players’ in each market and segment. Countries covered include U.S. and 15 countries in Europe.

About iData Research
iData Research (www.idataresearch.com) is an international market research and consulting group focused on providing market intelligence for medical device, dental, and pharmaceutical companies. iData covers research in: diabetes drugs, diabetes devices, dental, anesthesiology, wound management,  orthopedics, cardiovascular, dental, endoscopy, gynecology, and more.