Dental implants already hold a substantial 18% share of the global dental device market, and are also expected to have one of the highest growth rates amongst all dental device submarkets, according to Research and Markets, citing its report on "Global Dental Implants Market (2010-2015)."
“This is primarily because dental implants offer an effective treatment for [tooth loss] and because of the rising demand for cosmetic dentistry worldwide across all age groups,” states a Research and Markets spokesperson.
The report forecasts that the global dental implants market is expected to grow from $3.2 billion in 2010 to $4.2 billion in 2015 – a 6% annual growth rate from 2010 to 2015. Europe currently forms the world's largest market for dental implants with a 42% market share, and is also expected to have the highest at 7%, from 2010 to 2015.
Global Dental Implants Market notes that while the lack of consumer awareness in developing economies might hinder market growth, the dental travel industry “still has immense growth opportunities as merely 2% to 3% of the global edentulous population has already received dental implant treatment so far.”
The aging baby boomer population in developed nations offers a high growth opportunity, according to Research and Markets, which cites disposable income and increased need for dental care due to longer life expectancy.
The high costs in general of dental treatment, along with the cap insurance companies place on dental coverage, are also seen as driving the growth in dental tourism in general.
“People are increasingly seeking treatment at a fraction of the cost abroad as the reputation of highly skilled dentists and state of the art technologies are reported,” the health and fitness Web site Helium.com reported this week.
“Dental travel is a fast-growth segment,” agreed Anne Marie Moebes, executive vice president of Well-Being Travel (516-624-0500 ext. 6000), a company which has taken the lead in bringing together the distribution system of travel agents and travel suppliers to ensure the travel side of this growing business is handled professionally and seamlessly.
“The travel industry needs to be educated about how many people are and will be traveling for dental, cosmetic and other more major medical procedures, and about how to handle their special needs,” she said.
In his authoritative book on Medical travel, “Patients Beyond Borders,” author Josef Woodman’s case studies illustrate the dynamics of the dental travel market for implants and care in general.
One woman from California was quoted a price of $6,600 for a tooth extraction, two implant and two crowns. This woman did not have dental insurance (its very limited coverage for dental implants notwithstanding) and she got the same treatment in Costa Rica for $2,600 from a U.S. trained oral surgeon who used state of the art materials and instruments, according to Woodman.