At its Capital Markets Day event in Amsterdam in May, Straumann shared its Vision 2020 project with investors and the media. Using existing data, new research and numerous interviews with experts in the field, Straumann's management team outlined key demographic, restorative and technological trends the dental profession will experience between now and 2020:
•As the cost of equipping and running dental practices increases, more practitioners will join group practices and chains; single-dentist practices will become less common. Consolidation will be even faster in the dental laboratory segment as new technologies and larger competitors impact smaller labs.
•The number of newly trained dental surgeons might be insufficient to cover growing demand.
•The face of dental care will be increasingly female as more women are training to become dentists than men. It's also expected that a growing proportion of female dentists will work part time for family reasons, which may accelerate the trend toward group practices.
•Digitalization will change workflows and advanced scanning technology will be more common and converge with surgical and prosthetic software.
•New materials and minimally invasive techniques will open the door for a larger number of patients who haven't been able to have—or have avoided—implant treatment.
•By 2015, an estimated 50 million implants will have been in place for longer than five years. Although implants are associated with high success rates, there will undoubtedly be a growing need for maintenance solutions, particularly for restorative components.
•The global market for implants is linked to general economic conditions, consumer sentiment and disposable income. Current forecasts suggest there will be little economic growth in Europe over the next few years. However, the outlook is more positive for the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) which have high growth potential. Asia, Latin America and the rest of the world are therefore expected to make up a larger proportion of the global implant market.
•Based on its penetration, quality of dental care, access to treatment, demographics and household income, North America is the world's largest market and represents a significant growth opportunity for the implant industry. Its proportional contribution to the global market is expected to remain more or less stable.
•Over a quarter of a billion people in the industrialized world are missing one or more teeth and yet only a small proportion of patients get implant solutions. There are also huge populations of patients in emerging economies where implant and CAD/CAM dentistry are not yet established.
•Because the fundamental drivers—acceptance, access and affordability—of the implant market are improving, the global market for implant, restorative and regenerative dentistry may grow as much as seven to nine percent by 2020.
Positioning for the Future
"Based on this information, Straumann will be expanding its implant-related educational opportunities and developing innovative technologies, products and services. We predict Straumann will be able to more than double its present size by 2020, both in terms of net revenue and employees," said Beat Spalinger, President and CEO.
The company has various initiatives in the works to capture growth opportunities and prepare for the future. It's reorganizing globally; expanding its sales force in the North American market; and addressing the Latin American market with its recent agreement to acquire a 49% stake in Neodent, the leading dental implant company in Brazil.
This reorganization has created some vacancies, one of which will be filled by Dr. Alexander Ochsner, PhD, who as of September, will be EVP Head of Sales, Asia Pacific. With 10 years of experience in the dental implant industry, Ochsner was previously Senior Vice President & General Manager for Nobel Biocare in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Vice President Europe & Asia Pacific for Zimmer.
