Here are the main points from our guest post on the current state of the dental implant market at the Dental Implant Blog:

• The market for implant, restorative, and regenerative dentistry, was valued at £3.2 billion in 2011. The market for dental implants alone was valued at £2 billion.
• Dental implants are a luxury product in economic terms and the market has been negatively affected by the global recession. 2009 was the first year the global market contracted. Since then it has stablised except in Europe where it continued to decline in 2011.
• Europeans consume a larger value of dental implants than any other region. See graph.
• The three main implant producers are Straumann, Nobel Biocare and Dentsply. (It is estimated Dentsply has 11% of the global market since it acquired Astra Tech in 2011)
• Recession has left an opening for some low cost manufacturers, some Isreali and South Korean companies seem to be taking full advantage.

Business Week have also published an article today validating my research and analysis. The article makes the following points:

• European consumers are putting off dental spending due to cash shortages. They are delaying procedures and opting for cheaper treatments.
• Governments are also spending less on the provision of dental care. The Irish government for example has spent €100m less on dental spending each year since 2010.
• Shares in implant manufacturers Nobel Biocare and Straumann have plunged 90% and 67% respectively from their 2007 highs.

As I posted implant dentistry is not recession proof and in fact it looks like dentistry as a whole is not recession proof.