At year-end 2015, the estimated size of Russian dental implants market amounted to US$ 72 mln. As estimated by Abercade experts, the recent years are characterized by a varying market behavior driven by multiple factors. In turn, these factors have influenced product demand shaping and purchasing capacity.
Dental implants are usually placed to patients in private dental clinics and, as a rule, at the customers own expense. While in 2013 the Russian dental implants market hit almost US$120 mln, by 2015 it dropped by US$ 50 mln (or by 40% in relative numbers) in light of the deterioration in the economic status of Russians. In physical terms, the demand decline rates in the period of 2013-2015 were a bit lower (35%), accounting for 540 thousand implants by 2015. In view of the enormous diversity of dental implant brands, their multiple types and shapes, a qualitative market research looked problematic. To tackle this task, our company experts have developed a unique technique for precise market analysis. As of today, the dental implant market comprises:
• 56 producers;
• approx. 300 brands;
• above 2.3 thousand of implant modifications.
In Russia, the dental implants market is import-dependent with a 93% share of shipments from other countries (expressed in physical terms). Moreover, considering the fact that 70% of the so-called “Russian” implants are manufactured abroad, the proportion of implants which are really made in Russia makes up only a few percent of the overall market size. Whether market launch of a particular dental implant will become a success story, depends primarily on the product information campaign and secondarily – on its qualitative characteristics.
According to the survey conducted by Abercade, the type of coating and material used for implant manufacture have only indirect effects on the cost of ready-made products, and implant dimensions have no impact on pricing policy within the same manufacturing company. A pattern of the most common implants could be roughly described as follows: made of medical grade titanium TiGr4 (Grade 4) with SLA-finished (grit-blasted and acid-etched) surface. Dental implants are designed for a two-step placement and their apical portion has a concavity. The apical segment itself has a domelike design and the implant body is conic. As regards metric parameters, the most popular implants are 10.-10.9 mm long (29% of all implants) and their diameter varies within 3-3.9 mm (44%).
Over the last years, the concentration of market players has reduced substantially as proved by a decline in the Herfindahl-Hirschman index: from 1970 in the year of 2008 to 275 by 2014. It means that some major players have entered the market and strengthened significantly their positions in this market segment. For example, MIS Implants Technologies Ltd. which entered the market in 2010, acquired 6% of the overall market volume by 2015, while its share of sales reached 5%. At the same time, Megagen Implant Co., Ltd. came to the market in 2011 and already by 2015 its sales hit 4% of all implants sold at the market.
According to the results of 2015, core players of the dental implants market include such companies as Nobel Biocare Holding AG, Friadent GmbH (DENTSPLY International), Osstem Implant Co., Ltd., MIS Implants Technologies Ltd., and Astra Tech AB. In fact, their aggregate share makes up 50% of all implants sold in Russia.
Irrespective of the complicated economic situation in Russia, a near-term increase in the market size is expected to reach the consumption values of 2013 when the absolute peak numbers were achieved. Customer demand is considered to be a key growth driving factor in view of the increasing proportion of the aged population group. However, by virtue of economic factors the consumers demand could shift to the “economy class” implants, whose share at year-end 2015 already made up 48% of the total market volume.
Source: Abercade
