Dental Industry    Market Reports

The 4th Quarter 2009 U.S. Dental Patient Survey Report provides insight into the impact of the current economic situation on patients’ dental visit patterns, as well as changes to patient insurance coverage. Based on data collected as part of AFG Research’s U.S. Patient Dental Survey, a representative sample of 500 U.S. adults was surveyed during the month of December 2009. The sample was designed to maintain nationwide representation among U.S. adults (aged 18 and over). The last economic crisis has impacted the majority of American industries - the dental industry included. This report aims to address the extent to which patterns in dental visits have shifted, as well as the impact of the economy on patients’ insurance coverage. A significant proportion of U.S. adults surveyed indicated that the economic situation over the past 12 months had affected their dental visits in some way. Many among patients reduced the frequency of their dental visits. This report will help dental manufacturers and other dental industry participants in understanding the circumstances facing U.S. dental patients, the changes that have occurred in the dental market due to the economic situation and the impact this may have on the dental manufacturers’ business in 2010 and beyond. | more ...

The 4th Quarter 2009 U.S. Home Dental Care Products Report provides insight into the U.S. market for the following product categories: toothpaste, power toothbrush, manual toothbrush, mouthwash, dental floss, dry mouth oral moisturizer, canker sore treatment, cold sore treatment and take-home whitening / bleaching treatment. Based on data collected as part of AFG Research’s U.S. Patient Dental Survey, a representative sample of 500 U.S. adults was surveyed during the month of December 2009. The report aims to assess usage levels (consumer market penetration) for each of the nine home dental product categories included in the scope of this research. Additionally, both market awareness (aided) and market share are estimated for approximately 50 leading dental brands currently available in the U.S. home dental care consumer market. Dental manufacturers and others in the dental industry will be able to further assess home dental care product category usage as well as brand awareness / market share in each of the product categories included. | more ...

Multiple leading and lagging economic indicators are showing signs that the U.S. economy is stabilizing and moving towards the direction of gradual recovery. Serious concerns however remain about the pace and scope of the recovery with many predicting a lackluster recovery over the next year. The U.S. unemployment rate, which has reached a seemingly stable level of around 9.5 to 9.7% in the third quarter of 2009, should be a concern for the dental industry particularly, as job losses are generally related to the loss of business activity in the dental practice. Given recent and significant productivity gains and taking into account the lag that is usually observed between post-recessionary expansion and employment growth, unemployment is not expected to decrease before the end of 2009. This will likely have an adverse impact on both dental benefits and employer-sponsored dental plans. The 3rd quarter 2009 edition of OMNIDEN^TM - AFG Research’s U.S. dental omnibus - which included several questions designed to gather dentists’ opinions regarding the current state of the U.S. economy and the way their practice has been affected by the current economic environment also introduces two measures for tracking both the current and expected state of dental practice activity: the “AFG Research current dental activity index” and the “AFG Research dental activity expectations index”. Overall business conditions, as well as practice activity, revenues and profitability are perceived to be similar this quarter to the levels measured in the 2nd quarter of 2009. A majority of U.S. dentists expect however that overall business conditions and practice activity will ‘significantly improve’, ‘somewhat improve’ or ‘remain the same’ over the next 6 months. | more ...

AFG Research gathered product usage and attitudes among U.S. dentists across 6 consumable and 8 equipment categories. Results are made available as part of twelve new U.S. Market Snapshot Series™ 3rd Quarter 2009 reports. Specifically, AFG Research probed into U.S. dentists' attitudes towards various manufacturers, measured manufacturer brand usage, estimated the current penetration rate for each equipment category and estimated the market share and/or share of procedures for each manufacturer included in this research. The rate of growth for each equipment category was also estimated. Additional information about each of the twelve new U.S. Market Snapshot Series™ 3rd Quarter 2009 reports is available below:

• U.S. Market Snapshot Series™: Chairside CAD/CAM

• U.S. Market Snapshot Series™: CBCT & Digital Panoramic X-Ray

• U.S. Market Snapshot Series™: Digital X-Ray

• U.S. Market Snapshot Series™: Digital Impression Systems

• U.S. Market Snapshot Series™: Electric Handpieces

• U.S. Market Snapshot Series™: Hard/soft & Soft Tissue Lasers

• U.S. Market Snapshot Series™: Composite Materials

• U.S. Market Snapshot Series™: Flowable Composite Materials

• U.S. Market Snapshot Series™: Dental Adhesives

• U.S. Market Snapshot Series™: Dental Impression Materials

• U.S. Market Snapshot Series™: Dental Cements

• U.S. Market Snapshot Series™: Pit and Fissure Sealants

Some leading and lagging economic indicators are showing signs that the U.S. economy has stabilized in the 2nd quarter of 2009. Serious concerns remain however about the pace and scope of the recovery with many predicting a lackluster recovery during the 2nd half of 2009. Against this backdrop, there is growing optimism among U.S. dentists as indicated in the 2nd quarter 2009 edition of OMNIDEN^TM - AFG Research’s U.S. dental omnibus - which included several questions designed to gather dentists’ opinions regarding the current state of the U.S. economy and the way their practice has been affected by the current economic environment. It appears most evident as approximately one half of dentists (54%) surveyed are now expecting the economy to improve over the next 6 months, compared to only 20% in the 1st quarter of 2009. Their growing optimism is also reflected in the expected change in the volume of multiple dental procedures. Many dentists expect the volume of many procedures to remain the same or become slightly higher in the next 6 months, even for indirect procedures which were the most impacted during the downturn. The research also confirmed three underlying segments among U.S. dental practices: "On the edge", "Bandwagon" and "Robust". Perceptions of the U.S. economy, procedure volume (past and forecasted), as well as dental equipment / technology purchases are clearly different among each of these three segments. | more ...

The 1st quarter 2009 edition of OMNIDEN^TM - AFG Research’s U.S. dental omnibus - included several questions designed to gather dentists’ opinions regarding the current state of the U.S. economy and the way their practice has been affected by the current economic environment. Results for these questions are made available as part of a report titled: “Dentists and the U.S. Economy 1st Quarter 2009”. The report will help dental manufacturers and distributors to: a) assess the current business environment of the industry, b) better understand the ways in which dentists across the U.S. are coping with changes in the economic environment, c) identify key opportunities for adapting their business to better address the needs of their customers, and d) identify future trends and developments to better forecast business activity in 2009. The research points to three underlying segments among U.S. dental practices: "On the edge", "Bandwagon" and "Robust". Perceptions of the U.S. economy, procedure volume (past and forecasted), as well as dental equipment / technology purchases are clearly different among each of these three segments. | more ...

The 4th quarter 2008 edition of OMNIDEN^TM - AFG Research’s U.S. dental omnibus - included several questions designed to gather dentists’ opinions regarding the current state of the U.S. economy and the way their practice has been affected by the current economic environment. Results for these questions are made available as part of a report titled: “Dentists and the U.S. Economy 4th Quarter 2008”. The report will help dental manufacturers and distributors to: a) assess the current business environment of the industry, b) better understand the ways in which dentists across the U.S. are coping with changes in the economic environment, c) identify key opportunities for adapting their business to better address the needs of their customers, and d) identify future trends and developments to better forecast business activity in 2009. | more ...

The "U.S. Dental Practice Management Software Market 4th Quarter 2008” report provides an overview of the Practice Management Software market and an outlook on market trends for the next 6 months. The report is based on data collected from a representative random sample of 250 dentists (GPs and specialists) across the U.S. during Q3 2008 and provides the most current and in-depth analysis of recent developments in this rapidly evolving product category. The report will help software providers and dental manufacturers to: a) identify the size of the market and the market share of various software vendors, b) assess the strengths and weaknesses of all major brands in the category *as reported by end-users*, c) better understand pricing perceptions for key systems, etc. | more ...

The "U.S. Bite Registration Material Market 4th Quarter 2008” report provides an overview of the bite registration market. The report is based on data collected from a representative random sample of 250 dentists (GPs and specialists) across the U.S. during Q4 2008 and provides the most current and in-depth analysis of recent developments in the product category. The report will help dental manufacturers to: a) identify the size of the market and the market share of various manufacturers, b) assess the strengths and weaknesses of all major brands in the category, c) better understand price / value perceptions for various products / manufacturers, etc. | more ...