The Global Burden of Disease 2017 report of the WHO reveals that tooth decay, or untreated dental caries in permanent teeth, is the most-common health condition in the world. This international organization estimates that oral diseases affect approximately 3.5 billion people and dental caries affect over 530 million children worldwide. It further states that oral cancer is one of the three most-common cancers in certain Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries. The growing burden of oral diseases will create a huge requirement for intraoral scanners worldwide.
In addition, the rising number of elderly people will help the intraoral scanners market witness robust growth in the years to come. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) predicts that the population of individuals aged 65 years or above will grow from 727 million in 2020 to approximately 1.5 billion by 2050. Tooth loss is one of the most-common signs of aging, with the elderly commonly seen with dentures or no teeth at all.
Academic institutions, dental clinics, dental laboratories, and hospitals use powder-free and powder-based intraoral scanners to image the insides of the mouth. In the coming years, end users will prefer powder-free scanners over powder-based variants as the former does not require impression material, offers better patient compliance, and provides improved image quality, by using advanced laser technology. In contemporary years, dental clinics are the largest users of these machines due to the expertise and specialization offered by them.
These devices are manufactured by 3Shape A/S, Guangdong Launca Medical Device Technology Co. Ltd., Densys3D Ltd., 3M Company, Planmeca Oy, 3DISC, The Straumann Group, and Carestream Health Inc. In recent years, these companies have focused on partnerships to expand their customer base. For instance, in June 2017, Dentsply Sirona Inc. entered into a five-year agreement with Pacific Dental Services LLC (PDS) to provide it and over 1,600 dentists-supported practices with its equipment and technology.
In the preceding years, the intraoral scanners market was dominated by the European region due to the massive burden of oral diseases, existence of leading medical device manufacturers, and well-developed healthcare infrastructure. The WHO states that 20–90% of the children aged 6 years suffer from tooth decay and 20–50% of the people within the age group of 65–74 years have lost their natural teeth in the European region. It also states that oral cancer is diagnosed in nearly 5–10 people per 100,000 people in the region at any given time.
Furthermore, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is expected to adopt a massive volume of intraoral scanners in the upcoming years, owing to the increasing aging population, mounting healthcare expenditure, rising number of dental clinics and practitioners, and growing prevalence of dental disorders in China, Japan, and India. For example, the WHO estimates that gum diseases and dental caries affect around 80% and 60% of the Indian population, respectively. Moreover, according to the Dental Council of India (DCI), India had 2.78 lakh registered dental surgeons as of August 2020.
Therefore, the growing prevalence of oral diseases and the rising elderly population will propel the use of intraoral scanners globally.
