OREANDA-NEWS. The global market for dental laboratories has witnessed significant developments in terms of technological advancements for diagnosing and treating a variety of dental issues, materials used for manufacturing dental prosthetics, and rising awareness among consumers about available treatment methods. The significant rise of affluent consumer base across emerging economies is driving the demand for the most advanced treatment methods and most reliable materials. The market is expected to witness growth at a healthy pace in the next few years as well.
 
As highlighted in a recent market research report published by Transparency Market Research, the global dental laboratories market, which held an opportunity of nearly US$12.9 bn in 2014, is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 4.9% over the period between 2015 and 2023. At this pace, the market is expected to rise to a valuation of US$20.2 bn by 2023.
 
This blog post attempts to unravel some of the key aspects of the global dental laboratories market:
  
How is the technological landscape of the global dental laboratories market evolving?
The global market for dental laboratories has steadily evolved from involving mostly manual operations for the fabrication of dental prosthesis such as crowns and bridges to the widespread usage of machines, CAD/CAM technology, and 3D imaging for the same. With the assistance of CAD/CAM technology, advanced dental laboratories across the globe are being able to reduce the time and manual work taken for design and manufacturing of most varieties of dental prosthesis. 3D imaging technologies in the field are enabling improved procedure planning and diagnosis of complex dental problems.
 
Research and development in the field of materials and manufacturing in the past few years have also helped make dental laboratory practices more reliable and treatments with longer-lasting results and high esthetic quotient. Recent research activities taking place in North America have demonstrated the possible development of variety of bioactive glass that can be used in tooth fillings. 
 
The bioactive nature of this glass, which is developed by engineers at the Oregon State University and which contains a mixture of oxides of silicon, calcium, and phosphorus, is expected to help reduce the risk of secondary tooth decays make fillings last for longer durations. The researchers are awaiting the results of clinical research for the material, which if found to be affective as the theoretic results, will help technicians incorporate it in corporate tooth fillings.
 
Which regional market is witnessing the most prominent growth in dental laboratories? 
Europe is presently the dominant regional market for dental laboratories, followed by North America. The market in Europe benefits from the large number of oral health programs run by government and non-profit private organizations that focus on raising awareness, enhancing patients’ knowledge about a variety of dental procedures and dental prosthetics, and delivering preventive treatments. However, factors such as a vast decline in the number of qualified dental technicians across key markets and increased preference to outsourcing lab wok to overseas laboratories are expected to hamper the overall growth of the Europe dental laboratories market in the next few years.
 
Instead, the Asia Pacific dental laboratories market is expected to outperform the Europe market over the period between 2015 and 2023. The substantial rise in dental tourism, a constant rise in number of dental laboratories, and presence of a large patient and resource pool in the region will have a notable positive impact on the growth of the Asia Pacific dental laboratories market in the next few years.