Implant market growth rates in Asia-Pacific countries are slowing as financial instability continues to linger and patients remain reluctant to invest in elective procedures, according to a new report by Millennium Research Group (MRG).
The high cost of dental implant procedures and unfavorable reimbursement in Australia, Japan, and South Korea will continue to limit market growth in the near term; however, the Asia-Pacific dental implant market will start to recover beginning in 2010, alleviating the downward pressure on procedure volumes and allowing for historical double-digit market growth rates to resume, MRG stated in a press release.
The report, "Asia Pacific Markets for Dental Implants 2009," shows that the Australian dental implant market is experiencing more fallout from the economic downturn in 2009 than it did in 2008 due to patients' dwindling disposable incomes. As both Japan's and South Korea's economies are heavily export-dependent, rising unemployment rates have reduced disposable incomes, resulting in patient hesitation to undergo any elective procedures, such as dental implant treatment.
"Unfavorable reimbursement structures are hindering the markets in Australia, Japan, and South Korea; these countries don't have a public reimbursement policy for dental implant treatment," said Kevin Flewwelling, manager of MRG's orthopedics and dental divisions, in the release. "This forces patients to pay for treatment out of their own pockets."
Despite the negative impact of the global financial crisis in 2009, annual dental implant and final abutment unit growth in Asia-Pacific continues to increase at higher rates compared to the U.S. and European dental implant markets and will continue to do so through 2013.
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