Dr. Ratnadeep Patil, CEO and Managing Director of Smile Care Expert Dental Center discussed trends in the dentistry sector in India.
Lightly edited excerpts from the discussion:
On the Indian dental market today: Dr. Patil said that India as well as China were the fastest growing dental markets. The overall market size of the Indian dental market is approximately $2 billion, with a market growth rate of 20% annually. This growth is driven by rising incomes of current dental consumers, better availability of services and a larger population that can afford dental services.
On automation in dentistry practiced in India: Dr. Patil said that automation is not new and has been around in India for the past 10-15 years. But, within the last five years, there is a positive trend towards computer-aided design in dentistry. The advent of cone-beam CT scans, which are specifically developed for dental purposes, have enabled many surgeries such as implant or bone grafting. With the help of these new technologies, “we can also now design some prosthetics or replace some missing portions of the teeth and jaw bones.”
On how these new technologies will affect dentistry in India: Dr. Patil noted that the new trends are well-received by patients, but patient affordability, is a major challenge. The learning curve to adapt and incorporate new technologies could be steep for older generations of dentists. Dental practitioners will need to revisit their patient protocols as well as look at using technology to reduce time and get more precision.
Dr. Patil said, “Automation is expensive, especially when it is innovative and new, since it is often imported, and this high cost makes its adoption challenging. I think manufacturing of these new technologies locally will change how India will adopt these in the future.”
