Dental Products in China

Demand to exhibit doubledigit growth through 2012

Demand for dental products in China is expected to climb 11.0 percent per year through 2012 to 21.5 billion, driven by the increasing number of Chinese who are using dental products to improve their appearance and the growing popularity of professional dental care. Rising personal income levels will make dental products more affordable to consumers while government programs will increase awareness of the benefits of good oral care.

Growth in professional dental products to outpace larger consumer market

Consumer dental products -- including toothpaste, whitening products, dental rinses and mouthwash, dental floss, and denture products -- account for about three-quarters of overall Chinese dental product demand. Toothpaste dominates the consumer dental product segment.

However, the fastest growth is forecast in lower volume products, especially floss, whitening products and dentures, with sales of each rising more than 15 percent per year through 2012. In particular, teenagers and college students, who cannot afford professional whitening treatments, will drive sales of consumer whitening products. Floss and dentures will benefit from increasing oral care awareness.

Professional dental product demand in China will outpace consumer dental product advances. Market gains will be spurred by an increasing number of dental visits per year, as well as a shift from functional, and repair and restorative products to cosmetic procedures using more aesthetic material. In particular, individuals who have stained teeth are increasingly likely to undergo procedures such as the application of ceramic veneers. Cosmetic procedures are becoming increasingly important to dental professionals in China, as these treatments are proving popular among consumers and can be highly profitable for dental service providers. In addition, as income levels rise, more people in China are able to afford orthodontic products, which will boost professional dental product demand through 2012.

Among repair and restorative products, ceramic crowns and bridges will achieve the fastest growth. Moreover, an increase in overall dental visits and rising demand for a range of dental procedures are leading to growth in the number of dental clinics in China.

Huge China market attracts foreign companies

The current strong growth in both consumer and professional dental product sales in China is being driven primarily by demand in urban areas. Urban China typically has much higher disposable income levels, as well as better personal hygiene awareness, than the lessdeveloped countryside. Going forward, continuing urbanization, as well as government and private efforts to promote hygiene awareness and economic growth in rural areas, will boost per capita consumption of dental products in China.

The huge potential of the Chinese market for dental products has attracted a variety of foreign companies and unlike in many industries in China these companies have garnered a sizeable share of the domestic market. Colgate-Palmolive and Procter & Gamble were the top providers of dental products in China in 2007, followed by Unilever Group, Masson Group, Guangxi Aoqili and Tianjin Lantian Group.

Study coverage

Details on these and other key findings are in a new 229-page Freedonia industry study, Dental Products in China, available for $5100. It presents historical demand data (1997, 2002 and 2007) plus forecasts for 2012 and 2017 by material, product and region. In addition, the study assesses key demographic and market environment factors, evaluates company market shares and profiles more than 30 industry competitors.

Introduction

The Freedonia Group Incorporated is a leading international industry study/database company. Founded in 1985, Freedonia now publishes over 125 studies each year, covering such areas as building materials, chemicals, health care, packaging, pharmaceuticals, plastics, security and many other industries. Studies cover entire industry sectors as well as key niche markets. Each study includes such valuable intelligence as growth markets and products, market share, product analyses and forecasts, market analyses and forecasts, and company profiles.
This study analyzes the dental product industry in China, and focuses on dental supplies and the materials used to produce dental products.

Consumer dental products covered in the study include toothpaste, whitening products, mouthwash and dental rinses, dental floss and denture products. Professional products covered in the study include repair and restorative products (crowns and bridges, dentures, implants and fillings); orthodontic appliances (brackets and wires, and aligners); cosmetic products (dental veneers and whitening products); process materials (adhesives and cements, impression materials, bone grafting, and other) and preventative products (pit and fissure sealants, prophy paste, fluoride treatments, and others, such as mouth guards). Raw materials (e.g., metals, chemicals, ceramics and minerals, and polymers) used in the production of various dental supplies are also discussed and quantified.

Excluded from the scope of the study are professional equipment such as air compressors and vacuum systems, sterilizers, chairs and hand instruments; and consumer products such as toothbrushes and plaque

removers. The Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau are excluded from the scope of this study. Both Hong Kong and Macau remain, to a great extent, economically independent from the rest of the country, even though they returned to the People's Republic of China in the late 1990s. Taiwan, which is economically independent from the rest of China and not under the administration of the central government, is also excluded from the scope of this study.

Historical data (1997, 2002 and 2007) and forecasts to 2012 and 2017 are provided in current yuan for each product. Volume data (in units) is also provided. The term sales -- used interchangeably with market, demand and consumption -- is defined as all shipments from Chinese plants, plus imports minus exports. The renminbi (or RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China, and the base unit of the renminbi is the yuan. The term yuan is used throughout this report when referring to currency amounts.

In addition, major dental product manufacturers active in China are identified and profiled, and the key competitive variables are discussed.

The entire report is framed within the Chinese dental product industry's economic and market environments, and variables affecting dental product supply and demand in the country (such as government plans and regulations, personal income levels and consumer expenditures, population trends, and overall economic performance) are emphasized. Dental product market share data by enterprise presented in the Industry Structure section is estimated based on consultations with multiple sources. Tabular details may not always add to totals due to rounding.
Economic and demographic indicators presented in this study were obtained from the Freedonia Group Composites dated June 2008 and the Freedonia Group China Indicators dated September 2008. A wide variety of primary and secondary sources were also used in the compilation of this report. These include the China Stomatological Association, the China Toothpaste Industry Association, the China Association for Standardization and Chinese government statistical agencies (principally the National Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Commerce).

In addition, data and background information were obtained from various news and trade publications, including Information on Stomatology in China and the Chinese Journal of Stomatology . Corporate annual reports, product literature and unpublished data obtained through personal contacts were also used in framing the industry and market environments, and as input for market size assessments.

Statistics from various sources were carefully examined during the preparation of this study, and contradictions and discrepancies among data sources were noted. The accuracy and reliability of figures from each source were evaluated, and adjustments were made where deemed necessary. This was done in order to arrive at a consistent set of dental product industry statistics, which are based on the best available information at the time of publication. As a result, the data presented here may differ, sometimes substantially, from figures issued by official governmental sources.