2024 is here. And we have some interesting data for you to gleam over.
A recent study from DataHorizzon Research claims that the digital dentistry market is set to grow steadily at 9.7% annually and reach an estimated worth of $18.3 billion by 2032.
Image from Data Horizzon Research
Additionally, Benco Dental believes that the digital dentistry market will account for a significant share of the dental industry’s profit growth in the near future.
Digital Dentistry Valuation Image from Benco Dental
No surprises there, right? It's been said many, many times - ‘digital dentistry is the future’ and apparently yes. Yes, it is. And the future is now.
The main reason digital dentistry is set to grow so rapidly is the implementation of things like Artificial Intelligence (AI), 3D printing, and same-day dentistry, according to the researchers.
AI and 3D Printing are arguably the most significant hype topics this year, and we expect to see major developments in these in 2024. Just last year, we saw how much 3D printing in dentistry developed, with ‘3D printed crowns’ now being a topic of interest. This was never a topic 2 years ago or even considered possible in the mainstream.
Essentially, the belief is that digital technology helps you complete treatments more efficiently and accurately - meaning that you can see more patients daily and ultimately boost your overall revenue. It is a no-brainer to adopt digital, right?
Additionally, AI is already having a widespread impact on the dental industry, much like its impact on the world. At this stage, the primary use of AI in dentistry seems to be as a diagnostic aid for detecting a number of pathologies on 2D and 3D X-rays, including but not limited to dental caries, periodontal disease, and/or bone loss.
iDD cbct report diagnocat scan
But AI is poised to be so much more than that. We have seen with the likes of 3Shape Automate and Dentbird that AI can also be used for CAD. I will not be surprised if we see this develop even more this year with more and more indications being able to be designed by AI.
You can read more about the role of AI in dentistry in our blog here.
Same-day dentistry is also something that’s fast becoming more mainstream and, according to the researchers, expected by patients. I am not sure I would go that far but certainly as a long-term CEREC user, oftentimes my patients comment about how much they appreciate having a crown done in a single visit and have many times had patients travel out of town for this service. After all, if a dentist down the road can give you a solution in the same day, why would you wait 2 weeks?
This year is going to be exciting for dentistry no doubt. Adopting digital technology allows dentists to work smarter, not harder. As AI and automation handle time-intensive tasks like analytics and CAD, dentists free up bandwidth to take on more patients. Well, that is the theory.
These optimized workflows also let dentists focus their expertise on patient care. While technology handles the legwork, they can devote energy to critical thinking, relationship building, and providing personalized treatment.
You can count on iDD this year to keep you up to date with all the new advances in this exciting field of dentistry.
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