China displays its global dental might

LEIPZIG, Germany: In the third financial quarter of this year, hints of improvement in the US dental market were welcomed by the world’s largest dental companies; however, it was China that stole the show. Chinese health authorities began buying medicines and medical devices in bulk in 2019, leveraging volume-based procurement (VBP) to reduce the price of treatments in the country. VBP of orthodontic devices is set to begin early next year, when the second round for dental implants is also expected. As the foreshadow of these developments effectively darkened third-quarter earnings reports, it