Perceptions of Premium Dental Implant Brands from Companies Such as Straumann and Astra Tech Have Improved in the First Half of 2010, According to Millennium Research Group

WALTHAM, Mass., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, perceptions of premium brands of dental implants, such as those from Straumann and Astra Tech, have improved in the first half of 2010 when compared to late 2009.  Companies with lower-priced brands saw slight declines in perception attribute scores for value-added offerings, such as enhanced customer service, new technologies, and training programs, according to MRG's Dental Perception Pulse.

"Dental physicians are recognizing the value-added services that the premium manufacturers provide. During the depressed economic conditions of 2009, the value of these services was overshadowed by the high price of premium dental implants," says Sana Siddiqui, Manager of the Dental division at MRG. "As the economy started recovering, attitudes towards premium brands improved. Despite these improvements however, many dental practitioners still intend on purchasing lower-priced products. Although some dentists are considering switching back to premium brands, they are not confident enough about economic recovery to make the change just yet."

In Europe, many low-priced domestic competitors that had scored well in Q3 2009 saw a decline in customer loyalty metrics in Q2 2010. During the height of the economic crisis, many European dental practitioners were driven to maintain profitability by reducing costs. Domestic low-priced competitors were therefore favored during that period; however, with the economy improving, the focus has started to shift away from purchasing price towards other product attributes. For example, dental practitioners noticed domestic firms lacked customer support services compared to foreign premium manufacturers. As a result, sentiments towards low-priced players became more negative, while views on premium manufacturers improved.

This trend was, however, much more prominent in Europe and Japan than in North America because of the heavy discounting of premium products. Many higher-priced manufacturers in the US offered significant discounts to help spur implant sales during the recession. In North America, despite the large impact of the economic crisis, perceived company performance did not shift too much among the key dental implant competitors but most premium brands saw an improvement on perceptions of pricing.

MRG's Dental Perception Pulse product surveys general dental practitioners, periodontists, prosthodontists, and oral maxillofacial surgeons twice a year to determine physician perceptions of dental implant companies and their products. Perception Pulse allows companies to see the derived importance of various perception attributes, defined as product and company features that influence loyalty behavior and purchasing decisions.

About Millennium Research Group

Millennium Research Group (www.MRG.net), a Decision Resources, Inc. company (www.DecisionResourcesInc.com), is the global authority on medical technology market intelligence and the leading provider of strategic information to the health care sector. The company provides specialized industry expertise through multi-client market research, ongoing Marketrack™ projects, customer behavior tracking, facility-level procedure forecasting, and customized solutions.

About Decision Resources, Inc.

Decision Resources, Inc. is a cohesive portfolio of companies that offers best-in-class, high-value information, and insights on important sectors of the healthcare industry. Clients rely on this analysis and data to make informed decisions. Please visit Decision Resources, Inc. at www.DecisionResourcesInc.com.

All company, brand, or product names contained in this document may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

SOURCE Millennium Research Group