The South and Central America Teledentistry market is expected to reach US$ 77.13 million by 2027 from US$ 21.66 million in 2019. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 15.7% from 2020 to 2027.
A rise in government participation in the telemedicine industry and a boost in medical tourism are expected to drive the market. However, the market growth is likely to be hindered owing to the lack of technological and financial development in South and Central America.
Teledentistry represents an alternative to provide good quality telemonitoring, especially for people in maximum need, at an affordable price. This tool has been widely used in public health services, with good experiences of telemedicine and teledentistry programs in primary care worldwide, such as in Brazil with Telehealth, an initiative of the Ministry of Health of Brazil that provides tele-education actions. Certain services were created to support the study of oral lesions. Moreover, the Brazilian Federal Council of Dentistry has published Resolution No. 226, which addresses the remote dental practice. Considering Law 5,081/66, which regulates the exercise of dentistry, the law determines the prohibition of technology-mediated dental consultations for diagnosis, treatment plan, and prescription.
Regarding the relationship between the dentist and patient, remote care and telemonitoring of patients are only admitted when patients undergoing treatment cannot return to the office, or a tele-orientation carried out by the physician to decide the best time to perform face-to-face assistance. The University of São Paulo’s Faculty of Dentistry was created in 2006, around the same time as the development of the foundations of Brazilian Telehealth, its teledentistry center, to support ICT applied to education and research. Among its initiatives is to create the teledentistry for discipline at undergraduate and postgraduate courses. It has also established the Brazilian teledentistry network, in partnership with the Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences (Bireme/ PAHO) and the Associação Brasileira de Ensino Odontológico (Abeno). They are considering offering a distance learning course to support the implementation of new teledentistry centers in dental schools throughout Brazil, interested in advancing the use of ICT. Thus, an increase in government participation in the growth of the telemedicine industry is driving the teledentistry market.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the dental clinics significantly have reduced their activities— elective dental treatments are postponed while emergency and urgent care are remaining—following the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the pediatric dental procedures carried out in Primary Health Care in Brazil. However, teledentistry has been of great assistance in the current pandemic situation. Recent technologies have not only enhanced the quality of management of dental patients but have also made possible their partial or complete management at distances of kilometers away from healthcare centers or dental clinics. It is estimated that the telemonitoring tool for dentists and patients would become popular over time, and advances in this area would consolidate this resource, taking it to the daily routine of dental professionals.
Based on component, the South and Central America teledentistry market is segmented into hardware and software and services. The software and services segment held the largest market share in 2019, and the same segment is anticipated to register the highest CAGR in the market during the forecast period.
Based on delivery mode, the South and Central America teledentistry market is bifurcated into on-premise and cloud-based. The cloud-based segment held a larger market share in 2019, and the same segment is anticipated to register a higher CAGR in the market during 2020–2027.
Based on end user, the South and Central America teledentistry market is segmented into patients, payers, providers, and others. In 2019, the providers segment held the largest share of the market, whereas the patients segment is anticipated to register the highest CAGR in the market from 2020 to 2027.
A few of the primary and secondary sources referred to while preparing the report on the South and Central America teledentistry market are the Brazilian Federal Council of Dentistry and University of São Paulo’s Faculty of Dentistry, among others.