Korean firms gear up to enter global market with clear teeth aligners

[Courtesy of Dentis]

South Korean companies are bustling with preparations to penetrate the global market with clear aligners for orthodontics, which involve using nearly invisible plastic aligners to correct teeth alignment.

According to industry sources on Wednesday, the Korean market of clear teeth aligners opened up with the launch of Serafin manufactured by Dentis in 2021.

Dentis offers total services from the design of Serafin to 3D printing, production, and distribution through a digital platform.

The domestic market is growing fast, particularly with the expiration of the patent for Invisalign’s clear aligner, which previously dominated the global market in 2022. Following Dentis, other Korean companies such as Osstem Implant and Dio have successively launched related products.

The industry is paying attention to the trend of the main target audience for transparent alignment shifting from teenagers to middle-aged and older adults. Clear aligners, which are aesthetically pleasing and easy to manage, are expanding the demand among the middle-aged and older population.

“As of the third quarter of last year, 27 percent of all Serafin treatment customers were in their 40s or older,” Dentis said. “The increasing proportion of middle-aged and older adults in the orthodontic customer base is significant.”

Following recent approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the company aims to make its first global entry into markets including the U.S. and Europe this year.

According to market data, the global transparent teeth alignment device market is projected to grow from $3.86 billion in 2022 to $28.86 billion in 2030. The Korean market size is estimated at 40 billion won ($29.6 million) as of last year.