The worldwide patent landscape of dental implant technology

Abstract

In an aging society, quality of life improvement is emerging as an important issue, and as implants are accepted as the core of oral rehabilitation treatment, competition for leadership in developing related technologies is intensifying. In this trend, unlike what is evident in the literature, the patent landscape shows the status of industrial-based technology development. A database analysis of a total of 32,237 dental implant patents shows improvements in technology, diverse geographical characteristics, and new advances toward technological convergence in this field. Technologically, dental implant technology has shown a tendency to develop from conventional implant materials and surface treatment technologies to new material technologies making use of substances such as pure zirconium and tantalum or software technologies related to diagnosis and prognosis. Regionally, dental implant technology, which was developed mainly in Europe and the Unites States in the past, is growing explosively in East Asian countries accompanied by the recent growth of the Asian market. In summary, dental implant technology seems to be developing while trying to converge with various technological areas based on the local market environment. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new dental implant material technology that is highly applicable to the development of hybrid information/communication technology and is suitable for a new manufacturing method. Our study may provide important information to help basic and translational researchers and their financial supporters set their research directions in advancing the development of dental implants.