Bulk buying slashes dental implant cost

China's first bulk procurement program targeting dental implants has seen an average price cut of 55 percent, the National Healthcare Security Administration said this week.

The administration said that 55 companies participated in the latest bidding held in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Wednesday, and 39 of them won their bids.

It said that this round of procurement will cover 72 percent of annual demand for dental implants across the country. "Patients are expected to save 4 billion yuan ($590 million) as a result," it added.

Patients can access dental implants at lower prices starting in late March or mid-April.

The procedure of dental implantation to replace missing or decaying teeth incurs the costs of medical consumables such as dental implants and crowns, as well as medical service fees.

In China, the total cost of dental implant surgery varies from 4,000 to 30,000 yuan.

A survey led by the administration in September showed that about 60 percent of respondents had complained about irregular pricing in the industry and called for centralized procurement programs to make the service more affordable.

"The charge of dental implantation was irregular and patients were confused about different types of fees involved," said Jiang Changsong, a healthcare insurance expert at Capital Medical University.

"The procurement program will help make pricing schemes more transparent and open," he said.

According to the administration, the median price of relatively costly dental implant brands from Switzerland has dropped from 5,000 yuan to around 1,850 yuan, and the average price of the most popular products, usually produced by South Korean companies, has fallen by half to around 770 yuan.

"The variety of products is rich and can match clinical demands," it said.

In addition to slashing prices through bulk procurement, the administration said in September that medical service fees per tooth for the procedure should be capped at under 4,500 yuan at top-level public hospitals, though more developed regions with higher labor costs are allowed to request a higher maximum limit.

"With the implementation of these comprehensive measures, the total costs of getting a dental implant will be cut by half," said the administration.