6,370 trade visitors from 56 countries – 12 percent more than in 2006
Outstanding conference program draws visitors from across the region

IDEM Singapore 2008 has continued to grow in popularity as the key meeting in the Asia Pacific, drawing record numbers of visitors to a comprehensive educational conference and a trade show packed with the latest product developments on offer for the dental profession. “We have made a number of changes to IDEM this time based on feedback from exhibitors and other business partners and it has paid off with more visitors and more exhibitors,” said Oliver P. Kuhrt, Executive Vice President of Koelnmesse. “Most importantly however, the quality of the visitors and the level of satisfaction from our exhibitors have increased significantly.”
The International Dental Exhibition and Meeting, which ended on Sunday, 6th April 2008, after three days, presented the products of 384 exhibitors from 34 countries and attracted 6,370 trade visitors from 56 countries. In comparison to the previous event in 2006, the trade fair thus welcomed a 20 percent increase in the number of exhibitors and a 12 percent increase in the number of visitors. 65 percent of the attendants came from outside Singapore. The top visiting countries were Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Australia with the biggest percentage increase in visitors coming from Australia (+ 55 percent), China (+ 44 percent), Japan (+ 65 percent) and Malaysia (+ 27 percent).

Staged at Suntec Singapore Exhibition and Convention Centre, IDEM Singapore 2008 was organized by Koelnmesse and its subsidiary in Singapore in conjunction with the Singapore Dental Association (SDA) and with support from FDI World Dental Federation and the World Dental Education Society (Singapore).
‘FDI is proud to be in partnership with this truly high quality meeting. IDEM is a credit not only to the dental profession but the organizing of international conferences,’ said the director of FDI World Dental Events, Paul Wilson.

Outstanding education content
The increasing success of IDEM as the pivotal meeting in the Asia Pacific region has been further underpinned by a world-class conference program. The theme for IDEM 2008 was “Scientific Basis of Clinical Practice”. As part of professional continuing dental education for clinicans, IDEM’s scientific programme provided a comprehensive range of seminars that covers the latest evidence-based concepts in the practice of dentistry, and that attracted an attendance of 1,418 registrants (up from 1,051 in 2006).

“For IDEM 2008, we see the highest number of attending delegates and the response and feedback from the delegates was very encouraging. This certainly sets us in the right direction for organizing future IDEM in Singapore.” commented Dr Benjamin Charles Long, SDA President.

“We definitely see IDEM as a pivotal show in the Asia Pacific region and have participated since 2002,” said Stephan Scherrer, Senior Manager Events at Swiss implant manufacturer Straumann. “Providing practitioners with first class training and education is a key goal of our company and in 2008, we have been able to sponsor five world class presenters to participate in the scientific program for the event. This has helped to attract record numbers of attendees and all the conference sessions were packed. The use of implants and the desire for knowledge is steadily increasing in the region and investing in IDEM is a way for us to take a leadership position in implant education in the region.”

Straumann sponsored ITI fellows Professor Daniel Buser (University of Berne, Switzerland); Dr Stephen Chen (University of Melbourne, Australia); Professor Lisa Heitz-Mayfield (University of Western Australia); Professor Heinz Kniha (University of Munich, Germany); and Professor Hans-Peter Weber (Harvard Dental School, USA).

Other world class presenters speaking at the IDEM Singapore 2008 scientific program included Professor Steven Offenbacher (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA); Professor Edward J Swift (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA); Professor Shimon Friedman (University of Toronto, Canada); Associate Professor Patrick S K Tseng (National University of Singapore); Dr Michael Martin (UK); Professor Gregory King (University of Washington, USA); Professor John G Thomas (West Virginia University, USA); and Associate Professor Khalid Almas (University of Connecticut, USA).

As an adjunct to the formal scientific program, the lunchtime Dental Innovations Forum introduced in 2006 was repeated, overseen by the publishers Dental Tribune International and moderated by well-known Canadian dentist Dr George Freedman. The Dental Innovations Forum was set up on the floor of the exhibition hall where presenters offered insights into the latest product developments.

Expanded exhibition
The exhibition occupied 10,000 square meters and included 384 exhibitors from 34 countries. The “household name” brand of every segment of the dental market was universally present at the show together with many alternatives from smaller companies from across the globe.

On display were the gamut of products and equipment representing every segment of the dental market. Implant dentistry continues to drive practitioner interest and supporting developments in 3D imaging and CAD/CAM in particular, abound. Digital radiography systems across the board and intraoral cameras are now staple items in many manufacturers’ ranges and a large choice of both hard and soft tissue laser systems is now available. Technology-based innovations are widespread. The IDEM Singapore 2008 trade show included products in the categories of restorative, preventive, surgical, diagnostic, orthodontics, endodontics, periodontics, laboratory and more.

Sales results increase
IDEM continues to attract large numbers of dental dealers looking to obtain new products and new agencies. With the last two meetings however, IDEM has increasingly transitioned from a dealer-centric meeting to attract large numbers of clinicians looking to purchase and order products directly for use in their own practices. “We sold out of all our stock on the first day,” said Mr Simon McDonald, Managing Director of New Zealand-based manufacturer Triodent. “This was our first IDEM and our first show anywhere in Asia so we didn’t know what to expect. Direct sales exceeded our expectations and it was very profitable for us. We finished on Sunday with many new customers, new dealers and even some potential new suppliers. So overall it was very successful for us.”

“IDEM has been a very positive event for GC and has exceeded our expectations,” said Michael Williams, Chairman of the Board of GC’s China-based operations. “We were consistently busy throughout the three days of the show and we used the event to launch three new products for the first time in the Asia region. We sold 8,100 boxes of our new interdental brush alone. Each IDEM meeting has become better and better and it’s now a must-attend show. We are seeing dentists attending from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Pakistan and more plus a good mix of both government and private practitioners.”

IDEM a must for the leading equipment brands of the world
“Participating in IDEM is a must for KaVo,” said Mr Sthen Boisen, General Manager South Asia, India, Australia and New Zealand for KaVo. “It’s an ideal opportunity to emphasise our presence in Singapore which now includes a new training and support centre where we offer regular educational programs for dentists inline with their new compulsory educational requirements . The meeting was also an ideal time to launch our new dental unit and that attracted significant interest with many positive sales leads. Singapore is a key market for us and we showed our complete range which includes 3D cone beam imaging systems, CAD/CAM systems, lasers and ozone generators as well as the dental units and handpieces for which we are renowned.”

“The growing interest in dental implants is continuing to influence every aspect of dentistry and as a result, the cone beam imaging systems we manufacture attract much interest,” said Mr Terry Tan, General Manager of Korean manufacturer E-WOO Technology UK. “Our equipment is expensive and high end, so we need to increase our brand image and demonstrate our commitment to the market to ensure our customers are confident to purchase. IDEM is also the ideal platform to showcase our technology and develop direct sales leads.”

“IDEM is a show where we meet new prospects, close deals and support our dealers,” said Mr Walter Petersohn, Vice President Sales for Sirona Dental Systems. “Presenting a quality presence consistently is the key to instilling trust in your customers and IDEM is a high quality opportunity every two years to achieve this. The quality of the attendees this year has exceeded our expectations and we wouldn’t miss it.”

Key opinion leaders attend IDEM
“The key players in the dental community are all here and we have achieved our goal of receiving intelligent feedback about our product range and activities in the region,” said Dr Analia Mendez, Global Director for Expertise and Authority for Unilever, manufacturers of Pepsodent and Close Up brand toothpastes and partners with FDI for programs of social change in third world markets where greater oral health education is critical. “It is our first IDEM meeting and it has helped us to better understand the market. It has helped us to connect with our end users and we were particularly pleased to see many dental hygienists here. There were visitors from all over the world at the show and it’s in a fantastic venue with first class organization. Everything is here for our success.”

“We have made contact with several important key opinion leaders in the region and beyond,” said Mr Oliver Stoffel, Sales Manager at German clinical and laboratory products manufacturer Heraeus Kulzer. “The show is drawing customers from right across South East Asia and it allows us to show our commitment to the market and support our dealers in the region. Overall the show has been very successful for us and as you would expect, very well organized and managed by Koelnmesse.”

Dental laboratory sector grows
Dental technicians from throughout the region have joined their clinical colleagues to attend IDEM and the laboratory market segment continues to be a growing area for the event. Educational sessions for dental technicians now also feature as part of the conference program. “IDEM has continued to evolve from a dealer meeting to attract more and more end users of our products,” said Mr Jacky Dijk, Managing Director of Dutch laboratory products and equipment manufacturer, Vertex Dental. “We were very pleased to see dental technicians from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, in particular, attending. Our main reason for participating in the show was to establish better contact with our end users and ensure we remain their active partner in the region. In this regard, we have been very successful.”

First time exhibitors reap rewards
“This was the first year we had staged a French Pavilion at IDEM,” said Mr Benjamin Boeglin, Trade Shows Manager at the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. “There are 7 manufacturers here and many of them are small companies looking to expand their distribution in the Asia Pacific region and to receive direct feedback from their customers. The quality of the visitors has been very good and they are genuinely looking to buy. All our exhibitors are very confident that they will grow their business in the region as a result.”

“This was our first IDEM and we had lots of interest,” said Mr John Green, CEO of Australian dental equipment manufacturer William Green Pty Ltd. “The VacuJet Plus we manufacture is a fully self-contained cart system that is unique in the world so we were looking for dealers rather than direct sales. In that regard, we walked away with strong possibilities in several markets both in Asia and other parts of the world.”

“We’d never directly participated in IDEM before and we were pleasantly surprised,” said Mr Joe Simon, Vice President of Marketing for US-based manufacturer Premier Dental Products. “We participated to better assess the market and introduce some new products. The market generally has a high standard of dentistry and requires high quality products to achieve that. We had a lot of direct interest from dentists and the show was very well attended. It was also an ideal opportunity to observe our dealers positive interaction with their customers.”

A strong future
“IDEM continues to be an event that attracts distributors and potential partners from around the Asia Pacific region,” said Mr Weston Pettersen, International Sales Manager Asia Pacific for US-based implant manufacturer Zimmer Dental. “It provides a unique opportunity to introduce new products and interface with key decision makers. As the market opportunities grow, so will Zimmer Dental’s presence. I expect our continued participation at IDEM.”

IDEM Singapore - International Dental Exhibition and Meeting - 2010 will be staged from April 16-18, 2010.

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