SANTIAGO DE CHILE: The sixth annual edition of Dental Salon Chile has nothing to envy from the best American or European expos in terms of quality and professionalism. Lodged now for the first time in the modern fairgrounds of the Espacio Riesco, the Dental Salon offers ample quarters, modern facilities and many comforts to the visitor. But probably the most surprising feature is the high quality design of spaces, isles and booths, an influence that expo organizer Miguel Wechsler says he has assimilated from attending shows such as IDS in Germany and GNYDM in New York.

Wechsler has radically changed the look and feel of Dental Salon Chile, which, until 2008 took place in cramped grounds. The Espacio Riesco by comparison, ten minutes away by car from downtown Santiago and for which Wechsler now provides free buses every 15 minutes, is a large concrete structure from which huge billboard-size colorful banners promoting the Salon hung outside welcoming the visitor.

The Chilean businessman says that he has invested a lot of time and resources in organizing this 2009 Salon, but that the projected growth statistics for the dental industry in Chile support his effort. Chile is actually a small country, but has developed a quality infrastructure, and its economy is one of the most prosperous in all of Latin America. Wechsler says that the dental market in Chile is growing at between 20% and 30% per year.

Chilean dentists and researchers are renowned in Latin America as high-standard professionals, with a tendency to buy expensive, high-quality American and European instruments, products and equipment, which is not the case with other colleagues in the region. It is estimated that there are over 11,000 practicing dentists in the country today, a number that increases by 12% every year.

The reason for this increase is that until recently state-controlled universities graduated a reduced number of dentists, but the new private universities have radically changed this dynamic, churning out large numbers of dentists every year.

Wechler says that the 2010 Dental Salon will have an international German Pavillion, and that he's in negotiations with the Swiss industry for the same purpose. At the IDS in Germany this reporter saw him talking with representatives of the American Pavillion, who are also interested in the Chilean market.

Actually, the director of the Dental Salon is so confident in the Chilean market that he is exploring the possibility of organizing expos in Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina.

"When the international industry sees the quality of this Dental Salon Chile they are happily surprised," Wechsler says, "because they recognize that it has been modeled after successful American and European expos. They recognize that it is a highly organized and professional effort, and many ask me if I would consider doing something similar in other countries of the region."

What's the principal difference between the 2009 Salon and previous editions?
In spite of the global economic crisis, the Chilean market is growing. In both assistance and in sales we have grown at rates of 20% and 30% respectively compared to 2008. This year we have reached 5,100 visitors and sold over 3.5 million dollars in 3 days. We have Chilean and foreign exhibitors from countries such as Germany, the USA, Italy, Brazil, China, and Pakistan. This year we have 8,000 mts2 of exhibition space. We are proud to have achieved this growth at such an uncertain time for the industry.
A fact that has attracted the attention of international exhibitors is the large amount of young dentists of about 30 to 45 years, which look for modern technology at competitive prices.

Your company has also designed most booths...
Yes, big companies asked us to do this. We have two companies, one for the small 3x3 meter booths, and another that I direct and designs and builds the large, complicated booths.

Are exhibitors happy?
We are going through economically troubled times, but dentists are buying and the exhibitors are very satisfied. In April of every year the Chilean dental market grinds to a halt because dentists wait for the offers at the Salon. This year undoubtedly, the crisis played a positive role for us, since dentists kept their resources to buy at the expo, which is the reason for the 30% increase in sales compared to 2008. Dentists find a large selection of products and equipment at very affordable prices. Every Saturday families come with their children and that is very nice, to see all their members together.

What is the growing rate of the dental market?
In Chile there are 11,000 dentists. Five years ago there were only three dental schools, so the growth was very gradual. But with the opening of 14 private universities, for a total of 27 dental schools, the market has exploded, and every year 1,350 new dentists graduate, more than 12% of the actual number of practicing dentists. This growth is very strong and we project that it will continue to increase for the next five years.

Is this growth concentrated in Santiago?
45% of the dentists are in Santiago and 55% in provinces, especially in the south. In the Santiago metro area there are 4,500 dentists; in Concepcion, the second largest city in the country, five hours from the capital, there are 2,500; in Valparaiso and Viña del Mar about 1,000 each. And the remaining 2,500 are scattered in the rest of the country.

Do out-of-town dentists come to the Salon in Santiago?
Yes, because we have sales for all type of dental products which they can buy much cheaper than in a store, and see the latest technological advances. KaVo do Brazil for instance showed their most advanced scanner, the I-CAT, and digital technologies in Chile are relatively new. This is very important, especially for the dentists from the provinces, because they see everything that's new in one place.
Dentists don't have a lot of time to buy, and they buy at the Salon 80% of what they are going to use throughout the year in equipment and instruments, from turbines to X-ray devices; the remaining 20% is to buy materials from distributors on a monthly basis.

Why is Chile is an important market to distribute to the rest of Latin America?
Chile is a very attractive place for American, European, and Brazilian companies. First, Chilean dentists buy high quality products, but in addition, the country offers the economic, social and professional conditions to start doing business at a regional level. We have several companies that after two years in Chile decided to open Latin American marketing offices to deal with the rest of the Spanish-speaking countries.

And all of the Latin American dealers attend the Salon because Chile has a big advantage: we have commercial agreements with the USA, such as NAFTA, and with Europe. This Salon specifically is designated as an official customs depo, which allows companies to bring products and to take them out without paying any customs fees. In other countries of the region you never know if they are going to allow you to bring your equipment. This is just a sample of our commercial know-how, which is quite appreciated by foreign companies.

Resources
• The 7th Dental Salon Chile takes place May 27 - 29, 2010. For information visit www.salondentalchile.cl.