China to balance quality and price in bulk dental implant bids

Jeremy Booth, Dental Tribune International

Mon. 19. October 2026

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ZIYANG, China: Healthcare authorities in China are placing greater emphasis on product quality in the long-awaited second round of volume-based procurement (VBP) for dental implants and related consumable products, which was launched on 28 September. Authorities in Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces are leading the renewal of procurement contracts for dental implants and orthodontic products, respectively, and larger procurement volumes could be awarded to manufacturers offering a competitive combination of pricing and product quality.

According to Seoul Economic Daily, officials from China’s National Healthcare Security Administration recently met with implant manufacturers and shared details about how volumes will be allocated in this VBP bidding round. The newspaper reported that the agency is replacing the previous competitive bidding process with a system in which suppliers’ price quotations are assessed alongside product characteristics and quality. Larger procurement volumes will be allocated to companies offering both competitive prices and high-quality products.

Dental implants sourced via the programme are mainly destined for use in Chinese public healthcare institutions, although VBP pricing also influences the private dental market. These institutions will submit their purchasing requirements before supply arrangements and volume allocations are agreed on, and the procurement process is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Lower prices, greater volumes

In essence, VBP enables healthcare authorities to purchase large volumes of medical products at reduced prices, thereby lowering treatment costs for patients. The programme was established across China’s markets for pharmaceuticals and medical devices and extended to orthodontic products in December 2022, followed by dental implants in 2023. The orthodontic initiative, led by Shaanxi province, covered seven product categories, including metal and ceramic brackets and aligners.

Since then, VBP has substantially reduced the cost of implant treatment and contributed to the expansion of the country’s dental implant market. According to an article published in the English-language China Daily, VBP and accompanying pricing reforms have cut the average cost of a single-implant treatment from around RMB 15,000 (€1,970^*) to between RMB 6,000 and RMB 7,000. Over the past three years, public medical institutions purchased 3.47 million dental implant system sets, and the annual number of implant surgeries increased from 214,000 in 2022 to 892,000 in 2025.

In 2023, regional health authorities in China began facilitating bulk purchases of dental implants in order to drastically reduce the cost of treatment. (Image: aslysun/Shutterstock)

After the first bidding round, participating companies recorded considerable increases in implant sales volumes in China, although the higher volumes did not necessarily offset the effect of lower unit prices on revenue. The programme favours manufacturers capable of balancing reduced prices and high procurement volumes against production and shipping costs while maintaining profitability. In the first quarter of 2023, for example, Straumann Group banked 40%–45% less per implant sold in China, but saw its total implant sales volume in the country increase by 25% year on year, according to CEO Guillaume Daniellot.

Straumann and its competitors have since been investing in their Chinese operations to strengthen their competitiveness and support the viability of bids. This includes a US$149 million (€131 million^**) investment by Envista Holdings Corp. in a new manufacturing facility in Suzhou, an industrial hub in Jiangsu province west of Shanghai. Opened in August, the facility will manufacture Nobel Biocare dental implants and Ormco orthodontic brackets locally for the first time. Such investments underscore the growing importance of China’s procurement decisions for manufacturers’ sales volumes, revenue and production strategies across the Asia-Pacific region.

Seoul Economic Daily highlighted that the planned changes could alter competitive conditions for domestic and international manufacturers, including South Korean companies seeking to strengthen their positions in the Chinese market. The greater emphasis on quality in procurement assessments could support bids from South Korean dental implant manufacturers, whose products are positioned between lower-priced domestic alternatives and premium European systems.

The number of companies applying to participate in the renewed procurement programme has increased from 53 to 101, according to DentalGoodNews, a Chinese dental industry news and analysis platform. The figures were presented at a press conference in Ziyang on 28 September by the Sichuan provincial healthcare agency to review the results of the first procurement round and launch the next. South Korean manufacturers Osstem Implant and Dentium are among the companies seeking to increase their contracted volumes and strengthen their positions in the Chinese market, Seoul Economic Daily reported.

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