RBC learned about problems with dental equipment in Russia

Russian dentists are faced with the problem of purchasing the American drug “Ubistezin” for local anesthesia, cement “Vitremer” and other medical equipment. About it informed RBC with reference to industry participants.

According to the publication, interruptions in the supply of “Ubistezin” began in March 2022, when the American manufacturer 3M announced its withdrawal from the Russian market. According to Nikolay Bespalov, Development Director of the analytical company RNC Pharma, last year about 93,900 packages of Ubistezin were supplied to the market in the amount of 369 million rubles, which is 70% less in physical terms and 60% less in monetary terms than in 2021

At the same time, Russia has enough other domestic and imported analogues that are actively used in medicine, market participants emphasized. In particular, they include the Russian Artikain-Binergia, the French Septanest, the Spanish Artikain Inibsa, and the German Ultracain from Sanofi-Aventis.

As for Vitremer cement, there are no analogues in Russia yet. “Of course, we update the protocols for the treatment of such teeth, but a significant amount of time is spent on recognizing and searching for new dental materials,” says Irina Lukashenok, a dentist at the First Family Clinic of St. Petersburg.

Dentists also faced a shortage of 3M grinding discs, as well as imported burs and milling cutters, which are still underrepresented on the Russian market. Svyatoslav Koba, medical director of Dental Fantasy and Belgravia Dental Studio, clarified that Russian production facilities cannot yet cover all the needs of the industry. “According to the estimates of large suppliers, about 35,000–40,000 types of drugs and materials were imported into Russia. And domestic production can close about 6,000 positions – this is a drop in the ocean,” he explained.

According to representatives of the clinics, now the supply of all the necessary equipment is coming with long delays, which is why prices have risen sharply. At the same time, many suppliers cannot even predict the exact time when the products will be delivered. According to the publication, some of them began to take an advance payment of 100%.