A Chinese exhibitor introduces her dental instrument product to clients in the 2015 Greater New York Dental Meeting at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Nov 29. Long Yifan / for China Daily

Chinese dental equipment manufacturers are starting to sink their teeth into the global market.
More than 10 Chinese corporations participated in the 2015 Greater New York Dental Meeting - the largest dental convention of its kind in the US - at New York's Jacob Javits Convention Center, organizers said.
Localization was one of the keywords among the Chinese dental products-makers at the meeting which featured more than 1,600 exhibitor booths of more than 700 companies from around the world.
Yang Ruidong, overseas marketing manager of Xianyang-based Northwest Medical Instrument Corporation (SINOL), told China Daily that "localization comes first when a company launches products in the US."
According to Yang, SINOL, the largest dental equipment manufacturer in China, undertook a market strategy of localization and digitization even though it did not have any specialized patents in the industry.
SINOL's American dental chair, for instance, has four adjustable handles, rather than the two found on the Chinese version, because "in America both the dentist and nurse adjust the chair during dental procedures rather than only the dentist as it's done in China."
Some of the Chinese manufacturers did have patented products.
"Nothing more is needed when you're using us," boasted the pamphlets of Guangzhou-based Talent Medical Devices about their patented combination drill and automatic depth readout for doing root canals.
According to Li Changtai, the company's general manager, "We integrated the measurement and surgical devices in one and our price is $800, only half of its American counterpart with the same quality."
Li said many people at the exhibition had shown an interest in his products but very few had placed any orders, adding that their low-profile promotion strategy should probably be converted to a high-profile one.
Some Chinese manufacturers fared better thanks to pricing advantages. Nanjing-based North Instrument Technology Industries Group claims their products are well-made and inexpensive, which attracts both wholesale and individual buyers for their dental loupes, or magnifying eyewear, and eyeglass-mounted lights.
"We travel around the globe dozens of times annually to improve our name-recognition among the international circle of professional dentists and establish a reputation for good quality at low prices," Zhang Jianming, the company's general manager, said.
Dr. Judith Eugene, a Haitian dentist currently doing research at NYU, said she was "extremely impressed" by the Chinese manufacturers' capabilities in dental product research and development.
A staff member of the Javits center told China Daily that Chinese dental equipment exhibitors brought more cultural diversity to the international meeting.
Long Yifan in New York contributed to this story.