The manufacturing of counterfeit, imitation products has long been a problem in the consumer goods sector—and is becoming increasingly troublesome in the dental industry. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), counterfeit goods account for 5-9% of all global trade, representing $450 billion. Over 70% of counterfeit products seized by U.S. Customs come from China. Counterfeiting costs manufacturers significant revenue and puts thousands of jobs at risk.

But what does it all mean for dentists? Every dental practice around the world has two principal objectives: to comply with the Hippocratic Oath and to operate profitably and efficiently. As such, it is only understandable that practices would seek to keep costs to a minimum when purchasing dental products. This is why many practices are now turning to wholesale and discount platforms such as Amazon and eBay, where they hope to find the same products at lower prices.