Calling it the "Oscars for denture technicians," Candulor announced the winners of its first-ever North American Kunstzahnwerk (Art of Denture) Competition at LAB DAY. The technician-participants displayed their proficiency in removables by fabricating a fully removable upper and lower bar-retained overdenture.
Taking first prize and winning $1,000 is Arian Deutsch, Deutsch Dental Arts, Surprise, AZ; second place and $750 went to Jonathan Trotter, Choate Ceramic Lab, Conroe, TX; and in third place is Andrea Hegedus, Great Lakes Smile Design Studio, Muskegon, MI, who wins $500. All three cases are now entered into Candulor's International KunstZahnWerk competition, which it has held since 2001, with winners announced at the 2013 IDS in Cologne, Germany.
Winners in other categories are:
Jack Edwards, Jack Edwards Dental Studio, Fullerton, CA; Andrea Hegedus; and Choate Ceramic Lab for Best Digital Documentation.
Joe Minuk, Minuk Denture Clinic and Dental Implant Centre, Manitoba, Canada for Top Canadian Case.
Gary Reininga, H & R Dental, Stephenville, TX for Creative Implant Solution.
Rochdi Baladi, Ryan Wrobel and Al Faschingbauer, Valley Dental Arts, Stillwater, MN for Team Collaboration.
"The purpose of the competition is to challenge and inspire participants to create and execute the highest level of quality work in their field and this year's cases were no exception," said Ted Smudde, Managing Director of Candulor U.S.
The contestants were required to set up the cases in lingualized occlusion using the Gerber technique and submit them on the Candulor Articulator. They received all materials free of charge, including plaster models and Candulor Composite NFC denture teeth from Candulor and implant components from Camlog. The cases were reviewed by a panel of five judges--including a university professor, dentist, two master dental technicians and a Candulor specialist--and all entries were displayed in the Candulor gallery in the Sheraton Hotel during LAB DAY.
To see photos from the competition or details of the 2013 International KunstZahnWerk competition, visit www.kunstzahnwerk.com.
