Award winning smile

We all like and enjoy being in a contest to see who is judged best, and more importantly, who wins bragging rights among their colleagues.

This year Americans had the chance to participate for the first time in Candulor’s KunstZahnWerk-German for Art of Denture-Competition. Last December, along with 19 other American technicians, I was asked by Ted Smudde, managing director of Candulor USA, to participate.

The motto for this year’s competition was “Removable or Fixed: Modern solutions for Prosthetic Implants.” The winners were announced in March at the International Dental Show in Cologne, Germany.

Competition case

We all received an upper edentulous cast, a lower edentulous cast with four CAMLOG implant abutments placed and an occlusal bite registration for mounting the VDO, midline and cuspid placement (Fig. A). We also received a set of Candulor denture teeth and CAMLOG restorative implant parts with screws.

Our task was to engineer and fabricate an upper denture opposing a lower denture with four implant abutments however we thought would work the best for the patient and while adhering to the instructions from the judges.

Because this was a European-based contest and Swiss materials were being used, my best chances to place were to enhance the tissue morphology with detailed anatomy, festooning and characterized tissue acrylic tinting using the Candulor Aesthetic Color Set. My best approach to the mandibular arch was to create a screw-retained reinforced implant bar encased 360º with acrylic, while using the Gerber occlusion theory. Throughout the whole case my thought was to create a dental prosthesis that was as natural as possible with a fully functional occlusion.

As per the competition rules, participants had to mount and present the case using a Candulor articulator. An average clay bow mounting centered the upper cast within the Bonwell triangle with the help of a rubber band as a guide (Fig. B).

Processing the case

01 Upper anterior teeth were set up following a silicone putty matrix contoured from the facial of the provided plaster mounting bite, the mid-line and center line of the canines (Fig. C).

02 Posterior teeth were set up following the Gerber style of lingualized occlusion with the Candulor NFC denture teeth (Fig. D).

03 Lower anterior teeth were set in an angle’s Class II as provided by the plaster mounting bite. The wax contour of the gingival was finalized before processing the case (Fig. E).

04 The mandibular denture tooth set up was transferred to a CAD reinforced implant bar (C-rib™) screw-retained with CAMLOG implants (Fig. F).

05 Denture teeth were placed around implant guide pins and access holes provided for the screws (Fig. G).

06 The mandibular prosthesis was processed with Candulor Aesthetic Color Set tissue characterizing and back filled with a Candulor base color heat cured acrylic (Fig. H).

07 The occlusion was adjusted for accuracy, and the case was detailed and polished using Candulor’s denture polishing kit and polishing paste (Figs. I, J).

08 The completed case was photographed and prepared for delivery (Fig. K).

The outcome

As for the conclusion of the contest, my set of dentures was ranked 10th in the Overall category and placed first among entries from the United States.
Participants from the United States and Canada will have a fresh opportunity to display their proficiency in the field of “Removable Dentures” this year, as Candulor is running a separate Art of Denture competition for North American technicians in late 2011 and early 2012. Interested technicians need to register with Candulor by Oct. 14 to receive the case to be used in the competition.

Submitted cases will be judged by a panel of prosthetic specialists including a university professor, a dentist and two master dental technologists including a Candulor specialist. The results of the contest will be announced at the 2012 Chicago Lab Day meeting.

I encourage everyone to participate in this upcoming contest. While I certainly wish everyone the best of luck, be warned, I’m going for a repeat.

About the author

Jack Edwards, CDT, has more than 25 years of practical experience in all phases of dental technology. He has served as an instructor of dental technology and worked as an inhouse technician for several prosthodontic practices in Southern California. He has lectured and provided hands-on training throughout the U.S. and internationally. He currently owns a dental studio in Anaheim, Calif., specializing in fixed and removable prosthetics and implants.