Tulsa, Okla. (June 11, 2014) – DENTSPLY Tulsa Dental Specialties announced the winners of its GuttaCore® University Challenge on June 10. The Challenge, which began on April 1, invited endodontic residency programs, residents, and alumni to share their best GuttaCore cases with DENTSPLY Tulsa for the chance to win cash prizes and gain national exposure.
“GuttaCore is the first obturator with a cross-linked gutta-percha core. Since its initial launch in 2010 we’ve seen wide spread acceptance and adoption of GuttaCore among general dentists and a growing number of specialists.
It’s exciting to see the doctor’s expression after filling with GuttaCore. They light up and smile when they see the complex apical anatomy open up and GuttaCore fill in areas where traditional cold gutta-percha stops,” said Scott Williams, Sr. Brand Manager for DENTSPLY Tulsa.
Two endodontic residency programs were selected as winners, based on the largest percentage of residents who submitted a case. A cash prize of $10K was awarded to the first place program and a representative from the first place program is invited to join DENTSPLY Tulsa along with many prominent endodontic opinion leaders at the 2014 Endodontic Opinion Leaders Forum in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The second place program will receive a cash prize of $5K.
In addition to the residency program awards, residents were recognized for their individual submissions. Finalists were selected by a panel of judges and winners were determined via voting on DENTSPLY Tulsa Dental Specialties’ Facebook page. The first place resident received $3K and is invited to present the winning case at the 2014 Endodontic Opinion Leaders Forum. The remaining top five residents all received cash prizes of $1K. In addition, the top two alumni submissions also received $1K.
1st Place Program - University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry
2nd Place Program - University of Michigan School of Dentistry
Grand Prize Winner - Dr. Brian Royle
Top Four Residents - Dr. Sheena Howell; Dr. Michael Shapiro; Dr. Mahshid Majlessi; Dr. Diego Andrade
Top Two Alumni - Dr. Antonio Berto; Dr. Oscar Vega
“We wanted to share the GuttaCore experience with not only practicing dentists and endodontists, but endodontic residency programs and their residents. The GuttaCore University Challenge was a great and fun way to accomplish that. Hosting the challenge on social media just made sense. It was a perfect way for clinicians to post, share and comment on their cases in a way that respects and maintains patient confidentiality,” Williams said.
The winning entries as well as more information on GuttaCore, including a demonstration video library, can be viewed on DENTSPLY Tulsa Dental Specialties’ Facebook page.
