CANDULOR hosted an exclusive customer event at the "Bauwerk Köln" for the presentation of the 13th International KunstZahnWerk Award.
The Challenge
The 13th international KunstZahnWerk (KZW) competition set its participants a more than challenging task. The objective was to create a mucosa-supported maxillary and mandibular full denture, based on a detailed model analysis together with a meaningful documentation. The special feature was the development of an age-appropriate, natural-looking solution, adapted to the pronounced atrophy in the lower jaw. The participants could choose between the dynamic tooth-to-tooth or tooth-to-two-tooth occlusion concepts.
The Expert Jury
The entries were judged through the professional eyes of the international jury:
• Peter Lerch, prosthodontist and author, Switzerland
• Steffen Rohrbach, dental technician/SSOP Teacher, USA
• Steven de Maesschalck, dental technician, Belgium
The team of experts examined, screened and evaluated the individual pieces of work. The criteria for evaluation included model assembly, model analysis, anterior and posterior tooth set-up, static and dynamic occlusion, esthetics and workmanship, as well as the documentation.
"It is a very special honor for me to be part of this competition and the KZW tradition. And I must admit that the analog approach to high quality prosthetics still makes the heart beat faster," says Steffen Rohrbach.
The Winners
The winners were announced during the CANDULOR event, at the "Bauwerk Köln" on March 15, 2023. The 25 best entries were exhibited that evening and prizes were awarded to the first 15 Kunstzahnwerk creations . The non-cash and cash prizes, in the form of annual subscriptions, shopping vouchers and books, were sponsored by the trade publishers Quintessenz Publishing, Verlag Neuer Merkur, Spitta, Oemus Media, mgo fachverlage, DentAvantgArt and, of course, by CANDULOR.
Sebastian Guttenberger from Pirk (DE) won first place. The dental technician from Zahntechnik Hierold was particularly convincing with regard to denture design and finishing and was able to outperform the other 52 entries. He received EUR 1,500 prize money and the Gold CANDULOR Award. In fact, Sebastian achieved a double victory, as he also took first place for his documentation. He was overwhelmed by the ranking and appreciation of his work, especially since this was the first time he had participated in this competition.
Second place and with it the Silver CANDULOR Award went to Skender Ramadani from Altstetten (CH). He received a check over EUR 1,000. Additionally, he achieved third place with his documentation.
The Bronze Award went to Jakobus Pieter Johannes du Toit of Riverview (CA). Dr. Joanne Choi of the University of Otago accepted the Award on his behalf. His documentation even made second place.
All the work pieces will be published shortly on the company's website https://www.candulor.com/en/kzw-winners-2023 where they can be viewed.
The Event - a reunion among CANDULOR friends
CANDULOR partners and customers were invited to the event and provided an appropriate setting for the KZW Award ceremony and its participants. A platform for a personal meeting after four years of abstinence from Cologne and the IDS.
"It was important for us to meet KZW participants and customers in person again after the 2021 Online Award. The emotions of the participants and the many direct exchanges are simply unbeatable 'analog'," says Alexander Ewert, Director Marketing & Education.
Artist Sarah Barelly, well-known from "The Voice of Germany" TV show welcomed the customers and took them through the program in her sparkling, humorous style. After a spectacular unveiling of the best three KZW entries, Sarah Barelly closed the Award ceremony with her song "Ein Hoch auf uns." The program continued with music and the four-member a cappella band ODY•C, which encouraged guests to dance to songs from the 80s.
