Dental Students Presented Their Clinically Challenging Case Studies at the Global Clinical Case Contest Awards

To conclude the annual Global Clinical Case Contest 2022–2023 for students of dentistry, eleven finalists from eleven countries presented their case studies of clinically challenging restorations using Dentsply Sirona products. An international jury selected four winners, who were recently honored at the Dentsply Sirona site in Konstanz, Germany.

The 2022-2023 Global Clinical Case Contest included 260 students from 90 dental schools around the world. They first presented their restorations to a local jury. The winners of the regional competitions then took part in the final in Konstanz in front of an international jury consisting of Dr. Ian Cline, dentist at King’s College (United Kingdom), Prof. Dr. Gaetano Paolone of the University of Milan (Italy) and Dr. Frank Pfefferkorn, Senior Clinical Research Manager at Dentsply Sirona.

Each of the eleven finalists gave a brief presentation of their challenging cases in which they treated patients with restorative materials from Dentsply Sirona to give them a beautiful, radiant smile.

Margherita Feliciotti of the University of Siena, Italy, won the competition. She presented a large anterior tooth restoration for which she used the universal adhesive Prime&Bond active and the composite Ceram.x Spectra ST with SphereTEC filler technology in various opacities and viscosities.

Second place went to Catharina Glose of the University of Göttingen. She presented the case of a patient who requested improved esthetics with a composite restoration of the anterior teeth from 12 to 22 following orthodontic treatment. The materials used were the Etch&Rinse adhesive Prime&Bond XP, Ceram.x Spectra ST in CLOUD shades and the Ceram.x Spectra ST Effects materials D1 and E1.

Two finalists shared third place: Ahmed Kamal of the October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA), Egypt, was awarded a prize for an esthetically challenging restoration for a male patient in the region 14 to 17 using the universal adhesive Prime&Bond Universal, the Palodent V3 matrix system and Spectra ST. Yu-Fang Huang of the National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, China, received the award for a case in which a juvenile incisor was restored. She used Prime&Bond Universal and Spectrum TPH3 in the shades A1 and A3.5.

The finalists and their tutors appreciated the invitation from Dentsply Sirona to meet in person in Konstanz. Everyone viewed the competition as an exciting opportunity to prove their skills, compare them with other students and present their case to a panel of experts. Margherita Feliciotti gratefully received the award and said, “It is really a privilege to be able to take part in a competition like this and to win is simply an incredible feeling. When I work with patients, I always make the effort to give them a high quality, esthetically pleasing outcome and using the excellent products from Dentsply Sirona with their great design options, enabled me to do exactly that for the patient in this case. Seeing the patient with a radiant smile made all the effort worth it. And then winning the prize – I couldn’t wish for more.” Her tutor Giulio Pavolucci, who took part in the competition once himself, was also delighted.

The finalists of the Global Clinical Case Contest were given attractive prizes in addition to the invitation to Konstanz.

“As organizers of the competition for future dentists, we are very pleased about the great interest and high quality of the entries submitted,” said Dr. Frank Pfefferkorn. “Through its extensive cooperation with universities throughout the world, Dentsply Sirona promotes the development of innovative training programs with state-of-the-art materials and technologies. The results are impressive. The goal remains to support future dentists in providing their patients with the best possible treatment. Congratulations to all winners!”

The Dentsply Sirona Global Clinical Case Contest has been taking place since 2004/2005. The competition is aimed at dental students with less than two years of clinical practice. The participants document their case using text and images and are supported by a tutor from their university.

Applications for the GCCC 2023–2024 can now be submitted. Further information on the Dentsply Sirona Global Clinical Case Contest is available here.