André Schroeder Research Prize

New York, 28 April 2007: The winner of the coveted André Schroeder Research Prize, an annual award worth CHF 20 000 for the advancement of dental research and development, was announced in New York today by Straumann’s President and CEO, Gilbert Achermann.

Speaking at the ITI World Symposium, a leading scientific meeting in implant and restorative dentistry and oral tissue regeneration, Mr Achermann announced that this year’s award has been won by Dr Frank Schwarz of the Department of Oral Surgery, Westdeutsche Kieferklinik, at the University of Düsseldorf in Germany.

Frank Schwarz commended for work on hydrophilic implant surfaces
Dr Schwarz (34), who is the fourteenth recipient of this prestigious prize, was selected by the independent jury for his scientific investigation of the effects of surface hydrophilicity and microtopography of titanium dental implants on soft and hard tissue integration.

The winning research investigated early tissue reactions to Straumann’s third generation implant surface technology, SLActive, in comparison with conventional roughened and machined surface implants. It concluded that both soft and hard tissue integration was mainly influenced by surface hydrophilicity, rather than by microtopography. The research demonstrated that the attachment of soft gum tissue as well as bone attachment were enhanced by the new hydrophilic surface. One important implication of these findings is that the improved soft tissue attachment around the implant forms a natural barrier to oral bacteria and thus may prevent infection. These and other observations are being investigated further in a clinical setting and could translate into enhanced implant treatment outcomes and a higher standard of patient care.

About the André Schroeder Research Prize
First presented in 1992, the Prize serves to promote new scientific findings in oral implantology and related fields. It is given in honor of the late Professor Schroeder, who pioneered dental implantology and whose life’s work contributed greatly to modern dentistry. Sponsored by Straumann, the André Schroeder Research Prize furthers illustrates the company’s commitment in the field of research and development, where it ranks among the leading contributors in the industry.

Previous winners are: Dieter Weingart (1992), Franz Sutter (1993), Daniel Buser (1995), David Cochran (1996), Joachim Hermann (1997), Siegfried Heckmann (1998), Alexandra Behneke (2000), Leif Persson (2001), Lisa Mayfield (2002), Yuelian Liu (2003), Michael Hänggi (2004), Xiaolong Zhu (2005), and Karthikeyan Subramani (2006).

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