Celebrate the industry.
Catch up with the latest awards and appointments, market moves and noteworthy items.

To submit items for publication contact JDT Unbound at jdt@nadl.org.


Industry Loses Chun

Thurlow Brandon Chun of Kailua, Hawaii, died March 14. He was 54. Born and raised in Honolulu, he was a specialty dental technician. Thurlow worked in his father’s and brothers' Kailua dental practice. Survived by his beloved children, Courtney, 20, and Thurlow "TJ" Jr., 15, his devoted mother Mrs. Rosemary T. Chun and his supportive brothers Mark, Mitchell and Norman.

Management and Madison Dearborn acquire Sirona

The Sirona management team and the private equity investment firm Madison Dearborn Partners, based in Chicago, have jointly acquired the Sirona Group. The group was previously owned by Sirona management and the investment fund EQT. In this transaction, the management team increased its ownership in Sirona significantly. The transaction is subject to the approval of cartel authorities.

“We are excited about Sirona’s excellent recognition by the financial markets, having the best companies interested in partnering with us. Sirona is profitable, well positioned in its markets and has great potential. The current financial year will show accelerating growth, particularly in North America, one of our most important markets. With Madison Dearborn as our new financial sponsor, we add the potential of larger acquisitions to further enhance our market position,” said Sirona’s President and CEO Jost Fischer.

Madison Dearborn Partners is one of the largest private equity investors in the U.S. The current fund volume amounts to approximately $8 billion. Sirona represents Madison Dearborn’s first healthcare investment in a German company.


Students Become Honor Society Members

Pamela Santillo, CDT, instructor at the Harkness Career Center is proud to announce that Sarah Piontkowski, Melissa Durfee, Ana Samulak and Katie Kramer, all senior dental laboratory technology students, were inducted into the National Technical Honor Society for their outstanding achievements. The qualifications for the National Honor Society were that each student have maintained a 90 percent or above average in the program, maintained a overall average of 85 percent at their home school, completed a personal interview with the honor society committee, provide three letters of recommendation, have 94 percent attendance in the program and a finished personal portfolio.

The Harkness Dental Lab program is a secondary technical two-year program that meets five days a week for two hours and fifteen minutes a day.  The students enrolled in the program are taught all five specialties of dental laboratory. After graduation, students either go on to college or are employed upon graduation.

Technician Elected AACD Vice President

Technician Laura Kelly Brown of Danville, Calif., has been elected vice president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD). She is the first laboratory technician in the organization’s history to be in line to become president of AACD.

 

“Part of what I hope to accomplish is to be able to provide additional educational opportunities at our annual meeting where technicians and dentists learn together, as well as encouraging more technicians to become members and pursue accreditation,” Kelly Brown said.

 

Kelly Brown has been in the dental profession since 1983. She has been a member of the AACD since 1989 and is an accredited member. Kelly Brown lives in Northern California and is a partner in a small, aesthetic dental studio in the Bay Area. For fun, Laura coaches youth soccer and softball, and enjoys snowboarding in Lake Tahoe with her family.

 

AACD (www.aacd.com) is largest international dental organization dedicated specifically to the art and science of cosmetic dentistry. Its members include cosmetic and reconstructive dentists, laboratory technicians, hygienists, assistants, educators, researchers and students.

Market Moves

Advanced Chemical Company, a full service precious metals refinery based in Warwick, R.I., has completed Phase I of its strategic growth plan by expanding its precious metals processing capabilities. The expansion allows Advanced Chemicals refining operation to provide state of the art precision when processing precious metal materials and gives it the ability to process higher poundage shipments in a shorter amount of time.


Awards and Appointments

The Pankey Institute for Advanced Dental Education, in Key Biscayne, Fla., has announced the appointment of Mark T. Murphy, D.D.S., to the position of director of marketing and professional relations.

Lanmark Group, Inc., a full-service healthcare advertising, marketing and communications agency recently received “Webby Worthy” kudos from The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. The academy’s 9th annual Webby Awards recognized Landmark’s design of the Pankey Institute for Advanced Dental Education Web site, http://www.pankey.org as Webby Worthy. The Webby Awards are the leading international web design awards, acknowledging excellence in design, functionality, and creativity.

Island Dental Company, Inc., announced the promotion of Jim Renfro to the position of branch manager for its Houston branch.

Noteworthy

Several technicians at Oral Arts Dental Laboratory, CDL, in Atlanta took the CDT written and practical exams. Phillip Gold, CDT, conducted study sessions with the technicians and picked up the gauntlet they threw by taking an additional specialty test himself.

Nobel Biocare kicked off an extensive 100 city North American tour to educate dental physicians, laboratory technicians and consumers about the latest esthetic dental solutions. The tour begins July 12 and along the route, Nobel Biocare’s state-of-the-art mobile classroom will visit more than 100 different dental labs and shopping malls.

Recently, BEGO held a three-day PRA precision removable appliance course attended by Moon “Tony” Choe, Martin Schmid, CDT, Graciela Calatayu, Michael Duclos, Judith Rast and Alexander Choi. Also, crown and bridge technicians Terry Diamond Jr., Brian Allen and David King, CDT, put their skills to work creating metal substructures that fit to perfection. In addition, Ken Huss worked one-on-one with Martin Schmid, CDT, perfecting his skills in fabricating jewelry-like partial denture frames.

Recently, Ellen Bostock, CDT, with EMB Dental Lab in Windber, Penn.; Randy Servania with E&S Dental Lab in San Diego, Calif.; and John Cataen with Veterans Administration Bay Pines in Bay Pines, Fla.; completed DENTSPLY Trubyte’s two-day bench program The Expanded Complete Denture Workshop at DENTSPLY Prosthetics’ York, Penn., Education Center.

Leonard Marotta, Jr., of Marotta Dental Studio, Inc. in Farmingdale, N.Y., received the Master Dental Prosthologist Award from the American Society of Master Dental Prosthologists in recognition of demonstrating proficiency and achieving specialization in dentistry.

Island Dental Company, Inc., is pleased to announce the appointment of David Miller as equipment specialist/branch manager for its Sacramento branch.