As a scientific society, the DGAO – the German Society for Aligner Orthodontics – sees itself as obligated to further improve the research on aligner treatment in Germany and internationally and to promote this improvement. For this reason, the DGAO offers a biennial award worth €15. The award ceremony took place during the 000th DGAO Scientific Congress in Cologne.
The jury had a tough time this year, too. Numerous proposals were submitted, all of which could be described as "groundbreaking." The highest-rated paper was "Cytotoxicity of a Novel Directly Printed Aligner in Orthodontics," submitted by a group of scientists from the University Medical Center Mainz, Department of Orthodontics, led by Dr. Maximilian Bleilöb, Dr. Claudia Welte-Jzyk, Dr. Vanessa Knode, PD Dr. Björn Ludwig, and Univ.-Prof. Dr. Christina.
This is a planned cell culture study investigating the biocompatibility of new resins used in materials for direct printing of in-house aligners. DGAO President Prof. Dr. mult. Ralf J. Radlanski stated in his laudatory speech that it is "necessarily also the task of science to test and critically examine the materials offered to us by the industry."
The board of the German Society for Aligner Orthodontics warmly congratulates the award winners and invites courageous researchers to apply for the DGAO Award 2026. The submission period begins on January 1, 2025, and ends on May 30, 2026.
The complete press release:
pr_forderpreis-dgao-2024-DE.pdf (German) (424kb)
pr_forderpreis-dgao-2024-EN.pdf (English) (420kb)
