Oliver Benz, teacher and International Head of Education at the Swiss School of Prosthetics, has opted for this life of training. His family is always present in his thoughts, no matter where and for how long he is on course. A life like this needs a strong source of energy, a beloved place to come home to. Being a dental technician was and is his dream job. Following his understanding of the old craft tradition, he started after his training with his years of traveling - gaining a lot of and above all different professional experience in German laboratories - and crowned this with the master's examination. He always kept total prosthetics in his sights.
After half a dozen years, he readjusted his professional compass in the direction of dental ceramics. Initially as a laboratory manager in a commercial laboratory, including dental coaching for employees and customers. But very soon he wanted to know more, took the plunge and made the leap into the dental industry. The decisive factors were his experience, his skills and his ability to represent, identify and present points of view and problems objectively and comprehensibly. He made his way from product specialist to key account manager, gathering and reflecting on the new management tasks at home and abroad.
Total prosthetics is demanding and highly emotional, the more you get involved with it. For some dentists and dental technicians, it is a supreme discipline with a high perceived value for everyone involved. Technologically, it is a topic of economic potential like no other. Digitization, which started late, is now being driven forward more intensively. However, the necessary knowledge, skills and valuable experience relating to complete dentures are dwindling.
Know-how, craftsmanship and the experience of the dentist and dental technician are particularly decisive for the success of this therapeutic method. No matter how sophisticated the algorithms of CAD and CAM programs may be, they can ultimately do little to change this. "The patient is the focus of our work; we want to give them back their zest for life. The aim is to reconstruct the alveolar ridge, vertical relation by restoring all occlusal support zones, to find and establish the physiological condyle position, phonetics, chewing function and thus a functioning, biologically necessary predigestion, lip, cheek and tongue support, orofacial aesthetics, red-white aesthetics."
He read a report about a new school in Zurich that brings together total prosthetic knowledge and skills. It bundles expertise and prepares it didactically in order to preserve it and pass it on globally, to share it with like-minded people and interested parties. For Oliver Benz, imparting knowledge and skills has always been a "matter close to his heart". He understood and understands it as an integral part of his professional activity, his self-image as a master dental technician in all its fields.
"I was able to gain a lot of experience as a technician and master craftsman. Especially in full denture prosthetics, at a time when the shelves were still full to bursting with work trays and denture orders. The master school also invested a lot of time and effort in teaching the knowledge and skills required for complete dentures. I also repeatedly took the opportunity to develop a well-founded and systematic view of complete dentures."
Since 2021, he has been Head of Education at the Swiss School of Prosthetics at the Candulor in Zurich. He is committed to his work with expertise and a sense of proportion. He always keeps an eye on the different conditions and standards in the individual countries for course participants and their teachers. His experience abroad helps him to do this. He has found his goal and thus the core topic that inspires and moves him. Designing the courses, their content and didactic structure on the one hand and coaching for teacher qualification, organizing and managing the Swiss School of Prosthetics and running his own courses on the other. These are both exciting and fulfilling tasks. The suitcases are packed and the prosthetics journey can continue.
Press contact: Sara Marconcini - Marketing Manager
