“Taking part is everything”, that’s the principal thought of the Olympic Games. True, but when it comes to quality equipment there is no place for any compromise. Teeth need protection against rackets, clubs, balls or blows, and thus reliable materials and precise craftsmanship must have top priority.
No wonder that Dreve Dentamid GmbH, specialist for dental materials from Unna, Germany, takes part in the Olympic Summer Games for the fourth time, providing athletes with free-of-charge Signature® Mouthguards. During this year’s competitions in Rio de Janeiro the team equipped around 500 athletes – a new record! It seems that especially in the Carribean Signature® Mouthguards are extremely favoured: for several members of the Cuban boxing team after their arrival to the Olympic Village, their first journey did not lead them to the Statue of Christ or the Copacabana, no, they directly went to have a dental impression made for their mouthguard.
“A New World” that was the motto of the games, and Dreve Product Manager Martin Thaden in fact showed a new world in the field of dental thermoforming technique to more than 50 local dentists and dental technicians. There are many details that have to be considered when mouthguards are produced, so that they do not pinch or press or impair the athlete in any respect. One week Thaden trained his Brazilian colleagues so that they were prepared for any eventuality that might occur during the manufacturing process of a Signature® Mouthguard.
So, the technicians were now well-skilled theoretically. Still, in order to be able to cope with e.g. a whole football team at a time, Dreve not only took over the costs for the training, but even equipped the laboratory: Thanks to 3 Drufomat scan units, 2 MultiSpots® and approximately 1.500 thermoforming foils in all rainbow colours, up to six dental technicians in the lab were able to dependably cope with all incoming “orders” in the course of the games. Evidence for this: The maximum period of time from impression taking to handing over the highly individualized mouthguard was 24 hours.
Men and women from all continents, teams and individual athletes from many different Olympic disciplines, be it football, mountainbiking or boxing, they all had one thing in common: The certainty to get an individual unique mouthguard giving them maximum protection and joy during their Olympic activities.
