In her paper, Emily Wible, DDS, MS, evaluates the effects of eight cleaning methods on copolyester polymer, a material commonly used in clear thermoplastic retainers. 

Illinois orthodontist Emily Wible, DDS, MS, has won the American Dental Association’s 2019 John W. Stanford New Investigator Award for her research paper evaluating the effects of eight cleaning methods on copolyester polymer, a material commonly used in clear thermoplastic retainers, according to ADA News. 

In her paper, Long-term Effects of Different Cleaning Methods on Copolyester Retainer Properties, Wible used technical standards from both dental and material science committees to evaluate the long-term effects on light transmittance, surface roughness and flexural-modulus of clear thermoplastic material. Wible conducted her research with her master’s degree thesis adviser, Phimon Atsawasuwan, DDS, MSc, MS, PhD, an associate professor in the orthodontics department at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry, and in collaboration with the ADA Laboratory of the ADA Science & Research Institute, where she performed her material characterization measurements.

In practice in the Chicago area, Wible received her dental degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine in 2015, and her master’s degree in oral sciences in 2017 and a certificate in orthodontics in 2018 from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry.

Wible was selected for the award by an awards committee and the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs. She received a $1,000 honorarium and will display a poster on her paper at the ADA Standards Committee on Dental Products and the U.S. Technical Advisory Group for the International Organization for Standardization Technical Committee 106 on Dentistry meeting March 16 to 18 in Washington, DC.

The award is named for Dr John W. Stanford, who established the ADA’s current standards program, and was designed to highlight the role dental standards play in patient health and safety and the efficacy of dental products.

The application period for the 2020 award runs through October 1, 2020. ADA dental student members, members who earned their dental degree since 2015, and members pursuing an additional degree or specialty are eligible to apply.