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The 97th Annual Meeting of the American Prosthodontic Society (APS) was held in Chicago, Illinois, USA over two days, February 19th and 20th, 2026, and Naoki Hayashi, a dental technician from the Tokushinkai Group, received the Kenneth D. Rudd Award.

This award is an internationally prestigious prize given to dental professionals who have made significant contributions to the development of prosthetic dentistry and dental technology. It is a historic award that has been awarded to renowned specialists who have led the field of dentistry around the world, including the late Dr. Masahiro Kuwata, who was the first recipient in 2005 and laid the foundation for modern dental technology, and it is a great source of pride for the Tokushinkai Group that Hayashi was selected as one of these recipients to deliver the commemorative lecture.

Next year will mark a milestone year in which the APS will merge to form the new American Academy of Prosthetic Dentistry (AAPD), making this the final time this award will be presented. It is extremely significant for the group as a whole, and we are extremely honored to see this internationally recognized achievement as the finale of a history that began with Dr. Kuwata, with a fellow Japanese, Hayashi, receiving the award.

Encouraged by this award, the Tokushinkai Group will continue to work towards the development of the dental world.