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4 Independent & Free Press, Wednesday, June 27, 2007 This newspaper can be recycled Tooth Chatter by ALEX TRENTON DENTURIST MISSING TEETH? Acton High School Senior Tech Design students Nils OlavStockinger (left) and Ryan Martin display some of their work onscreen, which allowed them to capture two of the top three prizes in the North America-wide Studica Design Competition. Even though you have done your best to look after your natural teeth, there eventually comes a time when you may need them extracted, for various different reasons. If this happens, the tooth or teeth should be replaced, not only to restore your smile, but to regain chewing and prevent other teeth from shifting. There are three main types of artificial teeth and each one is designed for a particular situation. They are dental implants, removable dentures and fixed bridges. A dental implant is made by surgically placing one or more small metal posts beneath the gum into the jawbone and the artificial tooth or teeth attach to them. A fixed bridge is a replacement that is cemented to the adjacent teeth and cannot be removed. A removable denture replaces all of the lost teeth in the arch with one appliance. A partial denture is held in place by clasping some of the remaining teeth, and a full denture is held in place by suction or by sitting on the ridges. You do not need a referral; simply call our office direct. Creating confident smiles since 1982. Photo by Ted Brown Acton students place in top-3 in North America Once again, Acton High School's Technological Design Students showed that being a small school doesn't mean they can't compete with the big guys. In a field of entries from high schools across North America, AHS Senior Tech Design students Nils Olav-Stockinger and Ryan Martin managed to capture two of the top three prizes in the Studica Design Competition. The competition, sponsored by Studica (www.studica.com), a division of Torcomp, Inc., was to evaluate the student's ability, skill and knowledge of mechanical design using the CADD design program, Autodesk Inventor. The Breaking Grounds competition dealt with the design and creation of 3D parametric CADD models and animations to demonstrate motion involving a household item. "I had been working of my project for some time in the past semester basically for fun, " said Olav-Stockinger, "And when I returned for this past semester, I found it was still on the server." I pulled it up to check it out a bit, and (teacher) Mr. (Norbert) Axtmann suggested I should enter it in the competition." Once committed to the project, OlavStockinger spent `75 to 100 hours' on his entry, recreating and rendering an electric guitar, starting with the headstock, then built the rest of the guitar, using the CADD programs. Martin had a similar project, building an electric amplifier for Olav-Stockinger's guitar. "We both love music, and it's a big part of our lives, so we just decided to make it part of the entry," said Martin, "I guess I just wanted to build an amp for Nils' guitar." Martin spent more than 40 hours on his project, creating a realistic amplifier, complete with all the trimming-- chrome knobs, and the distinct switches as well. Although the projects were separate entries, the duo worked together-- something they've been doing for years now. They honed their teamwork and collaborative skills by creating a complex Lamborghini model car as a team entry. In a field of 185 initial entries, 55 students from across Canada and the U.S. managed to complete the final design submissions. Olav-Stockinger received the First Place Award and the $500 cash prize. His winning entry was a highly detailed model of an electric guitar that included painstakingly detailed shell inlays into the neck of the instrument. Ryan received the Third Place Award and the $100 cash prize for his incredibly realistic-looking rendered CADD model of a guitar amplifier. "It's great watching these students at work," said Axtmann, "I always say, I `open the door for my students, and let them run,' and in doing so, Ryan and Nils have done a great job of it with their projects. I'm quite proud of their accomplishments." Although they've worked side by side for years, the next year will see the two students heading in different directions. Martin has been accepted at the University of Waterloo for Systems Design Engineering next fall, while OlavStockinger will return to Acton High School in the fall to complete his last year of studies. When asked of their plans, the two have different goals, "I'm hoping to get into the aerospace design industry at some point," said Martin, "That's where my interest's lay." "My goal is to work in automotive design," said Olav-Stockinger, "I love cars, and it would be great to work for some auto maker like BMW or Mercedes Benz." This win wraps up another successful year for Acton's Technological Design program that also took two gold and two silver medals in the Halton Technical Skills Competition in April, a provincial gold medal in Architectural Drafting & Design at the Ontario Skills Competition in June and two of the four top prizes in the Hamilton-Halton Homebuilder's student design competition June 6. DON'T GAMBLE WITH Alexander Trenton, DD, F.C.A.D. (A) Denturist Georgetown Denture Clinic, 18 Church Street, Georgetown, Ontario (905) 877-2359 (Across from the Library and Cultural Centre) www.georgetowndentureclinic.com By Cory Soal R.H.A.D. . . . Lend Me Your Ears LOSS OF HEARING DUE TO NON-AGING FACTORS Hearing loss due to aging can be compounded by other things. A few of these include noise exposure, disease, and ear infections. Hearing loss due to age and noise are cumulative. That is, hearing loss from noise exposure will be added on to hearing loss due to aging. Neither are not medically correctable. There is something to be said for protecting the hearing that we have left by wearing hearing protectors when exposed to noisy environments. Each of us reacts differently to hearing loss. We may totally or partially deny that a problem exists. Typical "denial" statements are "you're mumbling again", or "I was not paying attention", and can be a way of concealing hearing difficulties. YOUR LIFE We care about your hearing! Professional Arts Building 99 Sinclair Ave., Suite 210 Georgetown (905) 873-6642 Shooting drugs is no different than shooting dice: you'll be on a roll for a while, but one time is all it takes to end the game. Drug addiction can happen quickly and be hard to beat. So, why play games with your health and well-being? It's not a gamble worth taking.