IFED International Challenge 2025/2026

In the fall of 2023, the International Federation of Esthetic Dentistry (IFED) started to host an unprecedented event: the IFED World Challenge. Drawing inspiration from tournament-style competitions, this unique event brought together member societies and academies from around the globe to compete in the field of Esthetic Dentistry.

And now, for the second time IFED will organize this impressive and exciting event culminating in a grand finale during the next IFED world congress in Seoul on 14th of September 2026.

The winner of this challenge will be determined during the following IFED World Congress and will receive the DAVID KLAFF IFED AWARD.

View 23/24 Results

Each participating academy will field five contestants, all being or under 40 years of age, and an advisory team captain to represent them in this sporting competition. Out of these players, for each match two players have to be chosen by the team captain to present their cases in an online competition. The challenge, initially proposed by the Italian Academy of Esthetic Dentistry and the late IFED Secretary-General Dr. David Klaff from London, will progress through elimination rounds, culminating in a grand finale during the next IFED world congress in Seoul on 14th of September 2026. Following Dr. Klaff's passing, the event was postponed by a year, but now it's set to make its much-anticipated debut. The winner of the challenge will receive the Dr.David Klaff IFED Award.

Competition Format and Rules

• Eligibility: Contestants must be under 40 years of age and members of an IFED-affiliated academy.
• Team Composition: Each team consists of five players, out of these 2 active players have to be chosen for each match, and a team captain.
• Match Topic: Each match has a predefined topic for the cases to be presented about.
• Match Duration: Each match lasts about one hour, with 4 cases presentations per night. Each player presents for 7 minutes, followed by a 5-minute discussion and voting session.
• Presentation Format: Presentations must be in 16:9 format, suitable for Zoom displays. There's no limit on the number of slides, but they must fit within the allotted time.
• Judging Criteria: Judges will score 10 points to the following 5 topics each: 
  • quality of documentation
  • quality, style, clearness of presentation
  • rationale and treatment plan
  • complexity of the case, originality, novelity
  • take home message/outcome.
• Score: The maximum score is 50 points per judge, plus a malus of 10 points based on bad timing.
• Judges: Each participating academy will field 2 judges for matches being not related to their academy`s matches. For each match 3 of the group of judges from neutral countries as 'Master Clinicians' will serve as judges.
• Advancement: Winners of each round progress to the next, culminating in a final challenge at the IFED World Congress 2026 in Seoul.
• Final: The participating academies must send at least the 2 players to Seoul to take part at the final in presence. The accomodation costs will be covered, regarding the flight remuneration sponsoring is accepted.

Click below to access the official IFED World Challenge rulebook for detailed information about the competition's structure, scoring, and more.

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