STORIES OF SUCCESS

What is your personal career path?

I am a Portuguese Dental Technician with 20 years of experience, driven by a deep passion for ceramics and aesthetic excellence. I began with a solid foundation in traditional laboratory craftsmanship and gradually advanced into complex ceramic workflows through challenging clinical cases and close collaboration with clinicians.

Over time, I became a professor, focusing on education and mentoring the next generation of technicians using clear, predictable protocols. In parallel, I developed my entrepreneurial career, which broadened my perspective on innovation, quality, and the practical demands of laboratory work.

I am also a PhD student, committed to combining evidence, technology, and artistry to help shape the future of our profession.

How did you become the person you are today?

I became the person I am today through constant curiosity and a commitment to never stop evolving. Over more than 20 years in dental technology, I have learned that excellence in ceramics stems from a balance of discipline, artistry, and humility in every case. Teaching has shaped my voice and deepened my responsibility to raise standards beyond my own workbench.

Entrepreneurship has strengthened my resilience and strategic thinking, transforming ideas into tangible solutions. My doctoral journey keeps me grounded in evidence and focused on future innovation.

Ultimately, choosing progress—even when it was demanding—defined who I am today. Refining my skills, expanding my knowledge, and staying connected to the purpose of our work—restoring confidence, function, and quality of life for patients—has shaped my path.

In summary, I grew into who I am by embracing my imperfections, growing consistently, and staying true to my purpose.

What inspires and motivates you?

My greatest source of personal inspiration is my family. My parents, my husband, and my children are the foundation of my strength and the reason I continue to grow. Their support, values, and belief in me have shaped both my professional and personal journey, and they continue to inspire my commitment to excellence and continuous development.

Professionally, I am strongly motivated by my academic environment and by being surrounded by peers who share the same goals and standards. Being part of a community that values research, innovation, and high-level clinical and laboratory outcomes fuels my ambition and keeps me moving forward.

Ultimately, I am guided by the balance between my family roots and the professional world that drives my continuous growth.

What are you especially proud of?

I am especially proud of the consistency and determination I have cultivated throughout my career. I have always been a committed and hardworking professional, but I am equally proud that this drive has never kept me from being a dedicated mother to my three children, an attentive daughter, and a present, supportive member of my family.

Finding this balance required resilience and personal sacrifices, but it shaped who I am today. It taught me discipline, perspective, and the strength to grow steadily without losing sight of what matters most to me.

What is your personal path to success?

My personal path to success is built on consistency, curiosity, and purpose.

How do you define or interpret success?

I believe true success comes from showing up every day with discipline, refining skills case by case, and staying humble enough to keep learning. I invest strongly in education and evidence while maintaining the artistic standards that define excellent ceramic work.

For me, success also means balance—growing professionally while being truly present for my family. If I can continue to develop, contribute to the profession, and honour the people who matter most to me, that is true success.

What are your professional goals?

My professional goals are to continue elevating ceramic excellence through a strong combination of clinical-laboratory expertise, education, and research. I aim to expand my academic contribution through my PhD by producing work that supports more predictable aesthetic outcomes and improves communication and workflow between dentists and laboratories—especially within modern digital environments.

I also aspire to expand my role as a professor and mentor, helping guide a new generation of confident, evidence-informed technicians. As an entrepreneur, I want to continue developing projects that raise standards, support innovation, and create practical solutions that enhance quality and efficiency without compromising artistry. Ultimately, my goal is to serve as a meaningful bridge between industry, academia, and real-world laboratory practice.

What advice would you give to young talents just starting out?

Stay curious, stay disciplined, and fall in love with the fundamentals. Master the basics of anatomy, occlusion, shade, and morphology before chasing shortcuts or trends—strong foundations will make you faster and better later on.

Seek mentors, ask questions, and learn to accept feedback without ego. Invest continuously in education—including digital workflows—but never abandon craftsmanship and critical thinking. Your hands matter, but your mindset matters just as much.

And finally: be patient with your growth. Consistency beats intensity. If you show up every day with respect for the profession and a desire to improve, your talent will evolve into mastery.

What role do Creation products play in your daily work?

Creation products are a central part of my daily ceramic workflow. I most frequently use Creation CC for feldspathic ceramics and Creation ZI‑CT for zirconia frameworks with cutbacks, relying on their stability and aesthetic potential for predictable layering results.

More recently, I have achieved excellent outcomes by combining Magic Colour pigments with Creation ZI‑F, especially for internal characterisation. This combination has added depth, vitality, and efficiency to my zirconia cases while maintaining the high aesthetic standards I strive for in every restoration.

What is your favourite product in the Creation range – and why?

My favourite product in the Creation range is the gingiva ceramic. While all Creation ceramics provide natural and beautiful intraoral integration, the gingiva ceramic stands out to me—the aesthetic result is exceptional, offering remarkable depth, realism, and harmony in complex cases.

Is there a particular case that challenged you the most?

Yes. The most challenging cases for me are full or complex rehabilitations that combine implants with gingival tissue loss alongside crowns, veneers, and/or overlays. These cases require precise control over multiple variables at once: material thicknesses, transitions between different restorative materials, and the influence of substrate colour.

Such cases demand detailed planning, a disciplined ceramic strategy, and close teamwork. They push me to apply my best skills and strengthen clinical-laboratory collaboration—and that is where I learn and grow the most.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

Beyond materials, techniques, and protocols, our true mission is to give patients back their smile and a renewed sense of confidence. Every restoration we create has an emotional impact—it can influence how someone speaks, laughs, and presents themselves to the world.

For me, this is the most meaningful part of our profession: knowing that through precision, knowledge, and artistry, we directly contribute to people’s well-being and quality of life.