Enrico Gherlone Biography

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Prof. Enrico Gherlone began his career by graduating in 1982 in Genoa in Medicine and Surgery with top marks and specialising in Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics at the same university. Already as a student, he attended the Dental Clinic of the University of Genoa, at that time directed by Prof. Mario Silvestrini Biavati, where he was assigned to the department of Experimental Surgery of the same, directed by Prof A. Benedicenti.

It was in this environment that his first experiences were formed, which saw him focus above all on Prosthetic Dentistry, where in 1983 he was entrusted with the coordination of the 'Cerestore System' project - one of the first metal-free ceramics - introduced by Johnson & Johnson, which in the future proved to be of great scientific farsightedness. It was then that the relationship with Prof. Mario Martignoni of Rome, then national director of the project, and numerous other colleagues who gravitated around the acknowledged master of dentistry was born.

At the Dentistry Clinic in Genoa, Prof. Enrico Gherlone was one of the inventors of third-party payment services, which had and still have the aim of offering dental services at reduced prices, which can be used by the poorer classes and at the same time serve the teaching of the Degree Course in Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics.

From the Odontostomatology Pathology Department of the Genovese clinic in 1989, he then moved to the Dentistry Clinic affiliated with the San Martino Hospital in Genoa, directed by Prof. Mauro Viti, where he won a hospital competition in 1993 (first level hospital manager), ranking first in the list and was thus seconded to the University.

It was in 1989 that he began working with Prof. Ferruccio Fazio (the future Minister of Health) of San Raffaele in Milan and with Prof. Riccardo Ciancaglini, a pupil of Prof Vogel, who, after returning to Genoa in 1994 to the State University of Milan, which had an agreement with San Raffaele, wanted him with him first as a consultant on secondment from the University of Genoa, and later as an assistant, having won a tenured competition at San Raffaele in 1996.

In 1994 he encountered the President of the San Raffaele del Monte Tabor foundation, Don Luigi Verzè, who had a profound influence on his training and the continuation of his career at the Ateneo Vita Salute.

After becoming assistant head physician in 1996, in 1999 he became hospital head physician at San Raffaele in Milan and soon became an academic, first as an associate professor and later as a full professor, creating the Degree Course in Dental Hygiene and later the Degree Course in Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics, of which he is now President.

From a clinical point of view, in addition to Prof. Martignoni, Prof. Ciancaglini had a significant influence on the aspects of Gnathology and Prof. Ivano Casartelli on impressions in dental prosthetics: all fundamental moments for a professional who, both in teaching and in operation, deals mainly with dental prosthetics.

Thanks to all these masters, Prof. Enrico Gherlone had the opportunity to entertain national and international relationships that greatly influenced his education both in scientific and health-organisational terms, and not least in life.

Prof. Gherlone was also the protagonist of numerous social initiatives: over the years, he has dedicated numerous research projects to patients with health or social vulnerabilities. Undoubtedly the most important action in this is the Scientific Direction of 'Overland for Smile', a totally non-profit travelling humanitarian project that aims to provide concrete help in the field of odontostomatology to children interned in orphanages in Eastern European countries. The first country involved in this project is Romania, and specifically children housed in orphanages. Since 2006, in collaboration with Iveco and thanks to the intervention of numerous sponsors, every year a team of health workers leaves Italy, driving a truck equipped as a dental clinic, to reach marginalised and abandoned children in Romania to treat them and give them back some hope. During the recent earthquake in Central Italy, Overland for Smile was also present with a station in Norcia, to provide dental services to the citizens affected by the earthquake.

As Scientific Director, Prof Gherlone was the author of all operating protocols that are used by the Overland for Smile team.

From 2008 to 2011, Prof Enrico Gherlone held important positions at the Ministry of Health and the Higher Health Council where he represented dentistry.

Also important was his activity in the College of University Teachers of Odontostomatology disciplines, where he was National President from 2015 to 2018.

We owe to Prof. Enrico Gherlone the foundation of Dentistry at the San Raffaele Hospital and the Vita Salute University (after the separation of San Raffaele from the State University of Milan), as he was both the first tenured hospital chief to direct a dental service at the hospital and the first med 28 professor (odontostomatological diseases) at the University.

The Dentistry Service of 1998, which had a clinical activity based on six dental units, has seen exponential implementation over the years, arriving at its current set-up, which sees a Department formed by the Dental Clinic (where the clinical activity of the Dental School is carried out, and the clinical internship of the students of the Dentistry degree course) the Oral Hygiene and Prevention Centre (dedicated to hygiene services and home to the clinical internship of students on the degree course in Hygiene) and the Dentistry Service (dedicated to in-patient services). The Department also includes the outpatient clinics of the San Luigi Ville Turro Centre, dedicated to the treatment of special needs patients. In total, from the 6 dental units in 1998, today the Department comprises 30 dental units divided between clinical and teaching activities, including 4 state-of-the-art operating microscopes and surgical operating theatres connected to the 3 in-house teaching rooms that allow live viewing of procedures during the courses that are held. In addition to this, there is also a workstation dedicated to digital dentistry, for chair-side procedures that allow prosthetic artefacts to be made in a few minutes, after optical impressions, using a digital milling machine.

Prof. Gherlone was the founder of the Degree Course in Dental Hygiene at the Vita-Salute University (2005) as well as the Degree Course in Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics (2011). In addition to this, he created one of the most important postgraduate training schools in Dentistry, which trains numerous doctors from all over the world every year. Prof Gherlone is also responsible for the recent (2016) opening of the first postgraduate school in dentistry at Vita-Salute University, the School of Oral Surgery and the School of Orthodontics. He was the Director of the School of Specialisation in Oral Surgery, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan (position terminated on 8 November 2018 when he took office as Magnifico Rettore, position reconfirmed in November 2021).

These activities have been increasingly well received (applications for enrolment in the two degree courses are constantly growing), and have been carried out by Prof. Enrico Gherlone together with his appointment as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, since October 2017, as Pro-Rector for Institutional Relations and, since 8 November 2018, as Rector of the Vita-Salute University, and an intense action that has seen him play an active role, both as Director of Clinical Departments as well as university and as a clinical practitioner.

In 2016, to confirm the actions taken and the results achieved in all areas of dentistry, a chapter was dedicated to Prof Enrico Gherlone in the book “Tra i Maestri e Pionieri dell’Odontoiatria Italiana”.

To mark the 20th anniversary of the San Raffaele Dental Clinic, the book “Odontoiatria San Raffaele, venti anni di sorrisi, passione e dedizione” was published in 2022.