Enrico Gherlone Teaching activity

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Enrico Gherlone's teaching activity began very early on, already when he was enrolled in the School of Specialization in Odontostomatology he was giving lectures at the newly established Degree Course in Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics in special odontostomatological pathology.

It was at that time (1982) that the Dental Clinic in Genoa, then headed by Prof. Silvestrini, sent him for a period of study and to give a course of lectures at the Complutense University of Madrid by Prof. Lucas Tomas, an internationally renowned oral pathologist. These lectures were about preparation techniques in aesthetic prosthetics without metal support.

After completing his postgraduate school of dentistry and dental prosthetics, the then Dr Gherlone was given several assignments as an adjunct professor at the Degree Course in Dentistry and was later entrusted with the official teaching of Prosthetics at the Postgraduate School of Dentistry.

During the same period, Prof Ciancaglini entrusted him with a teaching contract in prosthetics at the State University of Milan, which at the time had an agreement with San Raffaele.

Also from those years are several post-graduate teaching assignments at specialization courses in both Genoa and Milan.

When he became head physician at San Raffaele, he was given a contract by the Vita e Salute University to teach Dental Clinic at the degree course in Medicine and Surgery (a position he still holds today as a tenured professor), and in those years up to the present there have been many post-graduate courses he has conducted to train colleagues, especially in the prosthetic and implant-prosthetic field.

He became associate professor first and full professor later, and in 2005 he was the promoter of the Degree Course in Dental Hygiene.

In 2010, at the encouragement of the founder of San Raffaele Don Luigi Verzè, he was the promoter of the Degree Course in Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics, for which he is chairman and coordinator of the technical planning committee.

An innovative degree course whose aim is to prepare students comprehensively to face the latest challenges they face at a time of crisis and globalization of the system.

Since 2015, he has been the promoter and obtained at the Ministry of University approval of the first two specialization schools in the dental area at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University: the School of Specialization in Oral Surgery and the School of Specialization in Orthodontics. Both schools were activated and, from February 2016 until he took office as Magnifico Rector, Prof. Gherlone was Director of the School of Oral Surgery.

At San Raffaele numerous post-graduate courses have been organized in dentistry over the years, covering the most important dental disciplines, especially prosthodontics and implantology. Since 2012, courses have been implemented on cadavers and human anatomical preparations both for teaching topographical anatomy and for training doctors in modern implantology, aimed at both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Since 30 November 2020, the COVID-SAFE area has been active within the department of dentistry at San Raffaele. On a fortnightly basis, all hospital and university staff working within the department, operators, undergraduate and postgraduate students including nursing staff, underwent rapid antigenic swabbing. The swabs were carried out, by appropriately trained operators, after measuring temperature and signing the self-declaration on entry, according to a dedicated route in an area away from the operational activity, ventilated with natural ventilation and appropriately sanitised. The procedure was also carried out for all those patients who were considered as doubtful or suspected cases at triage. Furthermore, it was also possible to support the admission lines of the Vaccine Hub in Novegro thanks to the collaboration between the San Raffaele Hospital, the San Donato Group and the Hospital Dental Network.

Since 2023, a laboratory equipped with all the latest technologies for the design and production of prosthetic, gnathological and orthodontic artefacts has been opened within the San Raffaele Department of Dentistry. It allows prostheses to be made using both traditional dental technology processes and digital CAD/CAM systems, both subtractive, i.e. by milling, and additive, i.e. through 3D printing processes. The laboratory allows the dentist to design and produce, in complete autonomy, provisional and definitive artefacts using 'chairside' methods, thus enabling a 'one-day dentistry' type of treatment. In addition to the dentist, the dental technician also exploits the laboratory's potential to produce metal-free prostheses in an accurate, fast and repeatable manner. This does not, however, preclude the possibility of performing traditional (analogue) work when necessary.The possibilities offered by such a laboratory are then amplified by the use of the most innovative devices for intra-oral scanning of the dental arches, the so-called intra-oral scanners, which, used by dentists, allow them to take the patient's dental impressions without having to resort to the classic 'spoons' and impression materials, reducing the time and inconvenience associated with the traditional procedure. These technologies are also useful for making gnathological splints for the treatment of temporomandibular joint problems and bruxism, as well as for the creation of individualised whitening masks, and also in the orthodontic field for the design and creation of transparent aligners. This integrated system, which links the dentist's chair to the dental technician's bench via digital channels, constitutes a workflow that can be considered state-of-the-art to date.

As part of his institutional teaching commitment at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan, Prof Gherlone has been and is committed:

• Bachelor of Science in Medicine
  • Holder of the teaching of Dental Clinic (SSD MED/28) and Maxillofacial Surgery (SSD MED/29) in the Integrated Course of Surgery and Surgical Specializations, 4th year of the Course of Studies.
  • Coordinator of the APROs in Dentistry, as part of the Integrated Course of Surgery and Surgical Specializations, 4th year of the Course of Studies.
  • Holder of the teaching of Clinical Dentistry (SSD MED/28) in the Integrated Course of Clinical Surgery, 6th year of the Course of Studies.
  • Professor of Clinical Dentistry (MED/28) at the School of Specialization in Pediatrics.
  • Professor of Clinical Dentistry (MED/28) at the School of Specialization in Anesthesia, Resuscitation, and Intensive Care.

• Bachelor of Dental Hygiene
  • Prof. Gherlone was President of the Degree Course in Dental Hygiene and, within it, Coordinator of the Integrated Course in Clinical Dentistry and Reconstructive Dentistry

• International MD Program
  • Prof. Gherlone teaches MED/28 and MED/29, "Odontology" and "Maxillofacial Surgery", as part of the Integrated Course of "Digestive System diseases", 3rd year, in the International MD Program.

• Master's Degree Course in Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics. Prof. Gherlone was President of the Degree Course in Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics until he took office as Magnifico Rettore and, within the same, is also:
  • Coordinator of the observational clinical internship of the Integrated Course in Morphology and Biological Functions, 1st year of the Degree Course.
  • Coordinator of the observational clinical internship for the Integrated Microbiology Course, 2nd year of the Degree Course.
  • Coordinator of the observational clinical internship of the Integrated Course in Dental and Radiological Disciplines, 3rd year of the Study Course.
  • Coordinator of the Integrated Course of Clinical Odontostomatology, 3rd year of the Course of Studies.
  • Coordinator of the observational clinical internship of the Integrated Course in Dental Medicine, 3rd year of the Degree Course.
  • Co-ordinator of the professional internship, 6th year of the course.