A Childhood Dream Come True: From Specialist in Training to Orofacial Harmonization Professor

Achieving a childhood dream, master's student in restorative dentistry and Nepuga alumnus, Dr. Gabriel Monte goes from specialist in training to HOF professor

The Orofacial Harmonization (HOF) specialists in training have many new things this semester as the specialization program begins. One of them is the arrival of a new professor. Gabriel Monte, a master's student in restorative dentistry at USP (University of São Paulo), joins the institution's faculty and brings innovative classes that will enrich the training of the new specialists in Orofacial Harmonization.
Dr. Gabriel Monte is from Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. Memories of his childhood illustrate his calling for teaching: as a child, he loved to play at giving grades, writing, and giving tests to his family.

Through those experiences he developed the desire to become a professor, and that desire grew very naturally in his personality, to the point that he was certain it would happen one day.

“I always wanted to be a professor, ever since I was little. When I was five, I would take my mom's papers and play at giving grades and correcting tests, and by then that desire had become part of me and I was sure it would happen at some point in my life”.

With that passion and a lot of dedication, Gabriel graduated in dentistry, opened his clinic, started his master's, specialized in HOF, and went from student to professor of the Orofacial Harmonization course at Nepuga. We are telling you this brilliant story.

Dentistry training and the invitation to specialize in HOF

When he started his degree, Gabriel Monte began to rediscover himself. For him, aesthetics was not a career goal, but it happened naturally in his life. His Dentistry professors always encouraged him to keep going, because his clinical skills were evident. His quality and sensitivity stood out throughout college, and by the time he finished he was already practicing.

“I found myself in college. As I advanced through the semesters, I took courses and realized I had a knack for aesthetics, and I kept going. I didn't have time to think about practicing or becoming a professor, I just kept going”.

The praise for his procedures encouraged him to keep working. “People would come to me and say I did good work, that I could create a great smile. My professors encouraged me to practice and to pursue a specialization”.

With so much positive feedback, Gabriel decided to open his own clinic, but deep down the desire to be a professor kept shining. “It was after opening the clinic that I decided to do my master's. Now that I'm settled, I'm going to start this new phase of my life”.

It was during his master's that Gabriel saw new doors opening and realized he could take new courses and specializations, when HOF came into his path. This new specialization came by invitation from Dr. Ana Carolina, to be taken at Nepuga. Gabriel, always very sensitive to patients' care and wishes, was looking for ways to deliver a better experience to those who sought him out as a professional.

“I was very honored by the invitation, because it was an area I had always wanted, mainly so that my work as a dentist would have an association and I could deliver a complete plan to my patient, covering the smile and the rest of the face”.

Gabriel Monte enters the HOF specialization and gains the experience to contribute more fully to the care in his clinic, delivering total harmony to his patients.

Fulfilling the dream of becoming a professor

Gabriel's arrival on the Nepuga facultydid not happen overnight. To qualify for the position, the new professor understands the responsibility of the role and has never stopped studying and absorbing new techniques. Monte believes that aesthetic work is very sensitive to each patient individually. The professor explains that, in this context, it is extremely important for the professional to know that, to deliver a complete experience, it is necessary to analyze the whole face and not just the smile.

“People ask: ‘How does he want to link teeth with facial harmonization?’ and that is where I always talk about Visagism. To deliver harmony, to deliver aesthetics, we need to deliver aesthetics as a whole and personalized, with no predefined standards. A tooth that matches the client's face makes all the difference”.

Those are the details Gabriel wants to pass on to the specialists in training. Those analyses can determine the quality of professionals' work.

“When I started the specialization, I wanted even more to be a professor. When I was doing the procedures, I studied, saw new techniques, and felt that I wanted to teach all of this, to explain to people what would be most interesting to do”.

The specialization was fundamental for Gabriel to plan treatments tied to each patient's personality, and this experience, once shared, can be essential for professionals who want to pursue a career.

“I believe that what matters for a professional working with HOF is to deliver work that speaks to the patient's personality and not a ‘cookie-cutter recipe.’ Teaching a person to perform the procedure, they usually already know how; but making a personalized plan, that's where the key is”.

Gabriel has already made his debut as a professor. His first class, held virtually, left him even more eager to be in the classroom with the students.

“I felt very fulfilled, extremely fulfilled. I will bring new content to my classes that we don't usually see. I will bring this concept of visagism ( ) and few people work with it and know how to personalize care for each patient, and here they will learn all these nuances and needs to perform the best procedure, and I am sure they will leave here very satisfied.” It will make a difference in that professional's career”.

Sensitivity in passing on knowledge

Being a professor is more than a profession or a status. That is how Dr. Gabriel Monte sees it. Passing knowledge on to another person is a task that demands love, care, patience, and many other feelings that can welcome the student. The doctor's view extends to his patients as well, since everyone needs to understand the reasons he is performing a given procedure, and so he shares his professional perspective in his clinic.

“I always wanted to be a professor, but not for status, but to be able to share my knowledge in the best possible way. Not only with my students, but with my patients too. I want them to understand; sometimes I give a presentation, a class” and he continues. “All of this comes from my childhood, from my consultations, from the fact that I explain to the patient what we are going to do; it all comes together to make me want the student to grow the same way I grew, but within the right principles”

Gabriel wants to bring into the classroom the idea that aesthetics goes beyond providing standard care and requires sensitivity when performing a procedure.

“I don't want a student I taught to do something wrong or to have preconceived concepts. Aesthetics is individual, it is personalized. Each person has a face, each person has a smile. I want them to have the same feel that I have, and I really hope to be able to pass all of it on to them.”

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