Giorgio Chiogna 1951-2021

Dental Surgeon and Gnathologist
Former Head of the Department of Gnathology of the Hospital Don C Gnocchi, Rome
1951-2021
MD 1977, DDS 1982, MSc 2003

Giorgio Chiogna who died suddenly in Rome on July 25th, 2021, aged 70 was a Dental Surgeon and Gnathologist. He worked in Rome at the Don C Gnocchi Hospital and as a Freelance Specialist at his private surgery.

Dr Chiogna was born in Rome in 1951 to a cultured family with a wide range of interests. His father Carlo was a Dental Surgeon, an excellent chess player, a fine painter and had an extensive knowledge of the classics, literature, history and philosophy. He attended one of the most prestigious secondary schools in Rome, the Liceo/Ginnasio Torquato Tasso obtaining the Diploma in Classical Studies in 1971. The previous year he had suffered an unfair failure at the final exams. This was his first painful experience of institutional politicisation and corruption that would have marked him for the rest of his life. A custom that would have become a norm in an Italy that was starting to become ugly.

In 1977 he obtained his MD summa cum laude in Medicine and Surgery from the Università degli Studi “La Sapienza”, Rome. From 1978 to 1980 he trained in Radiology before deciding to pursue a career in Dental Surgery and in 1982 was awarded the Diploma of Specialist in Dentistry and Stomatology summa cum laude by Università degli Studi “La Sapienza”, Rome. He said that “Dental Surgery fulfilled his passion for minor surgery and for the complex diseases of the oral cavity and of the temporo mandibular joint”. This stimulated him to acquire a deep knowledge of the anatomy, physiology and pathology of the head and neck as well as the relevant clinical medicine, in particular neurology, which he was able to master due to his basic training in medicine.

In the early 90s he suffered from a severe medical condition with long lasing sequelae and, at the same time, faced very difficult and laborious personal circumstances. He overcame adversity with great courage, intelligence, strenuous and tireless activity becoming foremost in his profession. In the next decade he attended courses in gnathology, axiography and the SAM system, maxillo facial surgery, orthodontics and electromyography. In 1999 he was appointed Head of the Department of Gnathology at the Centro Santa Maria della Pace, Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi. He established a multidisciplinary team with ENT Surgeons, Neurologists and Physiotherapists. He worked closely with the radiologist prof Silvana Giannini, developing various imaging techniques for the evaluation of the disorders of the temporo mandibular joint. In 2003 his service received a prize for excellence in Medicine. He was a pioneer in the management of somatosensory tinnitus.

In 2000 he met Prof. Rudolf Slavicek and Prof. Sadao Sato whom he defines as “unequalled authorities in dentistry and complex orthodontics who simplified complex problems”. This event changed his professional life. In 2003 he received his MSc Dental Sciences from the Donau University, Krems (Austria). In 2004 he obtained the Master Diploma in Orthodontics in Craniofacial Dysfunction from the Kanagawa Dental College, Yokosuka. He was the Founding Member and President of AGO (Association of Gnathology Dentistry). Responsible and Academic Head of the site gnatologia.org.

He was a Founding Member of AIG (Italian Association of Gnathology), a Member of ICOM (Interdisciplinary Conference Occlusion Medicine) ex iAAID Academy (International Academy of Advanced Interdisciplinary Dentistry) and a Member of Functional Anatomy Research. He was a keen teacher, trained many Dental Surgeons and was always willing to give his advice and share his experience and knowledge. He was a lecturer in Gnathology at the Master Course “Complementary Techniques in Rehabilitation Medicine” held at the Università degli Studi ‘La Sapienza’, Roma.

Giorgio was always eager for knowledge and open to many topics that are also of great interest to me. I will miss the discussions with him, just as I will miss his wonderful refreshing sense of humour.
(Prof. Rudolf Slavicek)

Giorgio Chiogna was an erudite man and a superior intellect. He was well read and had wide-ranging interests: Latin, Greek, literature, history, philosophy classical music and photography. In his younger days he practiced football, judo and swimming. He was a man of high moral standards, scrupulously honest, vivacious, eccentric with a strong mind of his own. He was unconventional and the people who understood him were faced with a multitalented, very kind and generous man. He despised and avoided servility and obsequiousness. He was modest and was held in the outmost affection by the people who worked with him. He leaves his devoted wife Patrizia Milioni who worked with him for 30 years and a son Michele from a previous marriage.

Lionello D. Coen, MD, MSci, FRCS