Penn Dental Names Dr. Ricardo Teles Department of Periodontics Chair

 

Ricardo Teles, DDS, DMSc

Philadelphia – Following an extensive search for the leadership post in the school’s Department of Periodontics, Penn Dental Medicine is pleased to welcome Dr. Ricardo Teles to the school’s faculty as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Periodontics. His appointment is effective August 15.

“We are excited to have Ricardo leading our Department of Periodontics,” says Morton Amsterdam Dean Denis Kinane. “He has the vision from both a clinical and research perspective to ensure Penn periodontics continues to excel.”

Dr. Teles comes to Penn Dental Medicine from the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry, where he served as OraPharma Distinguished Professor in the Department of Periodontology since 2014 and Vice Chair of the Department since 2015. Part of The Forsyth Institute since 2003, Dr. Teles most recently served as Senior Research Investigator (2014-2017) in the Department of Applied Oral Sciences within the Center for Periodontology. From 2010-2014, Dr. Teles also held the appointment of Associate Director of Forsyth’s Center for Clinical and Translational Research and served as the Center’s Director from 2009-2010. Since 2003, he was also a clinical instructor in periodontics at Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

A native of Brazil, Dr. Teles earned his DDS (1988) at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Dr. Teles holds a DMSc (Oral Biology, 1996) and a certificate in periodontology (1996) from Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Teles is Board Certified in Periodontology and Dental Implant Surgery.

An accomplished researcher, the overarching focus of Dr. Teles’ research is on the cause and treatment of periodontal diseases. Dr. Teles has been the principal investigator and co-investigator on many NIH- funded clinical trials focusing on the etiology and pathogenesis of periodontal diseases and the clinical and biological effects of periodontal therapies. The Teles lab also conducts bench research focusing on the interplay between subgingival polymicrobial biofilms and mediators of the immuno-inflammatory host response. In addition, his lab has developed sophisticated in vitro and ex vivo biofilm models to examine the susceptibility of these structures to antimicrobial agents.

Dr. Teles’ wife, Dr. Flavia Teles, has also joined the Penn Dental Medicine faculty as Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology.