An interview with Matheus Melo Pithon

During one of my trips to the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), as a PhD resident, Dr. Antônio Carlos Ruellas greeted me with his usual kindness and told me: “Let’s go to the lab. I would like to introduce you to two new orthodontic residents who graduated from a Dental School at your home state. They are excellent and they write really good papers.” One of them was Dr. Matheus M. Pithon. Less than 10 years latter, Dr. Pithon became an orthodontist with great scientific production in Brazil, and certainly one of the most academically productive worldwide. All this academic success was achieved before he turned 40 years old and while he was affiliated to the Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia (UESB), located in the heart of Bahia state (Brazil). When I think about what Dr. Pithon has been able to achieve, one word comes to my mind: impressive. His ethics, his ability to motivate people to believe in their work and his unbelievable determination to publish his papers in the best possible scientific journals are remarkable. However, even with all academic success, Dr. Pithon also has a part-time private clinic in Vitória da Conquista (Bahia, Brazil) and has been certified by the Brazilian Board or Orthodontics (BBO) since 2011. Combining excellence in academics and in the private practice has been one of Dr. Pithon’s features in his orthodontic career so far. One of his latest papers, which assessed the influence of dental esthetics in finding a job, obtained great visibility in the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics. It also attracted the attention of Brazilian local news media. Despite his success, Dr. Pithon is a simple and humble person, admired and loved by his students. These personal characteristics may be due to his strong family values. He is married to Ana Carolina, a dermatologist and university professor. They have a one-year-old son, João Pedro. When Dr. Pithon is not consulting patients at his office or teaching and writing papers, he is spending time with his family or enjoying his new passion: raising cattle and horses. On the next few pages, Dr. Pithon will tell us about his short, but rather intense career in Orthodontics, either as a clinician, a researcher or a professor. (Dauro Douglas Oliveira) » DDS, Universidade José do Rosário Vellano (UNIFENAS). » Certificate in Orthodontics, Universidade Federal de Alfenas (UNIFAL). » MSc in Dentistry (Orthodontics), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). » PhD in Dentistry (Orthodontics), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). » Postdoctoral Fellow (Pediatric Dentistry), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). » Associate professor of Orthodontics, Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia (UESB). » Diplomate of the Brazilian Board of Orthodontics (BBO).