Professor Gudbrand Øilo, DDS passed away on September 5th 2021, at 85 years of age.
Gudbrand Øilo was affiliated with NIOM for more than 25 years. He came initially as a research scientist from 1977 to 1979. He then went on to become associate professor at the Faculty of Dentistry in Oslo, and professor in dentistry at the University of Gothenburg.
Gudbrand returned to NIOM in 1984 to head the section investigating chemical and physical properties of dental materials. He held this position until 1995. For the last two of these years, he also served as NIOM’s director.
In autumn 1995, he was appointed professor in the Faculty of Dentistry in Oslo. He maintained a part-time connection with NIOM until 2010.
An innovative researcher
Gudbrand was an active researcher who leaves a worthy legacy. His PhD from 1978 dealt with the properties of dental cements. Cements and dental ceramics were two topics that he focused on throughout his research career. In addition, he was concerned with the best possible quality of clinical trials. Many techniques using imprints and replica models to estimate surface wear, fit or defects in fillings or at crown edges, were developed by Gudbrand, and subsequently used by other researchers. In total, he published more than 80 articles in scientific journals.
He saw the need and advocated for NIOM’s testing activity to be accredited. In 1992, the institute was accredited as the second laboratory in Norway, beaten by just a few days by another laboratory. To put this in perspective and to show how forward-looking Gudbrand was, Norway currently has 315 accredited test laboratories.
Gudbrand was involved in European and international standardization within dentistry. He was head of the Norwegian delegation at international and European standardization meetings, and acted as both working group leader and technical expert for many years. He gained acceptance for his standpoint in setting requirements for the properties dental materials, often thanks to extensive laboratory data acquired at NIOM.
A professional with vast knowledge
After retirement from the Faculty of Dentistry, he worked as lead auditor at Nordic Dental Certification, a Norwegian regulatory body for approval, i.e. CE marking, of dental products. He was a highly respected, very conscientious and reputedly strict auditor, whose integrity in questions of product safety and quality was paramount in dealing with clients. His feedback had great impact due to his extensive professional understanding. Manufacturers appreciated being audited by a person with such depth of knowledge of their products.
Gudbrand has been a good ambassador for NIOM. This is thanks to his extensive work both in international and European standardization and as an auditor, and to his many publications.
Our thoughts go to his family and loved ones. He will be greatly missed.
