Sao Paulo
Rafael Puglisi (18) died this Monday at the age of 35 in an accident at home. The news caused shock among many celebrities as he was known as the “Dentist of the Famous”, a title he also made clear on social media by posting several pictures with his clients such as Juliette, Neymar and Jade Picon.
Puglisi graduated in dentistry from the Faculdades Metropolitanas Unidas (FMU) in São Paulo, representing the fourth generation of his family to dedicate himself to this profession, according to the official website of the company he worked for. He was clinical director at the Instituto Odontológico Guy Puglisi (IGP), a luxury clinic specializing in oral care in the capital São Paulo. His expertise included planning complex rehabilitation and highquality aesthetic procedures with a focus on oral health.
On social media and in the courses he taught, Rafael described himself as an oral rehabilitator with an international specialty in aesthetic dentistry. He has been known for enhancing the smiles of several Brazilian celebrities, including Neymar, Whindersson Nunes, Rodrigo Faro, Juliette, Jade Picon and Marina Ruy Barbosa.
In his private life, his contacts with celebrities crossed borders: Puglisi also had a close friendship with soccer star Neymar. In 2017, he revealed that the two used to play poker together and, of course, took care of the player’s dental treatment, which included the famous celebrityfavorite dental contact lenses.
In 2020, the actress and singer Larissa also trusted Manoela Puglisi for a similar procedure and invested more than R$ 50,000 to improve the alignment of her teeth.
He was also the first boyfriend of influencer Shantal Verdelho, who mourned his death in a post on Instagram. “My God, my first boyfriend. We experienced a lot together, we discovered a lot together, I learned a lot from you and I confess that I experienced a lot of emotions. May God have you, I am very sure that you lived.” and had a lot of fun in this intense and fulfilling life. I will never forget it,” she wrote.
Rafael was an active personality on social media and often shared his clients’ dental treatments. Additionally, her posts reflected her love of travel, with pictures from destinations such as Fernando de Noronha, London and Doha over the past year.
At the end of 2022, Rafael Puglisi fulfilled one of his dreams by watching a World Cup. During the same trip, he explored other destinations in Asia. “It’s been a 26day trip… with my childhood friends, lifelong brothers, thanking God for the opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream: watching the World Cup,” he wrote in an Instagram post at the time.
Another of the dentist’s passions was swimming, which was tragically linked to his death. He was reportedly preparing to swim in his pool when the fatal accident occurred. Doctors tried to resuscitate him, but unfortunately he arrived at the hospital dead.