Dr. Eduardo Guzman was seemingly born to practice medicine. His physician father introduced him to the love of medicine. However, Dr. Guzman had more than his father’s example, there have been a number of signposts along the way that pointed him to his profession.

One of the first signposts showed up when he was in high school. While trying to open a bottle with his teeth, he broke a tooth necessitating a root canal. Friends tried to talk him out of what they said would be a painful procedure. Wanting to save his tooth, he ignored the advice. His decision turned out to be life changing. The root canal was painless and with an up-close view of dentistry in action, he was hooked.

“I chose dentistry because I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives.”

As a young dental student, Dr. Guzman had another “aha” moment. He was doing implants for the first time and his patient was a woman in her 70s. She had worn dentures for 50 years. The woman wanted to know if with implants she would be able to eat an apple. Assuring her that she would, she committed to the procedure. When the implants were done, she pulled an apple from a simple brown bag and took a big bite. “When I heard the crunch of the apple and saw the tears rolling down her face, I knew that this was it. I had truly found my calling."