MEET DR. GUESS
Dr. Guess has lived in or around the El Dorado Hills area since 1966. He was a nationally ranked chess player by the age of 14. He also scored in the top 0.5% of all students taking the Pre-Scholastic Aptitude Test which earned him a National Semi-finalist Award. Dr. Guess’ dental career started at the University of California at Davis. While attending UC Davis he volunteered to work at a summer dental clinic outside of Modesto. At UC Davis he worked in the physio– psychology research lab under Dr. Ken Henry. His research consisted of testing the hearing of young mice given aminoglyocide antibiotics. The findings were considered very important for preventing hearing loss for infants through the use of antibiotics. This work culminated in a prestigious international publication in ACTA Otolaryngology that he co-authored. Prior to completing his degree at Davis, he was accepted for admission to the University of California, San Francisco. He received several distinguished awards while at UCSF. He was accepted twice into the Project Carolyn group which went to Israel to perform dentistry for children. He was recognized by the school as being an exceptional student and was allowed to work in the Faculty Clinic Area to treat patients as a senior dental student. He did an advanced surgical rotation at Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco, an advanced removable prosthetics (dentures) rotation in Yountville Veteran’s Hospital and was invited to participate in the orthodontic clinic as an undergraduate. During his last two years he worked in the Biomaterials Dental Laboratory. Here he tested various materials destined for utilization in the oral cavity. He was awarded the outstanding clinical student by the Academy of General Dentistry, while completing his Bachelor of Science and earning his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree.
Prior to graduating from UCSF he was offered a post-doctoral orthodontic residency position at the Ohio State University. Under the direction of his Chairman, Dr. Ze’ev Davidovitch, Dr. Guess was allowed to work on several tasks and completed several unlikely goals as a resident. First, he learned how to perform basic science research. His training resulted in a published abstract. Applying mainframe computer knowledge to orthodontics he started manipulating pre-treatment photographs to estimate the final treatment outcome for patients. Harnessing this technology these papers became the seminal work which led to the formation and development of orthodontic digital technology companies. His work was well-received in the US and abroad. The research findings were published in three prestigious journals in the US and one in Japan. Harnessing this technology he was a requested student from several professional orthodontic groups. He lectured as a resident at Indiana University and was also invited to lecture at both Beijing Medical University and Shanghai Medical Hospital by the Chinese government.
Coming back from China, he decided that it was time to learn more. Looking at the vast number of options available at the Ohio State University, Dr. Guess applied and was the only student accepted and trained to use the university’s scanning electron microscope. This training led to several more publications and funding for biomaterials orthodontic research. Photographs taken over twenty years ago with the Scanning Electron Microscope are still considered a “gold standard” and printed in literature by orthodontic companies. During his three years at the Ohio State University he authored nearly twenty research papers.
During his tenure at the Ohio State University he was awarded two Master’s Degrees. He earned a Master of Science in Dentistry and a Master of Arts in Educational Administration and also was awarded his certificate in Orthodontics.
Returning to his roots, Dr. Guess worked with Dr. Stanley Inouye, a highly respected board-certified orthodontist and acupuncturist. At Dr. Inouye’s encouragement, Dr. Guess was trained at UCLA School of Dentistry in dental acupuncture and received certificate #5. This training led to more publications, and an extensive instruction manual for health professionals in both acupuncture and transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS). 1n 1999, he was awarded his board certified status from the American Board of Orthodontics which enabled him to join the College of Diplomates, American Board of Orthodontics. In 2006, he was offered a position of Councilor and in 2008 he was nominated and accepted as a Senior Councilor for the College.
Dr. Guess has done extensive research in the field of Dentistry and specialty of Orthodontics. His research findings have been published in several journals such as Dentistry Today, Journal of Dental Research, Orthodontic Review, Journal of Clinical Orthodontics, the Japanese Journal of Clinical Orthodontics and Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry.
He is an active member of the American Dental Association, American Association of Orthodontists, Academy of General Dentists, Pacific Society of Orthodontists, California State Society of Orthodontists, California Dental Association, and Sacramento District Dental Society.
He has taught continuing education courses at University of California, Los Angeles and San Francisco. He has lectured at Harvard University and to the California Dental Association. He has also lectured in Beijing and Shanghai, China and done volunteer dentistry in Israel for children.
When you meet Dr. Guess you will witness the passion and enthusiasm he has for his specialty of orthodontics.
Ze’ev Davidovitch, DMD
December 8, 2008
To Whom It May Concern,
It is truly a distinct pleasure to write in a nutshell my impressions of Dr. Michael Guess, based on knowing him for over 20 years. Please allow me to state at the onset that Mike is a highly talented individual, who has been blessed with a bright mind, productive imagination, clear sense of direction, ability to persevere, identify and find solutions to many health-related challenges.
I met Dr. Guess for the first time when he came to the Ohio State University in the mid 1980s for an interview, following his application for admission to our 3-year program in Graduate Orthodontics. At that time I was serving as the Chairman of the Section of Orthodontics at OSU. Mike was invited to the interview along with 20 others, chosen from a group of about 200 applicants on the basis of their qualifications and accomplishments. Every year we accepted six new residents. The members of the Admissions Committee were very impressed by him, ranked him highly, and we were very glad to learn shortly thereafter that he would indeed join us.
The decision to accept Dr. Guess into the OSU orthodontic residency program turned out to be an excellent one. Mike was an outstanding student, with a friendly, warm demeanor toward his patients, classmates, and teachers. Besides demonstrating a high level of clinical proficiency, he was also engaged in meaningful research, both at school and beyond. At one point he went to China for a short visit, to acquire knowledge about acupuncture, a field that was of great interest to him. Mike is the only student I know, whose research work was displayed on the cover page of the Journal of Clinical Orthodontics! Quite an impressive achievement! That project had to do with computer manipulation of pictures of crooked teeth before starting orthodontic treatment, in order to predict how they would look at the end of treatment. It was a novel idea at that time, preceding by a few years the widespread use of this method in orthodontics worldwide. The idea resulted from Mike’s broad interest in many subjects, some related to orthodontics indirectly.
On a personal basis, I found Dr. Guess to be proactive, taking initiatives without hesitation, always displaying the enthusiasm of a true explorer. With all these virtues, he remains humble, able and willing to listen to others.
About a decade after Dr. Guess’ graduation from the OSU orthodontic program, I was appointed Head of the Department if Orthodontics at Harvard University, and was searching for a Clinic Director. To my delight, Mike applied for this position, and after an inspiring interview I was ready to offer him the position, but at the last moment was advised by the dean that the funds required for this appointment were needed urgently elsewhere. I was very disappointed and always regretted that Mike never came to Harvard to work as my Clinical Director.
In October 2006 I met Mike at a conference in Utah, and talked with him for a while. I was pleased to learn that his enthusiasm about exploring new ideas that might lead to improved health has remained strong as ever. His vast clinical experience has clearly sharpened his focus, and enabled him to continue searching for solutions to a number of specific and general health-related problems, such as pain, and the effect of drinking water on our wellbeing.
During my four decades as an orthodontic educator and researcher I taught and trained hundreds of orthodontic residents from all over the world. I can state unequivocally that on my list, Dr. Michael Guess ranks among the top two or three most talented individuals. I consider the fact that our paths have crossed to be a true privilege.
Dr. Ze’ev Davidovitch
Professor of Orthodontics, Emeritus
Harvard University