Remembering Gary F. Guest, BS, DDS, a pillar of the School of Dentistry

A School of Dentistry graduate and leader for more than four decades, Dr. Guest guided the school's clinics, championed its early use of technology and oversaw construction of the Center for Oral Health Care and Research.

The UT San Antonio School of Dentistry is mourning the loss of Gary F. Guest, BS, DDS, former associate dean for patient care, who died Nov. 4, 2026, at the age of 72.

A 1980 graduate of the school, Dr. Guest spent more than four decades as a faculty member and administrator. He led the school's clinical enterprise, moving it to the forefront of digital dentistry, and oversaw the planning and construction of the Center for Oral Health Care and Research, home of UT Dentistry. Colleagues remember him as a steady, generous leader who never stopped working on behalf of the school, the people in it and the patients it served.

"Gary was one of the pillars of our school," said Kenneth Hargreaves, DDS, PhD, dean of the School of Dentistry. "His leadership, energy, enthusiasm and sheer brilliance catalyzed the growth and evolution of our school as it gained national prominence. He was a role model for me, and I am grateful for his years of advice and friendship. He will be missed every day."

A San Antonio native, Dr. Guest graduated from MacArthur High School and earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Texas Tech University in 1976, lettering all four years in distance running. He also took computer science classes, an interest that would shape his career. After earning his DDS from the School of Dentistry, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in periodontics at the university in 1982.

He went on to serve as a professor in the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry and also served as the longtime course director for clinical patient management as well as head of patient management systems. He was named assistant dean for predoctoral clinics in 2004 and associate dean for patient care in 2014, overseeing all patient care in the school's clinics along with their finances, facilities and simulation labs. He also served as chief information officer for the School of Dentistry.

Dr. Guest recognized that technology could change how dentistry is taught and practiced. He had one of the first BITNET addresses at the school, an early academic computer network, and taught himself HTML to build the school's first course website. He was part of a national think tank that developed a functional specification for a dental electronic health record, and, along with a university colleague, he was the first at the dental school to implement a picture archiving and communication system for radiographic imaging. He initiated the school's integrated electronic patient record and led the student laptop program, which made the school one of the first to deliver curriculum and clinical decision support by laptop. He also streamlined patient admissions, cutting wait times from days to hours. Nationally, he served for about 15 years on the American Dental Association's Standards Committee on Dental Informatics.

"I had the pleasure of working with Dr. Guest on many efforts to modernize technology over the years," said Brian Cartee, assistant vice president for information technology services at UT San Antonio. "I especially remember him showing great patience with me on one of my first academic projects, which focused on faculty information. When the project met resistance, Dr. Guest stood by me to help keep things moving forward and gave me techniques that have served me well throughout my career. I am truly sad to lose a friend and mentor."

Kenneth L. Kalkwarf, DDS, MS, former dean of the School of Dentistry, remembered how Dr. Guest approached every new project to strengthen support for students. "He thoughtfully discussed each new project with all the involved parties, agreed to take the point position and quietly disappeared for a short time, returning with a detailed, logical and practical plan of execution," Dr. Kalkwarf said. "After obtaining everyone's comments and making the appropriate adjustments, he would share his favorite phrase, 'Let's take this for a touchdown!' And he always succeeded."

That approach defined his best-known project. Dr. Guest helped plan the roughly 200,000-square-foot Center for Oral Health Care and Research from the ground up and saw it through construction to its opening in 2015. Then-Dean William W. Dodge, DDS, credited him with managing the building's technical details and a record-breaking move from the old clinic building. Today the center provides more than 100,000 patient visits each year, and its students and patients continue to benefit from his work.

"Out of all the project advocates we've worked with over the years, there were none more involved than Dr. Guest," said Michael A. Charlton, PhD, senior vice president for facilities and capital planning and chief facility planning officer at the Health Science Center. "When that building was under construction, Dr. Guest attended onsite inspections to ensure every clinical detail was meticulously followed. He routinely inspected the construction site wearing a hard hat and scrubs. That project would not have been a success without Dr. Guest."

The building, along with his work on the electronic patient record and digital imaging systems, earned him the UT Health San Antonio Presidential Award for Distinguished Service to the Institution in 2016.

When COVID-19 reached San Antonio in 2020, Dr. Guest led the clinical response. He joined regional planning calls with health partners, secured N95 respirators and other protective equipment, and his team built an in-house vapor sterilization process so respirators could be safely reused without drawing on supplies that hospitals needed. When state orders allowed non-emergency dental care to resume that May, the school's clinics already had new safety protocols in place.

"Gary and I worked closely together during COVID to provide respiratory protection to the dental students so they could continue to see patients and advance their academic programs," Dr. Charlton said. "Our dental school was one of just a handful of dental schools that were able to continue with their academic studies and clinical activities in 2020, in large part due to Dr. Guest's keen insight and patient safety advocacy. He was a genuine and caring healthcare provider and helped to shape the practice of dentistry in Texas for a generation."

Even after retiring as associate dean, Dr. Guest kept working for the school. He was recently named professor emeritus, and an operatory in the school's clinics will bear his name. He also returned to help the school prepare for its upcoming accreditation site visit from the Commission on Dental Accreditation, taking on Standard 5, which covers patient care.

"Gary was always the pillar who kept our clinics running without a hitch," said Adriana Segura, DDS, MS, professor emeritus and senior advisor for education, who worked alongside him on the school's 2019 accreditation. "Who would have thought that years later, both of us in our retirement roles, we would once again help the school prepare for its accreditation visit? Gary ‘picked up the baton’ and was instrumental in helping us complete Standard 5, which focuses on patient care, an area he knew better than anyone. Even while hospitalized, he was still working and sending us addendums. That was Gary, always dedicated and determined to get the job done."

Borrowing one of his favorite football expressions, Dr. Segura said the team made him a promise. "We promised him that we would finish Standard 5 in his honor and take it ‘all the way to the end zone,’” she said. "Gary, we will miss you dearly, but your dedication, friendship and the incredible impact you had on our school will never be forgotten."

Last year, when the school remembered longtime faculty member Peggy Alexander, DDS, MPH, Dr. Guest called her "a gem" and said, "You always wanted her on your team." Colleagues now use the same words for him.

"Dr. Guest worked tirelessly for the School of Dentistry, but what made him such a gem of a human being was that his efforts were never simply about the institution itself," said Stefanie D. Seitz, DDS, MEd, associate dean for academic, faculty and student affairs. "They were about the people who made it what it is, its faculty, staff and students. He genuinely cared for us, and his commitment went far beyond fulfilling the responsibilities of his role. He made the school a better place for everyone. His legacy is not just reflected in what he accomplished for the school, but in the countless lives he touched along the way. I will forever be grateful that he helped get our 'wheels up' for our 2027 accreditation site visit."

Looking back on his career in a 2024 interview, Dr. Guest put it simply. "I was part of something much bigger than myself," he said.

Dr. Guest is survived by his wife of 46 years, Debra Tsukifuji Guest; his daughter, Katy Guest Jones, DDS; his son, John Franklin Guest; and three grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at The Fellowship of San Antonio, 23755 Canyon Golf Road, San Antonio. Read the full obituary.

Those who wish to honor Dr. Guest's memory may contribute to the Gary F. Guest, DDS Endowment for Clinical Excellence.