Dentistry came first for Dr. Steve Dadaian as a child, but rock n’ roll wasn’t far behind.

SteveDadaian1089His father, Gary, was a dentist in Cresskill, New Jersey, whose practice, Dadaian Dental, was the location for Steve’s first-ever kindergarten field trip. His interest in the arts was spurred by his mother, Jean, a classical pianist and teacher—but also by his dad’s professional labors.

In the summer edition of Incisal Edge magazine, he told reporter Shannon Bowen:

“I saw the fine details my father put into his work,” Dr. Dadaian says. “I was too young to understand all the theory of dentistry, but I could visually see the art in it.”

Now 31 years old, he runs Dadaian Dental out of the same Cresskill practice.

His “intensive pursuit” of rock glory, meanwhile, began when he was 14. He credits Jimi Hendrix for inspiring his interest and Eddie Van Halen for broadening his understanding of what the guitar could do. Then, while attending Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, Dr. Dadaian met his future residency director, Dr. Phil Terman, who ran a prosthodontic practice in Manhattan—and who was a seasoned professional guitarist as well. (Dr. Dadaian’s recognition of the value of mentoring spurred him to start a program in which students at The College of New Jersey, his undergraduate alma mater, come to his practice and shadow him.)

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One day in late 2014, Dr. Dadaian was doing a root canal when he was notified that Rolling Stone magazine had named him one of the top undiscovered guitarists in the U.S.

“I think the patient was confused why I was so enthusiastic doing the RCT,” he says, laughing.

Find out how where Dr. Dadaian got to open for some of his favorite musicians in a complete interview in the Incisal Edge summer edition:

https://secure.viewer.zmags.com/publication/dc08a6ab#/dc08a6ab/16

Watch Dr. Steve Dadaian go up to 11 via his YouTube channel or on Instagram @SteveDadaian.