Meet Dr. Velazquez
Dr. Alan Velazquez started his dental career when he was 15 years old (2001) as a part-time dental assistant at VM Dental, where he was able to support in limited administrative and clinical aspects of the practice. This exposure to the field of Dentistry made him aware of importance and life changing possibilities of Esthetic Dentistry, which made it clear for him to decide and apply to Dental School at Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (U.A.B.C.) in 2005.
Following graduation in 2010, Dr. Velazquez moved to Ensenada, Mexico for a one year internship in General Dentistry at Clínica Hospital ISSSTE (Federal Hospital).
After the internship, he returned to VM Dental as a General Dentist and In 2014, he decided to apply to the Postgraduate program in Esthetic, Restorative and Implant Dentistry at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus. As a result, Dr. Alan Velazquez became one of the first Dentists in all of Mexico to receive training in Osseodensification, which is a novel technique for advanced and minimally invasive implant placement, a technique which was developed during his training at UMN.
In 2016 he was among the few participants worldwide selected to be part of the Summer Institute in Clinical Dental Research Methods, at the University of Washington. Soon after he was invited by a group of researchers from the University of Utah to be part of a research team dedicated to Oral Cancer Prevention.
As part of his ongoing training, Dr. Velazquez received an advanced osseodensification certificate from Dr. Ziv Mazor in Tel Aviv, Israel in 2019.
His passion for teaching has led him to obtain a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree from the Faculty of Medicine and Psychology at U.A.B.C. (2017-2019). An achievement recognized by his alma mater (U.A.B.C.) by appointing him professor in Restorative, Esthetic and Implant Dentistry and Oral Cancer prevention.
His expertise and skills in Public Health have been crucial in helping his patients feel safe during their visits to VM Dental throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Velazquez is now doing a Ph.D. degree in Clinical Dental Science focused on Restorative Aesthetic Digital Dentistry.
Dr. Alan Velazquez is an active member of the International Association of Dental Research (I.A.D.R.) and the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (A.A.C.D.), with frequent research collaborations with colleagues from different Universities. The results of said collaborations have been published in International Journals and also conference presentations in International Meetings held in Mexico, the United States, Canada, Colombia and the U.K.
In 2020, Dr. Alan was the recipient of the Behavioral, Epidemiological, Health Services Research (BEHSR) Lois Cohen International Travel Award by I.A.D.R.
During his free time, Dr. Velazquez enjoys running and spending time with his friends and family.
