A native of Toledo, Ohio, Gary earned a B.S. in Education from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio and a D.D.S. from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He and his wife, classmate Dr. Cheryl DeWood, completed a General Practice Residency at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. In 2004 he earned a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences at The University of Toledo College of Medicine.

From 1981 through 2003 he and Cheryl maintained a private restorative and general family practice in Ohio. He left private practice in 2003 to devote full time to teaching. Gary holds or has held appointments as Assistant Professor at The University of Toledo College of Medicine, Associate Professor at The University of Tennessee College of Dentistry, Visiting Associate Faculty and then Resident Faculty Clinical Director at The Pankey Institute. He currently serves as Director of Marketing and Publications and Clinical and Business Instructor at The Pankey Institute.

Gary is a member of the ADA, the Tennessee Dental Association, the Memphis Dental Society, the American Equilibration Society, the Academy of Fixed Prosthodontics, and the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He divides time between Key Biscayne, Florida and Memphis, Tennessee.