Raul grew up in Valley Center, a town in San Diego County. With two older siblings and loving parents, he enjoyed all the benefits of being raised in a rural community. Following high school, he attended University of California, San Diego, where he double majored in Cell Biology/ Biochemistry and Economics. Raul was torn between pursuing his dreams of being a dentist or working as an economics analyst. Once he completed college, he worked for a few years in San Diego and Amsterdam as an energy economics analyst. He then decided to pursue his career as a dentist by committing to Temple University School of Dentistry in Philadelphia. Fortunately, for Dr. Contreras his college sweetheart and wife was also attending medical school in Philadelphia at the same time. After graduation from dental school, Dr. Contreras joined his wife in Oakland, where she completed a medical residency. The couple have two young children that keep them very busy.