David R. Wasserman was born on December 3, 1944 in Newark, New Jersey. In 1966 he graduated from Rutgers University with his bachelors in Zoology. In 1970 he received his Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. Upon graduation he served two years of active duty as a captain in the United States Air Force Dental Corps at Nellis Air Force Base.