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2800 University Blvd N, Jacksonville, FL 32211
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Why Choose Our Oral Implantology Residency?

Jacksonville University's Master of Science in Dentistry and Certificate in Comprehensive Oral Implantology is 36-month paid residency program, supported by the Comprehensive Oral Implantology Residency Foundation (COIRF) and recognized as using the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) post-graduate core curriculum for dental implantology.

The Master of Science in Dentistry and Certificate in Comprehensive Oral Implantology program, also known as the Alfred L. “Duke” Heller & O. Hilt Tatum Comprehensive Oral Implantology Residency Program, it combines cutting-edge clinical residency experience with advanced training through online courses instructed by world-renowned practitioners.

My advice to dentists considering this program is to do it. Take your life to new levels. This program will get you there.
Dr. Neal Redman
JU Comprehensive Oral Implantology resident

JULY 2023 RESIDENCY

Registration is now open for the July 2023 cohort.

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Mission
Certification in Comprehensive Oral Implantology
MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN DENTISTRY

The Master of Science in Dentistry and Certificate in Comprehensive Oral Implantology program values the diverse backgrounds and experiences of its residents and emphasizes the importance of professional ethics, scholarly inquiry, engaged learning opportunities and clinical competence in the practice of comprehensive oral implantology.

Our mission is the success of each resident as a self-assured, proficient comprehensive oral implantologist, who can practice in dynamic health care environments, provide leadership to promote and improve oral health, is committed to the advancement of implantology knowledge and practice, and aspires to life-long learning and achievement in advanced studies.

About Us

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Instructors & Residency Clinical Directors
Dr. Alfred L. "Duke" Heller

Co-founder of the JU Comprehensive Oral Implantology Residency Program

Alfred Heller, DDS, M. S., has placed more than 20,000 implants since 1969. He earned his DDS (1962) and M. S. (1974) from The Ohio State University College of Dentistry. He is an Honored Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID). He also served on the Admissions and Credentials Board of AAID for seven years. In 1980, he founded the Midwest Implant Institute (MII). He is Board Certified in Oral Implantology by the American Board of Oral Implantology. Additionally, Dr. Heller has served as President of the American Board of Oral Implantology (ABOI). Dr. Heller's participation with implant research has enabled him to advance and develop the field of implant surgery. Dr. Heller has completed two FDA studies associated with dental implants and bone grafting materials. Dr. Heller has taught hands-on dental implant surgery post-graduate courses in eight American dental colleges. He and the Midwest Implant Faculty teach all different implant modalities as Dr. Heller believes that "Bone dictates the type of implant to be used that will best serve the patient.

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Dr. O. Hilt Tatum

Co-founder of the JU Comprehensive Oral Implantology Residency Program

Hilt Taum, Jr, DDS has been instrumental in the development of The AAID/JU 3year residency in "Comprehensive Oral Implantology". He has devoted his 65year dental career attempting to serve his patients and share what he has learned with others. He has introduced many of the foundation components which are utilized in COI and he hopes to continue this service during the development of this residency program. Tatum graduated from the now defunct Emory University Dental School in 1957. He had several University faculty appointments in the USA and for 25 years was on the faculty of The Lille University School of medicine in France. Dr. Tatum also served as President of both the American Academy of Implant Dentistry and the American Board of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry. On June 16, 2003, he was awarded The French Legion of Honour by President Jacques Chirac in Paris, France. Following this, he established a training course in Birmingham, England where he trained multiple dentists on how to expand bone, place implants and graft sinuses. He continues to work into his eighth decade.

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Dr. Andrew MacConnell

Program Director

Dr. MacConnell’s educational pursuits span Lebanon Valley College in Annville, PA; Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ; Clemson University, SC.; Emory University Dental School finishing in the top of his class where he earned my Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) in 1984; and University Of Alabama School Of Dentistry’s Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department where he completed a residency in IV Moderate Sedation. He also studied dental implants with the Midwest Dental Implant Institute in Columbus, Ohio and completed their dental implant externship program in August of 2014 and then earned a fellowship from them shortly thereafter (MIIF). Dr. MacConnell has been a general dentist and in private practice since 1984 and currently serves the Tennessee Tri-Cities region. He regularly travels nationally and internationally to lecture and learn. Now as Program Director, Dr. MacConnell's leadership will set the pace for academic excellence and clinical expertise in this comprehensive oral implantology.

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Residency Clinical Directors

Dr. R. Todd Erickson

Dr. Erickson's dental career began at Creighton University, followed by a GPR at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. After a year of private practice in General Dentistry, Dr. Erickson went on to complete his first specialty residency in oral & maxillofacial surgery in Michigan then moved back to Washington State to practice oral surgery as an associate. A few years later, he started his own oral surgery practice in the Seattle-Tacoma area. A decade later, due to the exponential growth in digital technology and the merger of CBCT imaging, treatment planning and the delivery of surgical care, Dr. Erickson pursued a second specialty certification in oral and maxillofacial radiology. Today, Dr. Erickson is a full-time Associate Professor teaching pre-doctoral dental students, orthodontic residents and AEGD residents at AT Still University. Additionally, he is on the faculty at an Implant Education Company in Phoenix, Arizona, where he combines his unique experience as an Oral Radiologist and an Oral Surgeon to diagnose, support and train practitioners who wish to learn how to place dental implants.

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Dr. James W. Gibney

Dr. Gibney is a 1985 graduate of the University of Florida College of Dentistry and a 2009 graduate of Stetson University College of Law. He currently practices dentistry and law in Spring Hill, FL. Dr. Gibney is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry, a Master in the Academy of General Dentistry and a Fellow in the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. He is the developer of “24 Hour Teeth” which is a two-part system of fabricating crowns and bridges combined with a digital approach to implant dentistry allowing the fully edentulous patient to be restored with provisional fixed prostheses in as little as 24 hours after the initial consult.

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Dr. Robert Heller

Dr. Robert Heller completed his undergraduate education at Ohio Wesleyan where he received a BA in Biology. He earned his DDS in 1988 from The Ohio State University College of Dentistry. Dr. Heller then continued with his prosthodontic residency at The Medical College of Virginia (1990) and completed his hospital-based implant residency/graduate training at Loma Linda University (1997). He served as President of the Ohio Section of the American College of Prosthodontists and Chairman for the Ohio Dental Association’s Sub council on Young Dentists. He is an Associate Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, staff member at Grady Memorial Hospital, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Columbus Dental Society. Dr. Heller is an active member in The American Dental Association, Ohio Dental Association, Columbus Dental Society & American College of Prosthodontists. He has published multiple articles and continually presents lectures on a national. Dr. Heller currently serves as Director of the Midwest Implant Institute (MII). The Midwest Implant Institute helped seven Dental Schools develop their dental implant program and has taught thousands of doctors to become dental implant surgeons. Dr. Heller has trained these doctors in the hands-on externship of the Midwest Implant Institute. Since 1997, he has taught and surgically performed numerous courses ranging from implant placement to advanced bone grafting, lateral nerve repositioning, sinus elevation and numerous other surgical procedures. He continues to lecture on a national scale for multiple organizations, including the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID).

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Dr. Steven Hewett

Dr. Steven Hewett established his private comprehensive dental practice in 1990. During his time in Central Florida, Dr. Hewett has placed and restored over 10,000 dental implants giving back his patients the ability to function and smile again after losing their teeth. He has achieved some of the highest awards in the field of dentistry including a Honored Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. Dr. Hewett has also directed his practice toward state-of-the-art general dentistry with emphasis on cosmetic procedures from a comprehensive approach. With 35 years of reconstructive implant dentistry and cosmetic experience, Dr. Hewett is dedicated to providing simple to complex procedures such as simple to complex dental tooth replacement (dental implants); Implant-supported complete dentures; Full mouth smile makeover (veneers and crowns); Retreatment of prior implant cases; Sinus and bone grafting; Soft tissue regeneration; Root canal therapy and surgical endodontics; Surgical extractions.

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Dr. Andrew Kelly

Dr. Kelly’s professional career has led him to establish several practices in California and North Carolina. It also afforded him the opportunity to move into the type of Dentistry he had long envisioned, Oral Implantology while continuing Family & Cosmetic Dentistry. Since arriving in North Carolina, Dr. Kelly has served as a Deputy Examiner for the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners, and also donates several hours of his time to free dental clinics in the Piedmont Triad Area. Dr. Kelly is an active member of the Forsyth County Dental Society, The American Dental Association, The North Carolina Dental Society, The Piedmont Society of Advanced Dental Studies, International Congress of Oral Implantology, Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry and a Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry and Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology. Dr. Kelly has served as an examiner for the American Board of Oral Implantology and the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. Dr. Kelly is a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. and is a reviewer for the Journal of Oral Implantology and the International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Implants. He is also on the membership committee of the Academy of Osseointegration. Past President of the southern region of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. Highlights of Dr. Kelly’s educational pursuits include an undergraduate degree in Medical Microbiology with a minor in Chemistry from California State University at Long Beach 1979; a graduate degree from Howard University College of Dentistry, 1983; Core Vent Implant Institute from 1988. Medical College of Georgia Implant MaxiCourse, 2003.

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Dr. William Liang

Dr. Liang a Diplomate, American Board of Oral Implantology, attended the University of British Columbia and received his Bachelor's degree in Microbiology in 1981 and his Doctor of Dental Medicine degree in 1983. At graduation, he was awarded the Canadian Oral and Maxillo-Facial Prize for highest standing in the area of Oral Surgery. His credentials include Fellow, Academy of General Dentistry; Diplomate, International Congress of Oral Implantology; Fellow, American Academy of Implant Dentistry; Honored Fellow, The American Academy of Implant Dentistry; and Diplomate Credentialed, The American Board of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry. Dr. Liang’s is also recognized as Past President, The American Academy of Implant Dentistry – Western District; Admissions committee, U.B.C.Faculty of Dentistry; President, Academy of R.V. Tucker Study Clubs; Part time member, Faculty of Dentistry at U.B.C., restorative dentistry; President, White Rock/Peace Arch Rotary Club; Recipient, CDSBC Award of Distinction and CDSBC Award of Merit; Director, Canadian Dental Implant Training Centre, and Director, AAID Vancouver MaxiCourse, a UBC Continuing Dental Education program. Dr Liang’s private practice focuses on dental implants, denture stabilization, dental implant maintenance, aesthetic restorative dentistry, laser gum therapy, sedation, tooth extractions, bone reconstruction, soft tissue surgery, and general dentistry.

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Dr. Meyur Mehta

Dr. Mehta received his Bachelors Degree in Dentistry in 1982 and his Masters Degree in Oral and Maxillo Facial Plastic Surgery in 1984 from Gujarat University in India. After completion of his postgraduate study, Dr. Mehta served as Associate Professor in Oral and Maxillo Facial Surgery at B.E.A Dental College and Hospital in India. During his tenure there, he published scientific articles in American and International Journals. After arriving in Florida in 1988, Dr. Mehta received his dental licensure degree through the University of Florida Gainesville. His postgraduate studies in dental implants were completed at the Medical College of Georgia under the sponsorship of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. Dr. Mehta is a Diplomat of the American Board of Oral Implantology, Life Fellow of the International Association of Oral and Maxillo Facial Surgeons, Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, Fellow of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists and Diplomat of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists. Dr. Mehta’s private practice is located in Palm Harbor, FL.

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Dr. John C. Minichetti

Dr. John C. Minichetti, General Dentist, Director of Implant and Reconstructive Dentistry of Englewood, has years of experience in cosmetic dentistry, implantology, and prosthetic reconstruction. Dr. Minichetti graduated from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, where he finished first in his class. He then completed a postdoctoral specialized training program at the Mount Sinai Medical Center. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including those for oral medicine, pharmacology, and oral and maxillofacial surgery. Dr. Minichetti has published many scientific articles and received his fellowship in several academics. He is an attending of Englewood Hospital and Jersey City Medical Center. He is also an attending on staff at Englewood Hospital for over 20 years. Besides his outstanding academic and clinical skills, Dr. Minichetti is committed to his practice and patients foremost. Dr. Minichetti is affiliated with these associations, Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry; Fellow of the Int’l Congress of Oral Implantology; Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology; Fellow of the Academy of Implant Dentistry; Fellow of the Int’l Academy for Implant Dental Facial Esthetics; President – Bergen County Dental Implant Group; American Dental Association; New Jersey State Dental Association; and Past President of AAID.

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Dr. James Miller

Dr. Miller has been in private practice since 1981 and is skilled in I.V. sedation, dental implants, bone and connective tissue grafting as well as cosmetic dentistry and full mouth rehabilitation. He graduated from OHSU School of Dentistry in 1979. After becoming a member of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) in 1981, he achieved his Fellowship in 1989 and Master in 2005. He has been a member of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) since 2008 and is an AAID Honored Fellow. Dr. Miller received board certification with the title Diplomat of the American Board of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry in 2014. In addition, he was awarded his Fellowship with the AAID. Dr. Miller also serves on the Ethics Committee for the AAID. Dr. Miller has taught and continues to teach hands on dental implant dentistry in the Oregon Dental Implant Continuum residency course as well as connective tissue grafting courses for the Oregon AGD. He was President of the Academy of Cosmetic and Adhesive Dentistry from 1991-92.

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Dr. Shane Samy

Dr. Shane Samy is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. Post Dental school, Dr. Samy spent over a decade earning the necessary certifications that enable him to perform dental implant surgeries from start to finish, all in one office, all by one doctor to assure your treatment is done correctly. Dr. Samy has earned the dental implant industry’s highest credentials through his extensive education, study groups, and patient successes. Dr. Samy is currently the Director & Instructor for the Oregon Implant Continuum where he educates and instructs Oregon dentists on the proper dental implant treatments, from basic implant placement to treating the most complicated full mouth restorations.

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Dr. Duane Starr

Dr. Duane T. Starr Graduated 1984 from OHSU School of Dentistry. He started a private practice in 1984 in Portland, OR and is currently still in private practice in Prineville, OR. In 1994-95 he was on one of the first Board of Directors for the AAID. In 1997 he became an Associate Fellow, 2006 a Diplomate of the ABOI/ID. In 2008 he became an instructor with the Maxi Course and in 2009-2012 Western District
Trustee for the Board of Directors of the AAID.

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Dr. Doug Wirth

Dr. Doug Wirth attended Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia for his undergraduate studies and attended Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston, MA, earning his Doctorate of Dental Medicine degree in 1979. Since opening his private practice, Dr. Wirth has continued to advance his training in dentistry by completing extended education programs in endodontics, oral implantology, smile design, cosmetic dentistry, and CEREC® crown technology. Each year, he regularly attends classes to stay on top of new technology and techniques, ultimately bringing these benefits to his patients at Whidbey Dental Associates. Dr. Wirth’s professional affiliations include American Academy of Implant Dentistry, Associate Fellow; International Congress of Oral Implantologists, Fellow; Academy of Osseointegration; American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry; American Dental Association; and Washington State Dental Association.

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Accreditations

Oral Implantology Program

Implant dentistry is a unique specialty that is multidisciplinary in nature and inclusive of all existing specialties. Learn more about the Comprehensive Oral Implantology program.

This is a wonderful opportunity for me to grow my skills and move into a specialty where I can give my knowledge and my experience to, and be able to offer more to my patients.
Dr. Kathryn Nicholson
JU Comprehensive Oral Implantology resident
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One of a Kind Program

Jacksonville University's MS in Dentistry with Certification in Comprehensive Oral Implantology is the first and only degree of its kind. Residents of this highly-coveted program will go through extensive training focused on clinical proficiency in surgery, prosthetics, and maintenance as related to dental implants and comprehensive oral implantology.

Developed by Dr. Hilt Tatum, founder of the Dental Implant Residency Program, with the American Academy of Implant Dentistry's (AAID) post-graduate core curriculum for dental implantology, this multidisciplinary program encompasses surgical, periodontal, prosthetic, and long term maintenance.

Residents of the JU Comprehensive Oral Implantology Program will gain:

  • Hands-on in-person instruction during a paid residency at University-affiliated implant dentistry clinics located throughout the Nation
  • Knowledge of two- and three-dimensional radiographic imaging systems, biomechanics and biomaterials related to implantology, digital laboratory technology, basic and advanced alveolar reconstructive surgery, and more
  • Portfolio of oral implantology casework and advanced training through state-of-the-art online courses guided by oral implantology experts
  • Receipt of a Master of Science in Dentistry degree along with a Certificate of Comprehensive Oral Implantology

Scholarship & Opportunities

Jacksonville University is offering a scholarship for residents of the Alfred L. “Duke” Heller & O. Hilt Tatum Comprehensive Oral Implantology Residency Program. When awarded, the scholarship will provide $10,000 for the first year of program. To apply for the scholarship, residents will need to submit a personal essay attached to their application.

Residents are eligible to apply for the Student/Resident AAID Membership.

Completion of the program may satisfy the application requirements of multiple organizations and certifying boards in oral implantology.

If you love surgery and you love to push yourself and you love to grow your craft, I think this would be a wonderful program for you.
Dr. John Shin
JU Comprehensive Oral Implantology resident

ADMISSIONS

Application Criteria
The revolutionary reconstruction of the entire oral masticatory process – bone, soft tissue, and teeth - utilizing implants and dental restorations, is an advanced field of surgery taught only in this program.
DR. HILT TATUM, D.D.S.
Founder of the Dental Implantology Residency Program
Location:
2800 University Blvd N, Jacksonville, FL 32211
Call Us:
904-256-7000
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Sat - Sun: Closed
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