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 MS (1974) from The Ohio State University College of Dentistry. He is an Honored American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) Fellow. 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 (ABOI). Additionally, Dr. Heller has served as President of the ABOI. Dr. Heller's participation in implant research has enabled him to advance and develop the field of implant surgery. Dr. Heller has completed two FDA studies on 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 MII 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."

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 3-year residency in "Comprehensive Oral Implantology". He has devoted his 65-year dental career to 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.

Dr. James Rutkowski

Comprehensive Oral Implantology Program Director

James L. Rutkowski, D.M.D., Ph.D., graduated from Duquesne University School of Pharmacy in 1972 and the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine in 1976. He earned his Ph.D. in Pharmacology at Duquesne University in 2008. Jim practiced dentistry for 44 years, concentrating on implant dentistry and medically compromised patients. Dr. Rutkowski is an Honored Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID), Diplomate, and Past President of the American Board of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry (ABOI/ID), Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Oral Implantology (JOI), and Program Director for the Jacksonville University Comprehensive Oral Implantology Residency. He is an Adjunct Faculty for the State University of New York at the Buffalo School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Rutkowski has been awarded the prestigious Gershkoff-Goldberg Award for exemplary service to AAID and exceptional contributions to implant dentistry. He’s also been awarded the Isiah Lew Memorial Research Award for significant impact on research in implant dentistry. Dr. Rutkowski has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals and authored multiple textbook chapters.

Residency Clinical Directors

Listed alphabetically.

Dr. Walter C. Chitwood, Jr.

Dr. Walter Chitwood, Jr. was a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University in 1978 and of the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry in 1982. His postgraduate training includes implant externships at the Center for Oral and Maxillofacial Rehabilitation in Clearwater, FL, and the Misch International Implant Institute in Dearborn, MI. Dr. Chitwood is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology (ABOI) and the International Congress of Oral Implantologists (ICOI). He is a Fellow of several organizations, including the American Society of Osseointegration, the Academy of Dentistry International, the Academy of Implants and Transplants, and the International College of Dentists. He is an Honored Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) and has recently been inducted as a Fellow into the Pierre Fauchard Academy. In addition to his private dental practice, he holds several teaching appointments, including Adjunct Professor – at Jacksonville University (MSD Oral Implantology Program), Assistant Professor - University of Tennessee College Dentistry (Dept. of Prosthodontics), and being a faculty member of the AAID MaxiCourses of Oregon and Rutgers University College of Dentistry. Dr. Chitwood also speaks routinely at meetings on the state, national, and international levels. He lectures extensively on treatment planning, aseptic preparation technique, and all surgical aspects of implant dentistry both to doctors and staff members. Dr. Chitwood has also held many offices in his career. He is a Past President of the ABOI, President-Elect of the Southern District of the AAID, and is on the Board of Directors for the Tennessee Academy of General Dentistry and the Academy for Sports Dentistry. He has also been selected as an editorial reviewer for the Journal of Oral Implantology, the official publication of the AAID.

Dr. Shephard DeLong

Dr. DeLong is a general dentist in Portland, Oregon, USA. He holds a BS from Portland State University, DMD from Oregon Health and Sciences University, and he completed a GPR at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Since 2010, he has been practicing in the Western United States and has volunteered internationally in India and Guatemala. He has been a member of the ADA, IAOCI, IAOMT, WSP, and AMED and has served as a mentor for CDOCS. He has been at the forefront of modern dental medicine and was an associate at Mint Dental Works, the first LEED-certified, hi-tech, eco-friendly practice in the U.S. He is also on staff and mentors at Pure Health Dentistry on the island of Maui, Hawaii. He currently maintains a full-time private practice at Lotus Dental Wellness, which he founded in 2017, offering patients oral health and whole-body wellness. He did his initial implant training in residency and through the California Implant Institute in partnership with UNLV. He has completed both the Fellowship and Masterclass through Z-systems International. He is SMART certified through the IAOMT. He completed his IV sedation training under Ken Reed and Stanley Malamed and is licensed to perform parenteral moderate sedation. He has completed all coursework and requirements and is awaiting certification in Biological Dentistry and Ceramic Implantology from the Swiss Bio Health Institute, the leading training center in the world for Ceramic Implantology. Since 2019 he has lectured in the United States and internationally on ceramic implants, lasers, digital dentistry, the operating microscope, dynamic navigation, and robotics. He has been published in the Journal of Oral Ceramic Implantology as well as multiple award-winning poster presentations and conference proceedings. Last year he was given the honor of presenting at the Mayo Clinic’s 1st Conference on Robotics and Advanced Surgical Technologies and was the only dental or oral surgeon representing this field. In October 2023, he presented on Robotics and AI at the Joint Congress of Ceramic Implantology in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. He strives daily to maintain work/life balance and sees the future of medicine evolving towards optimal health for the entire world's population.

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 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 A.T. 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.

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 Subcouncil on Young Dentists. He is an Associate Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID), a staff member at Grady Memorial Hospital, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Columbus Dental Society. Dr. Heller is an active member of The American Dental Association, Ohio Dental Association, Columbus Dental Society, and American College of Prosthodontists. He has published multiple articles and continually presents lectures on a national level. 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 AAID.

Dr. Christopher Hughes

Dr. Christopher Hughes graduated with a degree in biology and a minor in Spanish from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri in 1984. He then attended Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine in Alton, Illinois, and received his DMD in 1989. He subsequently traveled to Vermont to work as an associate and then returned to his hometown of Herrin, Illinois to begin his practice in 1991. Throughout the 1990s, Dr. Hughes advanced his studies in cosmetic and reconstructive dentistry, completing continuum courses at the Pankey Institute (Key Biscayne, FL) and the Dawson Academy (St. Petersburg, FL). He became a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry in 1999. He recognized the need to incorporate dental implant surgery into his practice and began placing implants in 2002. He then completed implant training at the NYU Maxicourse and further advanced his skills under the direct mentorship of Dr. Hilt Tatum at the Puerto Rico Maxicourse. He completed his IV sedation training and certification from the University of Alabama Birmingham in 2006. Dr. Hughes has contributed articles to Dental Economics Magazine and was featured on the cover of that publication in November 2008. Dr. Hughes is a Fellow in the Academy of General Dentistry. He is a Fellow and Honored Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) and has served as an examiner for the AAID Associate Fellow and Fellow examinations. He became a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry in 2013. Dr. Hughes has also been involved in leadership positions. He is past president of the AAID central district and served four years as a trustee on the board of directors for the AAID. He also is past president of the Southern Illinois Dental Society and served as a delegate to the Illinois State Dental Society.

Dr. Andrew Kelly

Dr. Kelly's professional career has led him to establish several practices in California and North Carolina. It has also allowed him 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, the International Congress of Oral Implantology (ICOI), Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry and a Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) and Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology (ABOI). Dr. Kelly has served as an examiner for the ABOI and the AAID. 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. Dr. Kelly is a Past President of the southern region of the AAID. 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.

Dr. William Liang

Dr. Liang, a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology (ABOI), 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 Maxillofacial Prize for the highest standing in the area of Oral Surgery. His credentials include Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry, Diplomate of the International Congress of Oral Implantology (ICOI), Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID), Honored Fellow of The AAID, and Diplomate Credentialed of The American Board of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry. Dr. Liang is also recognized as Past President of The AAID – Western District, serves on the Admissions committee of the U.B.C. Faculty of Dentistry, is President of the Academy of R.V. Tucker Study Clubs, a part-time member of the Faculty of Dentistry at U.B.C. in restorative dentistry, President of the White Rock/Peace Arch Rotary Club, a recipient of the CDSBC Award of Distinction and CDSBC Award of Merit, Director of the Canadian Dental Implant Training Centre, and Director of the 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.

Dr. John C. Minichetti

Dr. John C. Minichetti, a General Dentist, is the Director of Implant and Reconstructive Dentistry of Englewood. He 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 has received his fellowship in several academics. He is an attending of Englewood Hospital and Jersey City Medical Center. He has also been 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 several associations, including the Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry, Fellow of the Int’l Congress of Oral Implantology (ICOI), Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology (ABOI), Fellow of the Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID), Fellow of the Int’l Academy for Implant Dental Facial Esthetics, President of the Bergen County Dental Implant Group, American Dental Association, New Jersey State Dental Association, and Past President of AAID.

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 the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID), Associate Fellow; International Congress of Oral Implantologists (ICOI), Fellow; Academy of Osseointegration; American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry; American Dental Association; and Washington State Dental Association.

Adjunct Faculty

Listed alphabetically.

Dr. Vinamra Bhasin

Vinamra Bhasin, B.D.S., D.M.D., M.H.S. is an Oral Implantologist and Board-Certified Periodontist. He graduated from Government Dental College in Mumbai, India in 1998 and obtained a Bachelor's degree in Dental Surgery (BDS). He then completed a one-year internship in Mumbai and moved to the U.S. in 1999. He enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine to obtain his Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) to practice in the U.S. In both dental schools, he ranked #1 in his class. He then completed a one-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry for children and adults who had cleft or other growth deformities. Upon completing his program at the cleft palate clinic, he practiced general dentistry for one year. During this year, he applied for and was accepted for a three-year residency in Dental implants and Periodontics at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). He was selected as Chief Resident and completed his residency in 2007 with a Master of Health Sciences (MHS) degree. In 2007, he joined Central Georgia Periodontics and Dental Implants in Warner Robins, GA. His former partner in practice, Dr. Russell Eyman, was an early adopter of dental implants and had been placing them for over 15 years. Dr. Bhasin practices clinical dentistry full-time and has placed over 10,000 dental implants. Dr. Bhasin offers cutting-edge dental treatments and procedures that almost no other dentists in the area perform, including Teeth in One Day, LANAP®, and the Chao Pinhole® Surgical Technique. Dr. Bhasin is a member of many prestigious dental organizations, including the American Academy of Periodontology, Southern Academy of Periodontology, American Academy of Implant Dentistry, Academy of Osseointegration, American Dental Association, and Georgia Dental Association.