About Us
Clinicians Implant Academy was founded in 2023 to create the premier off-site dental implant training academy in the U.S. to service our industry partners with high-quality, professional education, featuring their products and technology.
Our mission it to provide personalized, advanced dental implant education through lecture, videos, and hands-on experience.
OUR COMMITMENT
Committed to Providing the Highest Value Dental Implant Training
We prioritize immersive learning, utilizing live surgery, hands-on practice, and cadaver models to place you in the center of the surgical experience with our dental implant training.
LEADERSHIP
Clinicians Implant Academy Leadership Team
Clinicians Implant Academy is led by a team of industry-leading clinical professionals.
Dr. Rick Kapitan
Founder & Surgical Director
Dr. Rick Kapitan, DDS, MS, FACS
Dr. Kapitan holds both a doctorate in surgery and masters of science degrees, as well as advanced training as a specialist in surgery and anesthesia (OMS) from The Ohio State University Medical Center and was awarded a Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) in Pediatric Craniomaxillofacial Surgery.
Dr. Kapitan is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a Fellow of the American Academy of Craniomaxillofacial Surgeons, Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, a Fellow of the American Association of OMS, and is a member of both the North Carolina Society of OMS and the Southeastern Society of OMS.
He holds an appointment as an Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at Louisiana State University (LSU).
Locally, he is the Director of both the Carolinas Center for Cleft Lip & Palate Surgery and of the Envision™ Implant Academy, positions that both involve speaking to groups of practitioners and extensive clinical instruction in surgery.
Additionally, Dr. Kapitan is a national lecturer and clinical course instructor in advanced dental implant surgery for the Straumann Group and Zimvie BioMet’s ZimVie Institute.
Internationally, Dr. Kapitan is a volunteer cleft surgeon, surgical team leader, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Free To
Smile Foundation; a not-for-profit medical mission group that provides free cleft lip and palate surgeries to children in need around the globe.
Dr. Kapitan devotes multiple weeks annually to travel abroad to Central America, South America, and Africa to provide this much-needed surgery free of charge.
Locally, Dr. Kapitan is the founder of Face to Face, formerly Cleft Out Foundation, a Charlotte based non-profit that he established to raise money to help families cover the cost of their non-surgical cleft care.
Dr. Hunter Dawson
Restorative Director
Dr. Hunter Dawson, DMD, MSD
Whitney Kapitan
Director of Practice Management
Whitney Kapitan
Mikki Weaver
Director of Patient Care Experience
Mikki Weaver
Dr. Brandon Kofford
Restorative Faculty
Dr. Brandon Kofford
University School of Dental Medicine. He completed his
Prosthodontics residency with the United States Air Force
(USAF) at Lackland Air Force Base Wilford Hall Medical Center
Mackown Dental Clinic in 2011 as well as his master’s degree in
Biology from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at
San Antonio. He served 6 years with the USAF and achieved the
rank of Major. He has been in private practice in Cary, North
Carolina since 2014. He is a partner in 7 dental practices and a full-service dental laboratory.
Denture Conversions Separable Fastener technology and
introduced it to the market in 2019.
Dr. James M. Piper II
Restorative Faculty
Dr. James M. Piper II, DMD, MS
Dr. Piper is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. In June of 2004, Dr. Piper joined the United States Air Force (USAF) Dental Corp, where he completed his residency in Prosthodontics at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. Dr. Piper earned his Masters of Science Degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio. Dr. Piper successfully completed the rigorous board certification process and was awarded his Board Certification in Prosthodontics in November 2007.
After graduating from the prosthodontics residency in 2007, he joined the Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD-1) teaching staff at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska. In 2011, Dr. Piper returned to San Antonio to undergo a Fellowship program in Maxillofacial Prosthetics. This fellowship enabled him to complete multiple complex multidisciplinary treatments for our nation’s wounded warriors and multiple other service members, retirees and family members.
Dr. Piper maintains membership in the American Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics, American Board of Prosthodontics, American Dental Association and, now, the North Carolina Dental Society. In 2015, Dr. Piper resigned his commission as an officer in the United States Air Force to join Dr. Carnaggio in his dental practice. Dr. Piper prides himself on providing the highest level of care and compassion to his patients. His ultimate goal is to provide his patients with an understanding of their dental condition and to improve the quality of life for his patients. Dr. Piper values family time with his wife, Shannon, and their four beautiful children: Eliana, Jimmy, Avonlea, and Tate.
Dr. Tripp Cockerham
Periodontal Faculty
Dr. Tripp Cockerham, DDS, MSD
Dr. Tripp Cockerham was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. After completing his education at Charlotte Latin School, he attended Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Dr. Cockerham graduated Cum Laude from Wake Forest University with a BS in Biology and a Masters of Arts in Business Management. Dr. Cockerham graduated with Honors from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill School of Dentistry. After Dental School, he completed a General Practice Residency at UNC Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Cockerham completed his Masters of Science in Dentistry and his specialty training in Periodontics at the University of Louisville. Dr. Cockerham is a Diplomate certified by the American Board of Periodontology.
Additionally, Dr. Tripp Cockerham has two published articles on Ridge Augmentation and Extraction Preservation in the International Journal of Periodontics & Implant Dentistry.
Outside of his professional life, Dr. Cockerham is happily married to Traci, also a native of Charlotte, NC, and together they are proud parents of two children.
Dr. Cockerham’s dedication to his profession has been recognized by his community, as he has been nominated and selected as a top dentist in Charlotte, NC for the past seven years.
Clinicians Implant Academy™
Industry Partners
