John c. mitchell, DDS

Dr. Mitchell grew up in Grand junction.  He graduated from Grand Junction High School.

After high school, Dr. Mitchell did his undergraduate studies at Colorado State University, majoring in Biological Science.  He graduated from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, using the US Army Health Professions Scholarship for the last two years of Dental School.  

Dr. Mitchell then did his Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency at the University of North Carolina. While at Chapel Hill, Dr. Mitchell’s residency experiences included rotations on Internal Medicine, Anesthesia, Neurosurgery and trauma rotations at Camp Lejeune and Fort Bragg. 

After his OMS residency, Dr. Mitchell returned to the US Army Dental corps for nineteen more years until his retirement in 2003 as a full Colonel. While in the dental corps, Dr. Mitchell served as the Assistant Program Director of the OMS residency at William Beaumont Army Medical Center, then as the Commander of the US Army Dental Activity of Fort Bliss and the Commander of the Southwest Regional Dental Command. Ultimately, he was the Program Director of the OMS residency where he trained multiple residents in the art and science of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery with emphasis on orthognathic and reconstructive surgery, management of pathology, head and neck trauma management, ambulatory anesthesia, dental implant surgery and bone grafting procedures.  His last four years in the US Army, he was honored to serve as the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Consultant to the Army Surgeon General.

When Dr. Mitchel retired from the Army, he joined the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Associates of New Mexico in Albuquerque.  Once again, his practice emphasis was on orthognathic and reconstructive surgery, management of bone grafting in the large cleft palate population of New Mexico, dento-alveolar surgery to include impacted teeth, dental implants and bone grafting, ambulatory anesthesia and management of oral pathology.

Dr. Mitchell is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, a diplomate of the American Dental Board of Anesthesiology a fellow and member of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, and a member of the American Dental Association

John and his wife Gayle (also a GJHS grad born at St Mary’s Hospital and raised in Grand Junction) look forward to returning to their roots in the Grand Valley and becoming part of the community once again. Between them, they have five adult children and nine grandchildren (so far).