Dr. Rick Kapitan is a board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon whose advanced training and surgical depth set the standard for implant and maxillofacial care in Charlotte and beyond. He holds both a Doctorate in Surgery and a Master of Science degree, completed his residency training in oral and maxillofacial surgery and anesthesia at The Ohio State University Medical Center, and earned a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Pediatric Craniomaxillofacial Surgery—one of the most specialized designations in the field.
Dr. Kapitan's clinical focus centers on complex dental implant surgery, full arch restoration, full mouth reconstruction, and jaw surgery, with a surgical range that allows him to take on cases most practices refer out entirely. As director of the Envision™ Implant Academy and a national clinical course instructor for Straumann and ZimVie, he is not only performing at the highest level of the specialty—he is actively shaping it.
His commitment goes beyond the surgical suite. Dr. Kapitan approaches every case with a focus on restoring function, confidence, and quality of life—outcomes that define what elevated surgical care looks like.
Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ) in Pediatric Craniomaxillofacial Surgery
Fellow, American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS)
Fellow, American College of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (ACOMS)
Fellow, American College of Surgeons (ACS)
Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Fellow, American Academy of Craniomaxillofacial Surgeons (AACMFS)
Director of the Carolinas Center for Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery
Department Chair of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Novant Medical Center
Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Dr. Kapitan has built a career around the simple idea that the greatest impact doesn’t end with the person you help today. It carries forward through every surgeon he teaches, every innovation he advances, every patient he heals, and every child whose future is changed because someone cared enough to show up.
His work doesn’t just change lives. It creates the possibility for more lives to be changed.
Guided Ascent
Through the Clinicians Implant Academy and his roles as adjunct faculty at institutions including LSU, the University of Florida, High Point University, Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, and UNC Chapel Hill, Dr. Kapitan shares advanced clinical knowledge with the next generation of surgeons. His expertise travels with every clinician he trains, elevating the care they deliver to patients across the country.
Blazing Trails
Through the Southern Academy of Pediatric Specialists, Dr. Kapitan is helping reshape pediatric care with a more holistic, connected approach that considers the whole patient and how specialties work together. As the most experienced dental implant surgeon and a leader at Carolinas Center for Oral & Facial Surgery, Director of the Carolinas Center for Cleft & Craniofacial Surgery, and founder of Envision Practice Consultants, he brings that same forward-thinking approach to advancing oral and maxillofacial surgery, guiding practices, and shaping how providers deliver care.
A Higher Calling
Since founding the Face to Face Foundation in 2017, Dr. Kapitan has helped local families in the Carolina's cover the cost of cleft and craniofacial care that insurance won't. His commitment reaches further still through the Free To Smile Foundation, where he served on the Board of Directors for 10 years and currently as a volunteer surgical team leader. He travels several weeks a year to provide free cleft surgery to children across Central America, South America, and Africa with Free To Smile and Samaritan’s Purse.
Every patient's story is different, but thate moment is always the same. For Dr. Kapitan, that's the moment that matters, Whether he's restoring a patient's ability to eat and speak without covering their mouth or traveling across the world to reach a child in need of cleft care, it all comes back to giving them a reason to smile.
Because a smile can open hearts, change lives, and create a future full of possibility.