Dr. Jim W. Strider, Jr. holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from the University of South Carolina and his DMD degree from the Medical University of South Carolina. He completed a general practice residency at Martin Army Hospital, Ft. Benning, GA., and his Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency at William Beaumont Army Medical Center, El Paso, TX. Dr. Strider served as Chief of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the 121st Army Hospital, Seoul, Korea; Chief of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital, Ft. Campbell, KY; and Program Director of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency at Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Ft. Gordon, GA. He served 25 years in the United States Army before retiring as a Colonel. Dr. Strider joined Dr. Mills at Upstate Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in 2001.

Dr. Strider is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, a Fellow of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), a member of the American Cleft Palate–Craniofacial Association, and a Diplomate of the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology.