After graduating from The Citadel with his undergraduate degree, Dr. Dennis attended the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Both institutions are, of course, in Charleston, SC.

He completed his internship and residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at the Medical College of Virginia. Then he completed an Au Franc Spine Fellowship at the New England Baptist Hospital in Boston and a preceptorship in Spine Surgery at the Cromwell Hospital in London, England. After he was licensed in both Virginia (in 1984) and South Carolina (in 1985), he took additional training in Kyphoplasty and in Charite Artificial Disc Replacement.