Dr. Vinton is a native Nebraskan and is a graduate of Dana College and The Creighton University School of Dentistry. After completing a Rotating Dental Internship at the Naval Hospital in Oakland, California and Residency Training in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, Dr. Vinton served in the U.S, Navy for 21 years, retiring at the rank of Captain. Much of his career prior to entering private practice was devoted to training others, with his last Navy assignment being Chairman of the Dental Department and Director of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Training at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, California. Immediately following retirement he was appointed as Chief of the Dental Service at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Diego and held an appointment in the Department of Surgery at the University of California, San Diego. He has served for many years as a faculty member for overseas continuing medical and dental education symposia for missionary physicians and dentists sponsored by the Christian Medical and Dental Association.