The only oral surgeon in Central Indiana who is also a licensed physician, Dr. Pruitt began his academic career at North Central High School in Indianapolis and received his Bachelor of Arts degree, Cum Laude, from DePauw University. He received his D.D.S. degree, Summa Cum Laude, from the Ohio State University College of Dentistry in 1989. He earned his M.D. degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign in 1992, and was awarded the Thomas C. Reeves Memorial Award by his fellow medical students as the doctor they would turn to if they themselves needed care. He completed a preliminary year in Internal Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign.

He was Chief Resident for two of the six years of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery training he received at the Carle Foundation Hospital and Carle Clinic Association in Urbana, Illinois. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and the American Dental Board of Anesthesiology.