Dr Williams obtained his DDS degree from the University of Illinois and his MD degree from UHSA. He completed his training in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Bellevue Hospital/NYU in New York in 1971 and then entered the United States Navy. He was the Staff Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon at the Naval Amphibious Base in California and Consultant in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery to the Eleventh Naval District. In 1973, he joined the practice of Drs O Brien and Ziegenhorn in in Dubuque Iowa.
Aside from private practice, Dr Williams was an Adjunct Professor in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Iowa from 1976 to 2009.
Dr Williams served as President of the Iowa Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Dubuque County Dental Society and several committees for the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Currently Dr Williams serves on the Task Force for Education and is Chairman of the Membership Committee for the AAOMS. He has been on the Editorial Board of both the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and the Triple O. He served on the Advisory Committee for the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery from 1985 to 1991, as a Director from 1991 to 1997. He was President of the American Board of OMS in 1998.
Dr. Williams has authored several textbooks in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, over 40 textbook chapters and literature publications. He has also lectured extensively in the area of Surgical Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology both in the United States and abroad.
Dr. Williams has been a volunteer on many surgical missions throughout the third world. Since retiring from GROMS in December of 2012, he traveled to the Philippines in February of 2013 and Colombia in September of 2013 on Cleft Lip and Palate surgical missions. Since retiring from private practice, he intends to continue to participate in volunteer activities in the Third World.
In 1992, Dr. Williams was presented with the Arnold K Maislen award by New York University for contributions to Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and in 2009, was presented with the William F. Harrigan award in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery by the Bellevue Hospital/William F Harrigan Society.
Dr. Williams currently is a Clinical Professor at the University of Texas at Houston Graduate program in OMS where he teaches on a part time basis. He also serves on the Clarke University Board of Trustees. Aside from his professional involvement, Dr Williams is an avid golfer and enjoys playing both in Dubuque and in Naples Florida.