A native Augustan, Dr. Powell attended Martinez Elementary and Evans High School. In 1977, he graduated from Augusta State University cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. He graduated number one in his class from the Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry in 1981.

Following graduation from dental school, he completed a General Practice Residency at the Naval Hospital in Camp Pendleton, CA. He then served four years with the United States Navy Dental Corp.

After completing his military service, Dr. Powell returned to MCG to complete a two year post-graduate residency in the specialty of Orthodontics. Dr. Powell has been in the private practice of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics since 1988.

He has also been an active associate clinical professor in the Department of Orthodontics at the Medical College of Georgia since 1988. Dr. Powell became board certified in Orthodontics in 1997.

He is a member of the Augusta Dental Society, the Eastern District Dental Society, the Georgia Dental Association, the American Dental Association, the Georgia Association of Orthodontists, the Southern Association of Orthodontists, the American Association of Orthodontists, the College of Diplomates of the American Board of Orthodontics and the honorary dental fraternity Omicron Kappa Upsilon (OKU).