Dr. Ireland completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Kansas in 1965 and graduated with distinction from the University of Missouri in 1969 where he received his Doctor of Dentistry degree. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Connecticut in 1975. Dr. Ireland completed his plastic surgery residency at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1980, his general surgery residency at the University of Cincinnati, and his oral surgery residency at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas. Further education included a fellowship in Plastic Surgery at The Christ Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio.