Meet Dr. James R. Waters, Board Certified specialist in Orthodontics, Carlsbad, New Mexico

Dr. James R. Waters grew up here in Carlsbad, NM, the son of a potash miner and a secretary of the local Methodist church. Dr. Waters moved to Texas in 1989 after graduating CHS to attend Angelo State University where after three years he graduated Summa Cum Laude at the top of his class earning a Bachelor's of Science in Biology. Dr. Waters was accepted into the top Dental school in the nation (ranked by US News and World Report), the prestigious University of Texas San Antonio Dental School where he again graduated at the top of his class in 1996 with Magna Cum Laude honors earning his Doctorate of Dental Surgery.

Following graduation, Dr. Waters married his Dallas-native wife, Kim, and accepted an Advanced Dentistry Hospital Residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. For fifteen months, Dr. Waters served the University Hospital and multiple children’s clinics around the region focusing on more advanced case treatments for under-served populations. Following this post-doctorate residency, Dr. Waters and his wife moved to the Oregon coast and started a general dental practice. After three wonderfully memorable years as a general dentist (including the first year at the University Hospital), Dr. Waters was invited to attend the prestigious St. Louis University Orthodontic Program recognized as one of the top clinical orthodontic programs in the world. While at SLU, Dr. Waters was introduced to all aspects of orthodontic treatment; there was focus on history and literature as well as cutting edge appliances and procedures. Dr. Waters treated over 100 patients under the supervision and guidance of over 20 Board Certified Specialists. In 2001, after three years of this advanced post-doctorate specialty training, Dr. Waters graduated Valedictorian receiving his post-doctorate specialty degree in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics as well as a Master's of Science in Orthodontics. As a final honor, SLU awarded Dr. Waters with the coveted J. P. Marshall Award for Highest Achievement in Clinical Excellence.

With these top credentials, Dr. Waters moved back to Texas in 2001 and joined the Orthodontic practice of Dr. Robert Kavieff in Austin (previously the practice of Dr. Joh McNutt who was one of the earliest specialists formally trained as an orthodontist in the state of Texas). Dr. Waters worked side-by-side with Dr. Kavieff to learn from his 42 years of private practice and in December of 2002, Dr. Kavieff retired, passing the torch of his prestigious practice to Dr. Waters. Since then, Dr. Waters continued to serve both Austin and Bastrop until 2007 when he built his new state of the art Orthodontic practice in Steiner Ranch. As more practitioners moved out toward Bastrop, Dr. Waters felt his patients would be better served by doctors living in that area; he finished his cases and then turned his new focus to his own neighbors in Steiner Ranch.

Dr. Waters practiced with passion and a drive for excellence for another 13 years between downtown Austin and Steiner Ranch making him a staple in the dental community. He was voted “Best of Texas” Orthodontists in the US News & World Report by his colleagues in Texas in 2006 and each subsequent year through 2021 by which time the 3rd generation practice was recognized as one of only a few iconic practices within the Austin dental community, running without interruption for over 80 years. Dr. Waters has treated the families of professional athletes, nationally known politicians and public figures, untold numbers of fellow doctor and dental families and hundreds of professionals in the Austin and Texas circle but he has also treated thousands of regular families in both the working class and the Hispanic communities where he is well known. His philosophy is simple, treat EVERYONE as if they were family, no exceptions, no matter of stations in life and no matter of income.

Since 2001, the city of Austin had tripled in size and no longer represented what Dr. Waters and his wife originally knew and loved. With parents in Carlsbad getting older, and in the grand tradition of looking to the future and evolving (and with significant preparation that began several years prior), Dr. Waters and his wife relocated back to Carlsbad to be near family and to establish a cutting edge “big city” practice in the small town where Dr. Waters was raised.

The beautiful building Dr. Waters has built at 820 N. Canal St. is a state of the art, architect-designed facility based upon his Steiner Ranch office in Austin. Patients will enjoy the comforts of a fantastic facility rare even in a city like Austin, without having to leave town for a single appointment. Dr. Waters will remain exclusively in Carlsbad and will practice four days a week offering his highest quality service to his new (and some old) neighbors and family in Carlsbad, Loving, Artesia and the surrounding towns. He is local, staff are local and he will remain a permanent fixture in the local dental and medical community for years to come.

Dr. Waters and his wife Kim, have four children; their oldest, Hope is a Neuroscientist in Lubbock Texas with a degree in Neuroscience from SLU and a Master’s in Biomedical Science from the Marion School of Medicine. Their next oldest, Cole holds a degree in Microbiology from Texas Tech and a Master’s in Molecular Pathology from the Texas Tech Medical Center. Their youngest two, Luke and Ava, are both students at Carlsbad High School where Luke placed in the 2021 State Wrestling tournament in his first year at Carlsbad High and Ava is on the Varsity Tennis squad. Both are in the CHS pre-med curriculum and, in the healthy tradition of competition, look forward to going further than their siblings. Dr. Waters’ brother John heads the Carlsbad Department of Development and his parents Jim and Judi Waters remain staples in the Carlsbad community. Dr. Waters' extended family includes the many thousands of patients treated and maintained over the past 25 years, many of whom Dr. Waters and his wife maintain lifelong friendships.