History of the Practice

Dr. James Waters represents a long history of excellence in the field of orthodontics.   Dr. Waters graduated dental school from UT San Antonio Dental School in 1996 and was accepted into the Advanced Dentistry Residency at the University of Nebraska the following year where he worked at specialized clinics and hospitals treating more severe dental cases for transplant and cancer patients as well as underprivileged kids at the Charles Drew Clinic in Omaha.  After graduating in 1997, Dr. Waters and his wife moved to Lincoln City, Oregon where he started a general dental practice that immediately flourished. Following up on his interest in Orthodontics, Dr. Waters applied to and was accepted into the prestigious Saint Louis University Orthodontic Program in 1999 where he was trained in all aspects of growth, development and physiology of tooth movement.  During his 30mo residency at SLU, Dr. Waters treated over 100 patients with the guidance of dozens of Board Certified specialists, leaders in the field of Orthodontics.  Dr. Waters graduated with valedictorian honors along with being awarded the J.P. Marshall award for the best clinician throughout his time at SLU.

Following graduation, Dr. Waters moved to Austin in 2001 and joined one of the few legacy practices in private hands.  The practice was owned by Dr. Robert Kavieff who was actually a Midwesterner though his father had strong roots in Texas as a Texas Ranger at the turn of the century. Before moving to Austin, Bob had already practiced for 25 years as an Orthodontist and had gained significant notoriety as an advocate for early treatment and growth modification therapies. He brought this knowledge and reputation with him and built a truly premier reputation in Austin and Bastrop throughout the 80s and 90s.

Dr. Kavieff took it upon himself to train Dr. Waters on early intervention with expanders, functional appliances and growth modification while also passing on his knowledge and history of traditional braces and clear aligners.  In all, Dr. Kavieff spent 18mo adding his experience to Dr. Waters’ knowledge base while Dr. Waters treated another 500 to 600 patients under Dr. Kavieff’s guidance.  Dr. Kavieff retired in December of 2002, officially passing the torch of his practice to Dr. Waters.

Dr. Waters continued to practice in Bastrop and Central Austin, building the practice and eventually expanding into the popular west Austin neighborhood of Steiner Ranch where he built a custom-designed state of the art building (a copy of which Dr. Waters has built in Carlsbad).  Dr. Waters grew the Steiner Ranch and Central Austin practices to become the largest single-owner private practice in Austin.  He was voted “Best Of Texas Orthodontists” by the US News and World Report and by his peers in 2006 and has been voted Best of Texas every year up to 2021.

During the initial Covid pandemic, Dr. Waters and his wife made the decision to relocate his practice to his hometown of Carlsbad so they could be closer to family and could bring the state-of-the-art elegance of Austin to a small under-served region. Dr. Waters and his wife purchased an old piece of land first settled before NM was a state on N. Canal St. and they sold his practices in Austin to a young husband-wife team of Orthodontists.  Dr. Waters then brought his office plans from Austin and built the beautiful building first designed for Austin at 820 N. Canal street in Carlsbad.

Despite 20 years of growth and expansion across Austin, Dr. Waters has not forgotten the reputation of service and integrity which was passed to him from his parents, his professors and his mentors in the Orthodontic field.  Dr. Waters is open and on-site Mon-Thurs, 9:00 to 4:30 and he will remain exclusively in his beautiful Carlsbad location.  Residents of Artesia, Loving and the surrounding areas are welcome without referrals, most insurances are accepted, payment plans are available with 0% interest and prices are very competitive (and normally lower) than any other regional Orthodontist. We welcome you to meet Dr. Waters and come by for a complimentary exam today!

Dr. Waters is local, his staff is local and he sees every patient at every visit. Our motto remains as it has always been.....

Excellence. Right here.