A painful path to a promising dental career

Tyler Parsons had no intention of becoming a dentist. In fact, after a couple of painful experiences with dentists while serving as a missionary in Peru, he wasn't particularly fond of the profession.

He had always planned to become a physician. But the dental problems that began in Peru, and the dentist who eventually helped him recover from them, changed the direction of his life.

Today, Parsons owns Bright Star Dental in Las Cruces, where his interest in art, sculpting and solving puzzles has become central to his work. And that work has now earned him national recognition as one of America's 40 Under 40 Top Dentists for 2026 by Incisal Edge magazine.

It's a distinction he couldn't have imagined when he was a young missionary desperately trying to find relief from an aching wisdom tooth in the Andes Mountains.

Parsons grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and was preparing to leave for a mission in Peru when his hometown dentist removed two wisdom teeth. The upper two, he was told, weren't likely to cause any problems. Six months into his mission, they did.

He traveled to Lima, where a dentist working out of his home removed the remaining teeth. The procedure went well enough, but Parsons was transferred to a community high in the Andes the following day, despite instructions to avoid traveling.

The pain became intense. Unable to return to Lima, he sought help from another dentist several towns away, making a journey that required multiple bus rides. That visit proved even more memorable.

The dentist determined that Parsons had cavities and proceeded to fill virtually all of his molars. When Parsons regained his bearings after nearly passing out during the treatment, he discovered that the fillings were so large he could barely close his mouth properly.

"He just kind of took some resin and filled them all in," Parsons recalled. "I couldn't close my teeth."

The dentist assured him the fillings would wear down over time. His wisdom teeth, he was told, weren't the problem. Parsons wasn't convinced. He endured the discomfort for the remainder of his mission, waiting until he returned to Texas to seek treatment from his family dentist.

Over the course of six or seven appointments, that dentist not only repaired the damage but began encouraging Parsons to reconsider his plans for medical school.

"He was super, super nice," Parsons said. "And every time, he's like, you know, if you're a physician, you're going to be on call."

The dentist talked about the independence of owning a practice, the relationships he developed with patients and the satisfaction he found in his work. Eventually, Parsons agreed to take a pre-dental class at Brigham Young University, where he was pursuing his undergraduate education. He also began shadowing dentists in the Provo area. To his surprise, he loved it.

"I've always loved art," he said. "I love sculpting. I loved just puzzles. I loved anything that I could make with my hands."

Dentistry offered a way to combine those interests with a career in health care.

The next unexpected turn came when Army recruiters visited BYU and described a scholarship program that would pay for dental school while providing access to advanced clinical training. Parsons applied, was accepted and attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he earned his Doctor of Dental Medicine degree.

His commitment to the Army ultimately extended eight years, including dental school and four years of active service. He received advanced training in implant dentistry and other procedures and eventually found himself overseeing a 28-chair dental clinic.

The Army provided opportunities to develop his clinical skills, but it also introduced him to some less conventional assignments. At one point, while attached to a cavalry unit, Parsons spent about six months maintaining Humvees and other military equipment rather than working on teeth.

"I was like, you guys realize I'm a dentist, right?" he recalled.

He enjoyed his military experience, but as his responsibilities shifted increasingly toward administration, he began questioning whether he wanted to remain in the service.

"I couldn't do dentistry anymore," he said of his leadership assignment. "I'm like, well, now I'm not using my skills."

He also missed the opportunity to build lasting relationships with patients. Military personnel frequently moved between assignments, making continuity of care difficult.

After leaving the Army, Parsons spent a year managing a dental practice in Albuquerque for a friend dealing with health problems. The experience helped him make the transition from military dentistry, where treatment decisions generally didn't involve direct discussions with patients about costs, to private practice.

He discovered that he particularly enjoyed the relationships that came with caring for patients over time.

His goal, however, was to return to Texas. He found a practice near his childhood home in San Antonio and was preparing to purchase it when the owner proposed eliminating the broker who had arranged the transaction, allowing the two dentists to divide the savings. Parsons refused.

"This guy found me," he recalled thinking. "If it hadn't been for this broker, I would never have found you. He's done a lot of work for you."

The seller insisted that the deal would be canceled unless Parsons agreed. Parsons walked away. That decision created an immediate problem. He had already arranged substantial financing for the purchase and said the bank gave him 60 days to find another practice.

His broker suggested Bright Star Dental in Las Cruces. Parsons was skeptical. New Mexico hadn't been part of his long-term plan, and he was determined to return to Texas. But the Las Cruces practice offered much of what he wanted: an established reputation for cosmetic dentistry, room for growth and an opportunity to focus on the artistic side of the profession.

He made the trip, liked what he found and ultimately purchased the practice. It was another unplanned turn in a career that had already taken him from San Antonio to Peru, Utah, Nevada, the Army and Albuquerque.

At Bright Star Dental, Parsons has concentrated on cosmetic and restorative dentistry, including advanced prosthodontic procedures, implants and techniques designed to restore the appearance and function of patients' teeth. The practice incorporates digital scanning, technology for creating crowns during a single appointment, guided implant placement and laser-assisted procedures.

But Parsons is particularly drawn to the artistic challenges of cosmetic dentistry, creating results that look natural while solving complicated problems involving a patient's teeth and smile. That interest has also shaped his professional development. He participates in dental organizations and groups where practitioners submit cases for review and evaluation, and he has shared cosmetic dentistry work with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.

Parsons believes that experience, particularly the advanced training he received through the Army, may have helped distinguish him among the dentists considered for Incisal Edge magazine's annual recognition.

The magazine's 40 Under 40 program, now in its 16th year, recognizes dentists younger than 40 for clinical accomplishments, innovation, leadership and contributions to the profession. Honorees are selected from nominations submitted by colleagues and peers and evaluated by a panel of judges that includes previous recipients.

Parsons doesn't know who nominated him, although he suspects it may have been one of the dentists who helped him during his transition into private practice. He also doesn't consider himself a particularly prominent figure in the profession.

"I'm not a big social media guy," he said, noting that some dentists recognized by the magazine have built large online followings or expanded their businesses into multiple practices. Instead, he believes his work in cosmetic dentistry may have attracted attention.

"Through my cosmetic training, through the courses I took in the Army and since then, I'm a member of a lot of different groups where we submit our cases and we get judged and we get rated," he said. "I think that's probably what differentiated me the most."

Parsons currently operates Bright Star Dental as the practice's sole dentist, although its 18 treatment chairs provide capacity for additional practitioners. He had expected a former Army colleague to join him this year, but that dentist received a new military assignment in Hawaii.

Parsons is now exploring other opportunities to expand the practice and make greater use of its facilities.

For someone who once believed his future was in medicine, and who came away from Peru with little affection for dentists, the recognition represents another milestone in an unlikely career. And the part of dentistry he enjoys most remains much the same as what attracted him when he first began shadowing dentists at BYU: working with his hands, exercising his creativity and finding solutions to problems.

As he told Incisal Edge when asked to share something people might not know about him, "I genuinely enjoy putting the pieces together and finding solutions."