28 September 2026

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Plemons named 2026 Texas Dentist of the Year

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Plemons, clinical professor in periodontics and the inaugural executive director of external affairs at Texas A&M College of Dentistry, was named 2026 Texas Dentist of the Year by the Texas Academy of General Dentistry.

Community impact

Dr. Jacqueline M. Plemons, clinical professor in periodontics and the inaugural executive director of external affairs at Texas A&M College of Dentistry, was named 2026 Texas Dentist of the Year by the Texas Academy of General Dentistry. She was chosen from among 16 nominees, and the award is considered among the most prestigious honors a Texas dentist can earn.

Plemons and other honorees were recognized Friday at the Texas Academy Awards ceremony during the Lone Star Dental Conference in Austin.

“The Texas Dentist of the Year nominees represent the very best of our profession,” Dr. Jon Dossett, Texas AGD president, stated in a press release when the nominees were announced. “Through clinical excellence, leadership, mentorship and service to their communities, these dentists have made a lasting impact on both their patients and the future of dentistry.”

Why it matters

Plemons, who has 38 years of combined clinical practice, education, research and leadership to advance the profession of dentistry, is also director of the Stomatology Center, where she helps diagnose and manage complex oral medicine conditions while educating future generations of dental professionals.

“Balancing clinical patient care with dental education and service has been my life’s passion, and being recognized alongside Texas’s finest clinicians is a milestone I will always treasure,” she said when the nomination was announced.

Plemons is a 1986 graduate of then-Baylor College of Dentistry. She completed specialty training in periodontics and earned both a certificate in periodontics and a master’s from Baylor University in Waco in 1988 before beginning a career as both a practicing periodontist and an educator.

Plemons is a respected leader in organized dentistry at the local, state and national levels. She served as president of the Texas Dental Association and previously served as president of Dallas County Dental Society. Plemons held leadership roles within the American Dental Association, where she chaired the Council on Dental Education and Licensure; served as a delegate to the ADA House of Delegates; and contributed to numerous councils, committees and accreditation initiatives. She’s an advocate for the profession and provided testimony before the Texas Legislature and the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners on issues affecting dentists and patients across Texas.

Academic context

A nationally recognized educator, researcher and lecturer, Plemons has spent nearly four decades teaching at her alma mater. She’s authored more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific publications, delivered more than 200 professional lectures nationally and internationally and contributed to research in periodontics, oral medicine, oral cancer detection and patient care.

Her influence extends far beyond the classroom through the mentorship of dental students, specialty residents, graduate students, researchers, and junior faculty members, the press release stated.

Plemons’ career accomplishments have been recognized with numerous honors, including the Texas Dental Association Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Service, the American Dental Association President’s Award, the Dallas County Dental Society Lifetime Achievement Award, the Texas A&M College of Dentistry Distinguished Alumnus Award and the American Academy of Periodontology Educator Award.

Her commitment to service also extends into the community through decades of volunteer work supporting adoption services, shelters, charitable organizations, and programs serving individuals affected by HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Anthony L. Jaramillo of Boerne won the 2026 Texas New Dentist of the Year. In a recent story by UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry, Jaramillo said he attended a Summer Pre-Dentistry Enrichment Programs course at A&M Dentistry in 2015 before graduating magna cum laude from UT Health San Antonio in 2021.

Source: https://insights.dentistry.tamu.edu/plemons-named-2026-texas-dentist-of-the-year