James trained at Barts and the London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry and Lambeth College and qualified in 2001. Following a vocational training year at the Royal London Hospital, he was based at the Eastman Dental Hospital from 2002-2004 and joined Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in 2004. James has been a member of the Orthodontic Technicians Association Council since 2006, where he currently serves as secretary, and is a past president of the Dental Technologists Association. He has given more than 40 invited lectures, both nationally and internationally, and published more than 20 articles in peer-reviewed journals.