Dr. Isom was born in a small town in southern Utah named Kanab. He grew up in several communities in the southwest and ended up in Las Vegas, Nevada where he graduated from high school. He started attending college at Brigham Young University the following year. His education was interrupted for two years when he had the opportunity to serve as a missionary in Northern France. He still speaks French fluently.


After his time at BYU he was accepted into dental school at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. He graduated with his doctorate from OHSU in 1986 and immediately entered into four years of service as an army dentist. While in the army, he and his family had the opportunity to live in central Germany for three years and Monterey, California for a year.