Did You Know?
Enjoy a collection of fun facts, figures, and other distinctions about UAB School of Dentistry
Among our
17
student organizations, 8 have national affiliations and 8 are clubs and special interest groups.
UAB SOD set the benchmark for
Largest
class in 2023, and the numbers have maintained since.
We have an actively
Engaged
student body that participates in fun activities and events year long.
Ready Day One
Our students have early extensive and broad clinical experiences.
UAB SOD offers the
program designed for students who want to pursue careers in dental academics and uses an integrated clinician scientist training program to provide in-depth academic and research opportunities.
The class of 2028 is represented by
31
colleges and universities, and
9%
are 1st generation college students.
For the first time since its inception in 2015, the UAB SOD’s International Dentist Program has reached its accredited limit of
24
students. And not only is this year’s IDP cohort bigger than ever, it also is broader, with a program-high of
18
countries represented in the class.
UAB SOD has had
16
ASF fellows since inception including 3 current fellows and 13 Fellows for Life.
Since its earliest days, UAB SOD has had a
strong
connection with the military.
In the heart of UAB's academic medical center sits one of the nation's premier schools of dentistry, with
17
UAB SOD offers the
(IDP) for non-US trained dentists to have the opportunity to earn a D.M.D. degree.
UAB SOD offers a
(DAP) to help position graduates for careers in oral healthcare.
In 2023, SOD students had consistently performed better than the national average in the Integrated National Board Dental Examination, with a
100% pass rate
each of the past two years, and have historically done very well on clinical licensure exams.
UAB Oral Oncology among
1st
in Southeast to use
augmented reality
in head and neck cancer surgery. This new platform uses mixed reality technology to showcase a hyper-realistic
3D
view of patients’ head and neck tumors.
UAB SOD provides a variety of
state-of-the-art
facilities and equipment, and the most up-to-date treatment techniques.
UAB Dentistry Dothan is UAB SOD's
first satellite clinic
to identify, recruit, and prepare the next generation of dentists committed to practicing in rural Alabama, alleviating some of the burden caused by the rural dentistry shortage across the state.
Coming Soon
UAB Dentistry Decatur is a testament to our efforts to
improving local and global access to dental care
through a new satellite clinic in North Alabama.
UAB SOD is home to the
National Dental Practice-Based Research Network's
national administrative base, a consortium of participating dental practices and organizations that conduct practice-based research.
In 2023, UAB SOD performed
4,971
total dental procedures for Alabama communities including exams, x-raysf or diagnostic purposes, cleanings, fillings to preserve teeth, and extractions
UAB SOD offers our third and fourth year dental students
2
types of clinical rotations (course based and voluntary) to have opportunities to serve communities across the state.
UAB SOD took part in Alabama's first remote medical event, hosted by Remote Area Medical (RAM), helping provide dental care to more than
400
underserved people in Gadsden, AL.
UAB Continuing Dental Education supported state's dentists and hygienists by holding a total of
112
continuing education programs with more than
4,800
participants and over
24,000
total CE hours issued in 2023.
UAB SOD partnered with
TeamSmile
provide essential dental care to children from Blount County in 2024.
SOD students and Alabama Albert Schweitzer Fellows, Vashti Convers and Katelynn Clark, create info videos to
overcome language and cultural barriers
in dental care.
UAB SOD offers a separate admissions pathway accessed via the ADEA AADSAS application system called
The Rural Dental Scholar (RDS) Program
which is a five-year pathway program operated in conjunction with the UA College of Community Health Sciences (CCHS).
UAB Dentistry faculty and students reach out to
communities in need
by rendering care in off-campus clinics or providing screenings with referrals for care for those living in rural spaces in the State of Alabama. The off-campus clinics who partner with the School of Dentistry are located in
several counties
which include: Bibb, Calhoun, Escambia, Jefferson, Madison, Mobile, Montgomery, Talladega, Tuscaloosa.
In 2023, UAB SOD faculty and dental students participated in interprofessional collaborative events throughout the state, for both children and older adults. This led to
721
total encounters for oral health education and oral/dental needs screenings, including referrals for care.
UAB SOD takes part in
9
types of partnerships and initiatives to, we provide oral health education and screenings and primary, secondary, and tertiary care to underserved populations.
In the 1960s, UAB SOD introduced a second person into the practice environment creating the concept of
“four-handed dentistry”,
all thanks to government-funded research.
UAB SOD offers the Dental Academic Research Training program (DART), an interdisciplinary training program supported by the National Institutes for Health (NIH) National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). UAB is one of only
10
dental schools in the country that offers all four training tracks, including the foreign-trained dentist track.
By the 1980s, UAB School of Dentistry had achieved
top tier
NIH-funded status among dental schools, a position it has maintained.
UAB SOD is home to
1 UWIRC
and was awared
$140,000
in total funding from GC-CODED for pilot and feasibility grants to four UAB investigators (3 being SOD faculty) for their research in areas related to conditions of the craniofacial/ oral complex and dentition in 2024.
6
student research opportunities are available to undergraduates, graduates, and dental students at UAB.
A “Century Club” of the school’s alumni purchased letters written by
George and Martha Washington
to their dentist. The club donated them to the Reynolds-Finley Historical Library at UAB, where they remain housed to this day.
Steven J. Filler, DDS,
a former faculty member in the UAB SOD, became a volunteer dentist for the Birmingham Zoo in 1983; his first patient was a polar bear with a bad tooth. Here, he's pictured with a smiling hippopotamus in 2001.
Joseph F. Volker, the founding dean of UAB SOD, initiated UAB's tradition of
international collaboration
with a three-month educational trip to Thailand in 1951. Today, the school continues its global reach through diverse programs, fostering cross-cultural exchanges, and enriching education in dentistry worldwide.
As one of the nation's leading dental schools, the UAB SOD celebrated in 2023
75 years
of providing world-class dental education, research, and oral healthcare with a focus on shaping the future of oral health.
Visit the UAB School of Dentistry's 75th Anniversary website
Dr. Joseph F. Volker,
the School of Dentistry’s first dean, was also UAB’s first president and UA’s system chancellor. Following in his footsteps, the school’s third dean,
Dr. Charles A. Scotty McCallum Jr.,
became UAB’s third president.
UAB School of Dentistry has
4
pillars within its strategic plan: Education, Research, Community Engagement, and Patient Care.
UAB School of Dentistry has
2
of the largest dental meetings in the state: The Dental Hygiene Symposium and Hinman Lectures and Alumni Weekend.
Dues paying Alumni Association members increased for the third consecutive year. In 2023, the Alumni Association had
1,488
members.
The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees voted to appoint
2 chairs & 3 professors
to endowed positions during its November 2023 meeting.