Kaylie Catlin, D.D.S., M.D., grew up near Orlando, received her undergraduate degree from the University of Florida, and attended dental school at the University of North Carolina. So Kaylie entered her mid-20s with no personal connection to Birmingham or the state of Alabama.
Then when it came time for Kaylie to apply for an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program, the country was in the midst of the Covid pandemic. As a result, she was unable to make campus visits, and instead had to determine her dental-education future based primarily from online interviews.
“I was making a very important judgment on where I was going to spend 6 years of my life from a small snippet of a Zoom interview,” Kaylie says.
Despite all these obstacles and uncertainties, Kaylie ended up choosing the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry’s OMS Residency Program. While her decision might have been sight unseen, she certainly heard plenty of good things about the UAB SOD.
“It was mostly just from the reputation of UAB itself,” Kaylie says. “It is known as being a very challenging program, and certainly one of the top in the country from the standpoint of surgical volume and resident autonomy and education.”
“There also were faculty at North Carolina who were familiar with UAB and highly recommended it to me. So even though I had never visited, it was actually at the top of my list.
Now, as she enters her final year in the OMS Residency Program, Kaylie says she is extremely pleased with her choice, regardless of how it originally came about.
“I’ve been very happy here,” Kaylie says. “We have a very strong surgical volume with stable, young faculty who are interested in growing their practices. And we have a well-rounded group of residents who genuinely like each other. I play pickleball with some of the residents and their spouses. I’ve painted pottery with a few of them.
“My husband and I love Birmingham. We’ve made a lot of great friends in the hospital and the community. What I signed up for 6 years ago, I’m reaping the reward now. I’ve really enjoyed where I ended up. I can’t imagine having done this anywhere else.”
Being in Birmingham isn’t the only unexpected part of Kaylie’s journey. Originally, she was on a pre-med track, majoring in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology at the University of Florida. But while there, Kaylie says she “stumbled onto dentistry” through some volunteer opportunities.
“I did a lot of shadowing, working with the predoc students at Florida, doing community outreach and such in dentistry,” Kaylie says. “I found that I really enjoyed the work, and I liked being involved with patients and developing a rapport with them.”
But after arriving at UNC, Kaylie says she realized she wanted to do something other than general dentistry. That is when she became interested in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
“I wanted a challenge from a problem-solving, medical-type standpoint,” Kaylie says. “I started shadowing the oral surgery clinic and going to the OR and seeing some of the procedures they did. I just loved how broad the scope is. You have to know a little bit about all different fields of dentistry, and also about medicine. You’re really integrating all those career paths.
“What I wanted out of the patient experience evolved a little bit as I started working in clinics in dental school. I liked having a patient come in and being able to fix their problem and help them move forward with their life. It’s more of a direct surgical approach.”
Of course, becoming an OMS surgeon requires additional training after dental school, which is what brought Kaylie to the UAB SOD for the residency program. But even though she admits it has been “a long journey,” Kaylie says she has enjoyed her time at UAB.
“I truly love learning. I thrive in that environment,” Kaylie says. “It seems like I’m seeing something new here on a daily basis. Some sort of a complication or diagnosis or pathology. It’s a very continuous growth and learning opportunity. I’ve been exposed to one of the highest-volume centers for these types of surgeries, which has made me a more well-rounded physician.”
Upon completion of her residency, Kaylie says she plans to move with her husband to his hometown of Louisville. She already is discussing joining a private practice there, and finally beginning working as an OMS surgeon.
“It’s been a long journey, but I’ve enjoyed it,” Kaylie says. “I knew I was in this for the long haul. I’m 31, and all my friends from dental school have already been practicing for several years and are well established. But I’m about to get there.”