Tim Weber Jr., M.D., D.M.D. took a reverse track to end up in a familiar place.
Weber’s grandfather, Richard, completed the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry in 1972. His father, Tim Weber Sr., followed two decades later, finishing his OMS residency at UAB in 1994.
Weber Sr. then returned to his hometown of St. Louis to join St. Louis County Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, where he continues to practice today. But even though Tim spent time working in his father’s office while still a teenager, he decided to go to medical school instead of dental. After high school, he enrolled in a six-year B.A./M.D. program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
“I knew I wanted to go into surgery, but I wasn’t sure which surgical specialty to pursue,” Weber says. “So I did all the surgical rotations to see which one I enjoyed the most.”
It turned out that what Weber most enjoyed was Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
“I like the quick procedures in an outpatient setting, where you’re controlling the anesthesia as well,” Weber says. “And also the patient encounters, restoring people’s smiles. I saw my dad and grandfather do that, and I really look up to them. I saw how they could make a difference in people’s lives, and I realized I wanted to be a part of that, too.”
Of course, by then Tim already had committed six years of his studies toward becoming a medical doctor, not dentistry. So Weber embarked on a well-worn path for his family, to the UAB SOD. He spent four weeks at UAB on an externship, then enrolled in the D.M.D./OMS Certificate Program – commonly known as a “reverse track” – to earn his dental degree while also continuing his OMS residency training.
“Oral surgery is a career path that has such a strong dentistry and medicine overlap, so it’s important to be engrained in the both the medical and dental community. This is a strength of our program here at UAB.” The UAB Oral Surgery reverse track curriculum has gained traction in recent years with four current residents – the most ever enrolled at once.
Weber says he knew he would receive plenty of hands-on experience while at UAB because of the high patient volume. What he wasn’t necessarily expecting was the amount of hands-on mentoring he has received from the SOD faculty.
In particular, Weber has worked closely with OMS Associate Professor Brian Kinard, D.M.D., M.D., FACS. They have published seven research papers together, three of which were published in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. The research has focused on such topics as health literacy in orthognathic surgery, and the impact of tranexamic acid on the use of hypotensive anesthesia in orthognathic surgery, a paper that was recognized as a finalist for the JOMS Stanton Award.
“Dr. Kinard has been a great mentor to me in terms of surgical experiences, patient management, and research,” Weber says. “He really showed me how to approach patient care in a way that we treat the whole patient, not just their problem.”
Weber’s time at UAB will come to an end next June, as he finally wraps up what ended up being more than a dozen years of education and training. At that point, he plans to return to St. Louis and become part of his father’s practice, joining a staff that includes Weber’s uncle (Richard Weber Jr., M.D., D.D.S.) as well as Bradley Carn, D.M.D., M.D., who also completed oral surgery residency at UAB in 2018.
In addition, Weber will be reunited with his wife, Megan Weber, M.D., who completed her Internal Medicine-Pediatrics residency at UAB this past summer and currently is doing a fellowship at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis.
“It’s great to have so many UAB connections. We’re creating sort of a UAB North in St. Louis,” Weber says. “I take pride in carrying on the UAB tradition in our family.”