For dental students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the start of the academic year means returning to the classrooms, clinics, and training environments that are part of dental education.
Second-year (D2) students return to the preclinical dentistry (PCD) lab and coursework, while third-year (D3) and fourth-year (D4) students participate in simulation and clinical training activities, review procedures, and work alongside faculty from across the school.
In the opening days of the fall term, students move between clinics, laboratories, and classrooms as they settle back into the academic year. Periodontology faculty lead sessions in the PCD Lab, students review clinical procedures and workflows, and fourth-year students participate in clinical reviews, case discussions, licensure preparation activities, and clinic updates as they prepare for their final year of dental school.
While the activities differ by class year, students across the school are spending the opening days of the term returning to familiar spaces, reconnecting with faculty and classmates, and settling back into the routines of dental education. Whether working in the PCD Lab, reviewing procedures in the Winstead Lab, or participating in clinic-based training activities before patient care begins, students spend the first days of the term immersed in the hands-on learning experiences that are central to dental education.
These scenes capture the start of the fall term at the UAB School of Dentistry.