At 75 years young, UAB School of Dentistry continues to provide world-class dental education

The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Prior to the establishment of the school in 1948, Alabamians who sought dental education were very limited in their choice of programs in the Southern region of the United States. The establishment of this school not only addressed the lack of dental education programs in the region, but also provided a means to combat the shortage of dentists in the state.

“From the beginning, the School of Dentistry’s mission has been to prepare individuals for the practice of dentistry while prioritizing education, service and research,” said Russell S. Taichman, DMD, dean of the UAB School of Dentistry. “As we look back over the last 75 years, we hope the service and impact we have had on the community will continue to change the lives of those across the state.”

The beginning

In 1947, the Alabama legislature appropriated $750,000 for the operation of the UAB School of Dentistry. Less than a year later, Joseph F. Volker, who was the dean of Tufts College Dental School, was selected as the first dean of the school. In 48 days, Volker, while still serving in his position at Tufts, selected the school’s first class, recruited faculty and staff, furnished laboratories and offices, and outlined a new curriculum. On Oct. 18, 1948, 52 freshmen, all U.S. veterans, began their first day of classes, taught by a handful of full-time and volunteer faculty.  

The program was created in close cooperation with the American Dental Association’s Council on Dental Education, so the school earned accreditation as soon as the program launched. Additionally, all dental school graduates were required to sit for the National Board of Dental Examiners, making the school the first in the nation to graduate entire classes who had earned diplomate status. For graduate students, Volker developed specialty training programs in oral surgery, orthodontics and pedodontics, and he created a dental hygienist degree program to address staffing shortages in the field of dentistry.

Continued growth

Over the years, Volker implemented refresher courses for practicing dentists, worked to secure funding for research and maintained relationships with universities across the world. He also pioneered relationships with many institutions, including Children’s Hospital, Jefferson County Department of Public Health and the Veterans Administration Hospital — the first joint venture in the nation between a veterans hospital and a dental school. With these partnerships, the dental school expanded its clinical facilities to provide low-cost dental services to Alabama residents. Each of these clinics was staffed by faculty and advanced dental students. By 1956, the school was seeing 40,000 patient visits a year.

By the early 1960s, Volker had established the UAB School of Dentistry as one of the leading dental programs in the nation.

Training the next generation

The School of Dentistry continues to advance oral health in Alabama and address the dentistry shortage through several local, community-based and global initiatives. The school currently treats 64,000 patients a year in its UAB Dentistry Clinic alone.

“We look forward to continuing to meet the oral health needs of the residents of Alabama as we have for the last 75 years,” Taichman said. “Through our efforts, we hope to continue to help alleviate the dentistry shortage across the state by recruiting and training Alabama’s next cadre of dental health providers.”

The school’s community rotations and volunteer outreach pave the way for third- and fourth-year dental students to further their clinical education and serve patient populations across the state. The school’s faculty, residents, students and staff spend hundreds of hours each year performing oral health screenings, health services delivery and oral health education through community outreach and student-led outreach efforts.

Additionally, the school has continued its efforts to grow Alabama’s dental workforce by partnering with the Alabama Dental Association to provide incentive funding for recently graduated dentists to locate to rural or underserved areas of the state, provide dental treatment for Medicaid beneficiaries, and maintain practice in such locations for a set length of time. The school also offers promising college students interested in dentistry the opportunity to participate in the Blaze to DMD program. This five-year program provides selected applicants with a pathway to dental school by helping them establish a strong foundation in the biomedical and health sciences, which helps students succeed in the dental school environment. 

In 2022, the school announced its plans to develop a satellite dentistry clinic to Dothan to recruit, educate, train and retain dentists to help improve the dental health of those living in the Wiregrass region of the state. This first-of-its-kind model will help address the shortage of dental health providers in rural Alabama.

The UAB School of Dentistry is the only dental school in the state and is consistently ranked among the top-funded schools for dental research.  

“I am grateful for our amazing faculty, staff and students who continue to help UAB bring world-class dental care to the state of Alabama and beyond,” Taichman said.

For more information about the UAB School of Dentistry, visit uab.edu/dentistry.