Snigdha Gummadi, BDS, MS, assistant professor, helping dental student with dental manikin in the preclinical dentistry lab.Clinical care doesn’t begin in the clinic.
At the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry, it begins in the Preclinical Dentistry (PCD) Lab—where D1 and D2 students start developing the skills that will define how they practice.
Working with the same instruments and materials they will use with patients, students learn precision through repetition. Control develops gradually. Attention sharpens. What once feels deliberate begins to feel more natural
Faculty are present throughout, coaching in real time. They adjust technique, reinforce expectations, and help students understand not just when something is right, but why it meets a clinical standard.
As Snigdha Gummadi, BDS, MS, assistant professor who works closely with early clinical skill development, notes: “Our D1 students build strong hand skills here. When they reach the clinic, that coordination is already taking shape.”
By the time students enter the clinic, they are not starting from scratch. They are stepping into patient care with a foundation already in place, shaped by discipline and an understanding of what quality care requires.