The University of Tennessee Dental Department in Nashville became operational in 1878 in connection with the establishment of the new Nashville Medical College. This is recognized as the origin of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry making it the oldest still-existing dental school in the South and the third oldest public college of dentistry in the United States.

Although the dental classes remained small in Nashville, comprised of only 35 students in 1896, the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees decided to move the dental school to Memphis to obtain larger facilities. When the University of Tennessee Dental Department in Nashville moved to Memphis in 1911, it was consolidated with the Dental College of the University of Memphis, being designated as the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry in 1913. At the time of the 1911 merger, class enrollment in Memphis increased to 115 students. Once established in its new location, the College of Dentistry flourished in its new environment.

In 2000 the institution was renamed The University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry.

1897-1911 – Dr. Justin Dewey Towner, Dean of the short-lived University of Memphis College of Dentistry, became Professor of Oral Hygiene and Prophylaxis. Dr. Towner established the Department of Mouth Hygiene, Oral Prophylaxis, and Periodontia, which was considered the first of its kind at any dental school.

1916 – Minnie Enyeart McClellan became the first woman to receive a DDS degree from UT College of Dentistry.

1926 – Dental Hygienist Program commenced with three students.

1960 – UT Dental Alumni Association was founded.

1970-1978 – Dean Jack Wells obtained funding for a new eight million dollar dental clinical building named after Governor Winfield Dunn. This tremendous project which was so critically needed was achieved without federal funding. Through his motivation, dental alumni contributed $600,000 to equip the dental facility.

1999 – The dental class of was ranked first in the nation on Part II of the National Board Examination.

2001 – Under the direction and fund raising efforts of Dean William Slagle, the College of Dentistry renovated the pre-clinical labs with state-of-the-art dental simulation units, making virtual reality simulation a key factor in the education of its students. These labs included 40 interactive clinical simulation units and 120 traditional clinical simulation units. At that time, UT’s pre-clinical lab was the largest such laboratory in the world.

2004 – Dean Gilpatrick initiated an integration of the computer-assisted technology into the freshman curriculum by providing students an opportunity to cut preparations during the first week of school. This decision allowed the entering class to become familiar with clinical experiences much earlier in their education and provided an opportunity for them to apply classroom lectures to actual situations.

2006 – The College of Dentistry goes “digital” with the establishment of a completely paperless patient record and digital radiology throughout the College clinics.