Learning Spaces & Technology
Our simulation clinic provides a realistic, supportive environment that mirrors clinical practice.
Modern Training for Today's Dentistry
The UNMC College of Dentistry offers an innovative learning environment where technology is fully integrated into student education throughout their training.
Our students have meaningful, repeated, hands-on access to scanners, printers, milling units and design software. Tools aren’t locked behind doors or reserved for special rotations—they’re fully integrated into the curriculum and available for exploration.
This open-access approach ensures students gain confidence early and graduate with the technological fluency today’s practices expect.
Simulation Clinic
The learning journey begins in our modern simulation clinic, where students practice foundational skills before they treat their first patients. Each student workstation includes:
- A phantom head and typodont system.
- High and low-speed handpieces, both air driven and electric.
- Suction and ergonomics similar to a real operatory.
- Integrated monitors for demonstrations and digital learning.
Students spend their first two years refining techniques, developing hand skills and building confidence in a realistic, supportive environment that mirrors clinical practice.
High-Fidelity Digital Simulation
A highlight for many prospective students is the Simodont dental trainer, an advanced haptic simulator developed by an aircraft simulation engineering team.
The Simodont provides:
- Lifelike tactile feedback that simulates enamel, dentin and decay.
- Indirect-vision training, reinforcing the use of the dental mirror.
- Repeatable practice modules for preparations and diagnostic skills.
- Instant feedback reports that help students improve with precision.
Most students describe their first session with the Simodont as the moment dentistry “clicks” – a blend of digital immersion and tactile realism that elevates early learning.
3D-Printed Models
UNMC is at the forefront of using industrial-grade, multi-material 3D printers to create anatomically accurate training models, including:
- Teeth with true internal anatomy for endodontic practice.
- Denture bases and tooth arrays for prosthodontics.
- Implant and surgical training models.
- Custom cavity preps for assessments and board preparation.
These models allow students to use the same instruments and techniques they’ll use on real patients with the freedom to practice repeatedly.
In addition to the more costly traditional plastic teeth, the college prints hundreds of custom, anatomically accurate practice teeth. This dramatically expands hands-on training and ensures every student has what they need to excel.
Digital Design Studio
Adjacent to the simulation clinic is the digital design studio, a dedicated environment where students learn to plan, design and review digital cases. The space includes:
- 15 high-performance design workstations.
- Full CAD/CAM software for designing crowns, dentures, nightguards and appliances.
- Access to digital radiographs and the electronic health record.
- Direct connection to the college’s scanners, mills and printers.
Silver Clinic
The Silver Clinic is the college’s hub for cutting-edge digital dentistry. Here, students participate directly in treatments that represent the future of patient care. On any given day, they may observe or perform:
- Same-day crowns milled chairside.
- Digital impressions using multiple intraoral scanners.
- Digital denture fabrication.
- Implant restoration workflows.
Advanced prosthodontic procedures using laboratory-level technology.
The clinic features:
- Multiple intraoral scanning systems.
- Industrial 3D printers capable of blending materials.
- Chairside milling units for rapid restorations.
- Laboratory milling systems typically found only in commercial dental labs.
Collaborative Clinical Practice
We offer an unparalleled collaborative clinical environment. By housing dental, dental hygiene, and specialty clinics together on a single clinic floor, students gain daily exposure to interdisciplinary care. This structure fosters mentorship, real-time collaboration and a deeper understanding of comprehensive treatment planning. This prepares graduates for team-based practice in modern dentistry. Students frequently consult with:”- Endodontists.
- Periodontists.
- Orthodontists.
- Pediatric dentists.
- Oral and maxillofacial surgeons.
- Modern operatories with ergonomic layouts.
- Digital radiography and CBCT imaging.
- Integrated electronic health records.
- A supportive, welcoming culture grounded in “Nebraska nice.”