DDS Class of 2006 reunites 20 years after graduation

Members of the UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry DDS Class of 2006 gather for their 20-year reunion Sept. 25 in Houston, celebrating lasting friendships and reconnecting over memories from dental school. Photo by Kyle Rogers.

Twenty years after graduating from UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry, members of the DDS Class of 2006 came together to reconnect, share memories, and celebrate the friendships formed during dental school.

More than 20 members of the class, which included 64 graduates, attended the reunion with loved ones Sept. 25 at Kirby Ice House in Houston. Some traveled to Houston specifically to reconnect with classmates and hear how their lives and careers had unfolded.

For Erica Revel, DDS, the reunion reaffirmed the connection she shares with her former classmates.

“It brought back the feelings of being closely connected to such a special, talented group of people,” Revel said. She was struck by how naturally classmates picked up where they left off.

Dath “Daith” Collins, DDS, who served as the class liaison for the reunion, was pleased by the turnout and the chance to celebrate the paths classmates had taken since graduation.

“I was pleasantly surprised at the number of classmates that showed up,” Collins said. He said it was rewarding to see how successful his classmates had become in different professional paths.

The reunion also revived memories of their time at the School of Dentistry, affectionately known to many alumni as the “Pink Palace” for its distinctive pink marble exterior. Collins recalled the long hours classmates spent together in the basement laboratories, where they formed friendships amid the demands of dental school.

“We grew really close down there,” Collins said, recalling the lab work and professors who left lasting impressions, whether through their encouragement or the challenges they presented.

Some of those memories have become funnier with time. Collins recalled a classmate who became so frustrated with a wax-up that he hurled his articulator across the lab. At the reunion, classmates retold the story, and the classmate at its center joined in the laughter.

For Revel, the shared challenges of dental school help explain why those connections have endured. She said the intensity of the program, along with the ways classmates encouraged and challenged one another, created bonds that last regardless of how often they see one another.

For Collins, the significance of those relationships comes down to a simple sentiment: “We consider ourselves family.”