Pamlico Community College has started a new program in Dental Laboratory Technology this fall.
The two-year associate’s degree program, which recently received state approval, will train students to create dental appliances such as dentures, partials, bridges, crowns, and other prostheses.
Program graduates will be qualified to work in denture clinics, dental laboratories, and similar settings.
PCC’s program will be led by Kathy Nicodemus, who has more than 30 years of combined experience teaching dental technology and working in the dental prostheses industry.
“We are very excited to offer a new career option for students,” PCC President Dr. Jim Ross says. “We believe this program will create wonderful opportunities for students to have great careers and improve their lives.”
The Dental Laboratory Technology program will be unique in the area; PCC will be the only North Carolina community college east of Interstate 95 to offer the degree program.
The program will consist of classroom teaching and hands-on work in the laboratory. There also will be online instruction.
Students who complete the program will have the skills they need to begin a great career, one with good earning potential and job security, Nicodemus says.
“This is a hands-on career that can appeal to both men and women,” she says. “It is very rewarding to know that your work can help someone improve their appearance, their confidence, and their outlook.”
Months of study and research went into the forthcoming launch of the program.
The college also received a significant boost from the New Bern-based Harold H. Bate Foundation, which recently awarded the college’s Foundation a $30,000 grant to help support the new program.
“We are extremely appreciative for the Bate Foundation’s support, which will help us to create a first-class program,” Ross says. “Like PCC, the Bate Foundation is committed to seeing area residents improve their lives and circumstances. We thank them for their support of this program and our students.”
For more information about the program, contact Nicodemus at knicodemus@pamlicocc.edu or 252-249-1851, ext. 3017.
