Central Piedmont dental students turn classroom learning into care for the community

For patients who need dental care, the cost of treatment can sometimes stand between a problem and a solution. At Central Piedmont Community College, students and faculty are working alongside local dental professionals to help close that gap while gaining the hands-on experience that prepares students for careers serving the community.

On Saturday, Oct. 31, Central Piedmont’s Dental Hygiene and Dental Assisting programs, along with Medical Assisting students, hosted a Mini-Missions of Mercy Clinic, providing free dental care to eligible patients at the college’s Dental Clinic on Central Campus.

Throughout the day, 70 Central Piedmont students worked alongside volunteer dentists and other community partners to deliver care that included fillings and extractions. Dental Hygiene students supported patient care by taking dental radiographs, completing charting and documentation, serving as scribes and assisting with patient interactions, while Dental Assisting students worked directly with dentists during treatment.

By the end of the clinic, 68 patients had received more than $50,000 in dental services at no cost, an average of nearly $750 per patient.

Those numbers represent more than a day of treatment. For patients, the clinic offered access to dental care that can make an immediate difference in their oral health. For students, it provided an opportunity to apply classroom and lab training while caring for real patients alongside practicing dental professionals.

“Offering the Mini-MOM clinic is really great for the people who don’t have the resources to afford dental care,” said Celia Miranda, a student in the Dental Hygiene program. “This is a real impact for them. They’re getting something fixed that otherwise they wouldn’t be able to afford to get fixed.”

That combination of service and learning is central to the clinic’s purpose.

“This clinic shows students the difference their skills can make beyond the classroom,” said Devin Bolin, Dental Hygiene faculty member at Central Piedmont. “They’re gaining meaningful clinical experience while helping people in our community access dental care. That connection between what our students are learning and the people they serve is incredibly powerful.”

Those experiences are producing strong outcomes. Central Piedmont students have a 100% clinical licensure pass rate and 96% National Board Exam success rate for its Dental Hygiene program. Meanwhile, Dental Assisting students achieved 100% pass rates in 2026 on all three components reported for the Certified Dental Assistant examination: Infection Control, Radiation Health and Safety, and General Chairside.

The Mini-MOM Clinic reflects the mission of Central Piedmont’s dental programs: preparing skilled dental professionals while expanding access to care in the community. Students leave with valuable clinical experience, and patients leave having received care that might otherwise have been difficult to access.

For Central Piedmont, it is a powerful example of education and service working hand in hand to strengthen the community.