PEIHolland College showed off its newly renovated dental clinic at an open house Friday.Federal funding for renos was a ‘game-changer,’ says executive director of programsGwyneth Egan · CBC News · Posted: Nov 28, 2025 7:00 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Upgrades to the clinic at the college’s dental assisting clinic include new equipment and technology aimed at keeping the program up to modern standards. (Gwyneth Egan/CBC)Holland College showed off the newly renovated clinic for its dental assisting program at an open house in Charlottetown on Friday.Upgrades include new equipment and technology aimed at keeping the P.E.I. post-secondary institution’s program up to modern dental standards. “It’s a huge step forward for our quality of education,” said Craig Dauphinee, the college’s executive director of programs. “Not to discount the quality of education prior to this, but in terms of our infrastructure and the clinic here, it’s been a huge change, a huge technological improvement.” The clinic’s previous equipment was about 30 years old, Dauphinee said, adding the upgrades will be a “huge drawing card” with the potential to bring new students to P.E.I. — and keep graduates on the Island after completing their schooling. ‘If you can put a top-notch program together with a top-notch clinic such as we have here, I think students are going to want to go here,’ says Mike Connolly, the CEO of the Dental Association of P.E.I. (Gwyneth Egan/CBC)Dauphinee said the federal government funding for the renovation was a “game-changer.””It just allows us really to update more areas and bring more parts of our program up to modern standards,” he said, noting that other labs and student spaces will also be upgraded. The program received more than $1.7 million over three years through the federal Oral Health Access Fund to improve training in culturally appropriate care for diverse populations. “What we want to do is really work with the local Indigenous community, the local newcomer community, and speak to them about what their experience has been in dental offices and dental practices and how we might be able to embed some more culturally competent and culturally focused care,” Dauphinee said. Preparing for the real worldAnita Oakes, a student in the dental assisting program, said she’s grateful for the investments that were made in new equipment and training. “We’ll be fully equipped for the modern dental offices… that we’ll be working in after we graduate,” she said. “Ever since I’ve been here, everything we’ve learned in class is directly correlated to what we do in clinic, so it’s very hands-on.” Anika Oakes says she’s grateful for the funding that gave Holland College access to updated equipment and training. (Gwyneth Egan/CBC)The Dental Association of P.E.I. said Holland College has been a source for dental assistants on in the province for years. “Now with this funding, we’re going to have better educated students, we’re going to have opportunities that students will have now that they hadn’t had before,” said Mike Connolly, the association’s CEO. He said that’s good news for the dental association, and for future students. “If you can put a top-notch program together with a top-notch clinic such as we have here, I think students are going to want to go here,” Connolly said. “It’s our hope that the students that do come here come out with a great education and lots of experience to help our dentists when they go out into the real world.” ABOUT THE AUTHORGwyneth Egan is a reporter with CBC Prince Edward Island. She is a graduate of Carleton University’s master of journalism program and previously interned with White Coat, Black Art. You can reach her at gwyneth.egan1@cbc.ca
Holland College hopes dental clinic upgrades will be ‘huge drawing card’ for students
