GEORGIAN COLLEGE
Georgian's Denturism program launches major expansion to Canada's East Coast

When Yvonne Cebulak decided to study denturism, she knew she'd have to move three hours away from her hometown of Sudbury to get to the nearest denturism program at Georgian College in Barrie, Ontario.

After studying for three years, she's thrilled to be back in Sudbury to help boost local denturism services in her community.

"One of the things that makes me want to keep practising denturism is helping the community and offering them good denture services instead of patients having to travel to a big city to get help. Making a custom denture for a patient to help them smile or eat again really fills my heart," she said.

Georgian College is expanding its accredited, three-year Denturism program to Canada's East Coast starting this September, offering hybrid programming between its Barrie Campus and a private lab in Halifax, N.S.

Now, Georgian is broadening Canadian denturism postsecondary education with a major expansion to Canada's East Coast, partnering with Hallmark Dental Laboratory, a private lab in Halifax, N.S., to offer hybrid programming starting this September. This innovative expansion will help fill a critical need for denturists in Canada's East Coast, which currently doesn't have a denturism school.

Cebulak said the news will be life changing for students like her who, otherwise, would have no choice but to leave home to attend a denturism program.

"This is really, really great news. I just had to leave my town, but East Coast students have to leave their province. This expansion is going to benefit not only students who want to study close to home but also the communities there because patients will be able to access more local denturism services," she said.

This expansion is a major step for Georgian's accredited Denturism program, which includes theory courses and hands-on, experiential learning within a dental lab and clinical setting with state-of-the-art digital denture technologies.

The first cohort of Denturism students in Halifax is expected to be between five and 10. They will complete all their lab work in person at Hallmark Dental Laboratory, and classes will be held virtually with instructors at Georgian's Barrie Campus.

Hallmark's lab is surrounded by urban amenities and has the same state-of-the-art equipment Denturism students access at Georgian's Barrie Campus - preparing them to step into their careers with hands-on experience directly with patients and equipment like what they'll work with in real-world scenarios.

"We're absolutely thrilled to announce this exciting partnership, which will open up more opportunities for our students across Canada to study denturism, particularly for those on the East Coast who will now be able to study and work close to home and make a difference in their communities," said Andrea Lovering, Coordinator of Georgian's Denturism program. "Denturism is a fast-growing, in-demand career, and we're proud to offer more innovative, educational pathways for our students through world-class equipment, instructors and curriculum."

Georgian's Denturism program, now in its 10th year, maintains excellent denturism board exam results and employment opportunities for students who complete licensing requirements. Industry partners are also involved in providing input for the program with ongoing reviews of the curriculum.

"The Denturist Association of Canada (DAC) applauds the expansion of Georgian College's Denturism program to Halifax, N.S. This important step strengthens our profession by increasing access to education and helping ensure we meet the growing demand for denturist services across the country," said Jaro Wojcicki Jr., President, The Denturist Association of Canada. "The DAC initiated these discussions with stakeholders across Canada to address attrition rates and workforce shortages in the Atlantic provinces, and Georgian College eagerly answered our concerns. Investing in the next generation of denturists is critical to maintaining high standards of care and ensuring equitable access to oral health services for all Canadians."

Students in Georgian's Denturism program are trained for a wide variety of career options, including working as an independent practitioner or within a group practice, dental laboratory or dental office.

"The transition between school and real practice is smooth," said Cebulak, who's an associate denturist in a denture clinic. "Getting to work in a clinical setting in college and seeing patients with our professors guiding us was an invaluable experience. Everything I learned from Georgian I still carry to this day."

Learn more about the program at Denturism Ontario College Advanced Diploma program. Once ready to apply, click the apply as a domestic student button.