By Sunny Tunget

The dental lab, located in B-214, has been remodeled as a part of building B renovations.

The lab now has three treatment rooms, one more than before the renovations. The new equipment includes all new cabinets, a new sterilization area, two rooms of new equipment and a new lab work bench.

Pat Pearson, dental assisting instructor, said the remodeling was needed because the equipment was outdated. The lab originally opened in 1973.

Before the renovation, the lab floor was carpeted, which is a problem for infection control, Pearson said.

"Now we have a nice tile floor," she said.

The cost for this new lab was $55,000 to $60,000, not including the new cabinetry, Pearson said. Most of the funding came from grants, including the Carl Perkins Grant and the Program Improvement Grant.

In the dental assisting program, students learn to work chairside with a dentist throughout all procedures, lab work, processing x-rays and sterilizing equipment. Pearson said a dental assistant is the dentist’s second pair of hands.

Students study head and neck anatomy. They learn dental radiography and how to mix dental materials. They also learn office management, lab procedures, preventive dentistry, and infection control.

In Illinois, a dental assistant can be state certified, and IVCCs program incorporates this certification. To meet Illinois’ guidelines, assistants are trained to polish teeth, place pit and fissure sealants, and monitor nitrous oxide.

Eleven students are currently enrolled in the program.

Pearson, who has been teaching at IVCC since 1978, said she was "tickled pink" with the renovations. She described the new lab as "a little more formal," and fully equipped for any dentist to be able to walk in and perform any procedure.