NC Dental Society Awards

 

Help us celebrate excellence in dentistry

Your colleagues. Your mentors. Your friends. They make a lasting impact on dentistry in North Carolina—so let’s celebrate them.

Nominations are now open for the 2026 NC Dental Society Awards, recognizing those who elevate our profession through service, leadership, innovation, and community impact. Award Categories:

  • Distinguished Service Scroll – Our most prestigious honor, recognizing a lifetime of outstanding service and leadership. Nominees may be dentists, auxiliary, or lay people.
  • Meritorious Achievement Award – Recognizes significant lifetime contributions across multiple areas, including leadership, academics, research, health care delivery, professionalism, and service to organized dentistry.
  • Rising Star Award (new!) – For dentists practicing 11–25 years who show strong commitment to organized dentistry and meaningful contributions to advancing the mission of the NCDS, ADA, or other dental organizations.
  • Outstanding Young Dentist Award – For dentists under 40 with 10 or fewer years in practice who demonstrate exceptional leadership, involvement, and service.
  • Citizenship Award – Honors outstanding service to humanity through civic, community, cultural, humanitarian, or religious activities.
  • Special Recognition Award – For extraordinary achievements or specific accomplishments, whether or not related to dentistry. Nominees may be non-dentists.
  • Student Leaders in Organized Dentistry Award – Selected by each dental school to honor fourth-year students who have shown exceptional leadership and engagement in organized dentistry.

Nominate someone today and help celebrate those shaping the future of North Carolina dentistry. 

Deadline: February 2, 2026. 
Awards will be presented at the NCDS Statewide Leadership Summit.

A quick reminder: previous nominations do not carry over. If you nominated someone in the past who wasn’t selected, we encourage you to submit a new nomination this year. Email aeggenberger@ncdental.org with questions.

In May 2025, we honored an outstanding group of dental professionals whose leadership, service, and innovation are shaping the future of dentistry in North Carolina.

Congratulations to our 2025 honorees:

  • Dr. Markus Mosley (Greenville)
  • Dr. Adriana Zelaya (Chapel Hill)
  • Dr. Davia Nickelson (Hillsborough)
  • Dr. Lance Hutchens (Wilmington)
  • Dr. Ron Key (Newton)
  • Dr. Shelley Olson (Oxford)
  • Dr. Mark Pabst (Greenville)
  • Dr. Jeff Thomas (New Bern)

Meet our 2025 winners

Explore past honorees (since 1990)