College of Dental Medicine Lasting Impressions Magazine

COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE © 29 was in dental school, I decided I liked general dentistry,” she said. Gaines attended Hampton University in Virginia, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, and then went to dental school at Virginia Commonwealth University. She did her residency at the University of Missouri— Kansas City School of Dentistry. Along the way, her involvement in teaching developed unexpectedly. “When my clinical instructor, David Sarrett, approached me about considering academia, I said absolute- ly not,” she said. Her instructor, however, didn’t give up that easily. In her fourth year of dental school, he made her a lab instructor for dental anatomy, teaching first-year students. “I actually kind of enjoyed it,” Gaines said. “Lo and behold, that’s what I’m doing now.” She continued teaching as a clinical instructor during her residency and realized she loved working with students. When she moved back to Florida in 1999 and was looking for a job, NSU’s new dental school seemed to be the perfect fit. “The college hired me right away,” Gaines said. “What I enjoyed most is that the CDM was so receptive to new ideas. That was the bonus of being here pretty much in the beginning. I’ve been here all this time now. I’ve been through every dean, every department chair of restorative dentistry, and so many students who I still have a rapport with and stay in contact.” Nicole Lamb, D.D.S., who recently opened her first dental practice in Miramar, Florida, is one of Gaines’ former students. She graduated from the CDM in 2013 and remains in touch with Gaines, whom she considers “a mentor and lifelong friend.” “Dental school is tough, and she kept me motivated and focused,” Lamb said. “She made a lifelong impression on me and helped me become a better clinician and overall person. She is always giving and finding ways to help.” Lamb said Gaines also was an inspiring role model. “As an African American woman, which I am too, it was so great to watch her just doing it all and seeing how she was so well respected by her colleagues and students.” Francesa Pietri, a third-year dental student who shad- owed Gaines every Friday and Saturday for more than four years, said Gaines was instrumental in her decision to Rashondia Gaines has seen many children grow up during her trips with dental students to provide dental care and education to places such as Jamaica.