STACI GAFFOS

Dr. Anastasios (Staci) Nicholas Gaffos, II

Staci Gaffos was born in 1939 to Nicholas and Jeanette Gaffos. He was raised in Camden, S.C., where his father who emigrated from Greece owned a restaurant. After graduating from Camden High School he attended the University of South Carolina from which he graduated in 1960. He graduated from the University of Alabama in Birmingham School of Dentistry in 1964. After dental school, Dr. Gaffos worked briefly in Georgia and South Carolina before serving as a Captain in the U.S. Army Dental Corp from 1966 to 1968. He was stationed at the 249th General Hospital in Tokyo, Japan, during the height of the Vietnam Conflict. In 1968, Dr. Gaffos rejoined his practice of general dentistry in Columbia, S.C. In addition to his general practice, he has served on the Richland Palmetto hospital staff for 40 years and was a clinical instructor at the dental residency program at Richland Memorial hospital from 1978 to 1988. He was an active volunteer in dental programs including the Columbia Children’s Dental Clinic, Give Back a Smile Program for the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, and the Dentistry from the Heart Program twice each year. Dr. Gaffos has been a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, the American Dental Association, and the South Carolina Academy of Implant Studies. He is a Fellow in the American College of Dentist, the Academy of Dentistry International, and the Pierre Fauchard Academy.

Dr. Gaffos has been actively engaged in South Carolina professional dentistry through his service as president of the Greater Columbia Dental Association, the Central District Dental Society, the Mid Carolina Study Academy, and the South Carolina Academy of Practice Administration. He was also State Chairman of the Pierre Fauchard Academy and served on the Board of Governors of the South Carolina Dental Association. In 2016, Dr. Gaffos was given the James B. Edwards Citizenship Award by the South Carolina Dental Association. Additionally, he was made an Honorary Alumnus member of the MUSC College of Dental Medicine. He was also elected to the Board of Visitors at MUSC.

On a national level, he is a lifetime member of the American Academy of History of Dentistry and in 2013 and 2014, he served as its president. In 2014, he was awarded the Hayden-Harris Award by the American Academy of History of Dentistry. This award is given to those who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of dental history. At the AAHD National meeting in Charleston in 2011, Dr. Gaffos gave a lecture about his mentor Dr. Neil Macaulay on “His Life and Passion for Dental History.” This kick-started the rededication of the Macauley Dental Museum, which was dedicated in 1974 and had come into a state of disrepair. Dr. Gaffos became the lead donor and member of the rededication committee. In 2018, the museum was rededicated with over 200 people in attendance.

Dr. Gaffos has established his own museum in Columbia, SC. It was opened briefly in 2015 before the thousand-year flood ravished it in October with five feet of raging water. The museum is scheduled to reopen in the near future. Dr. Gaffos married the former Katherine Chakides, and they had three children: Electra G. Ariail, Nicholas Gaffos, and Katherine G. Furman of whom he is most proud.

Dr. Gaffos with his children Nicholas, Katherine, and Electra at the rededication ceremony, October 2018.