welcome to the Gaffos Museum of Dental History

Dr. Gaffos has dedicated nearly six decades to the practice of dentistry. He loves his patients and they love him back! Staci Gaffos was born in 1939 to Nicholas and Jeanette Gaffos. He was raised in Camden, S.C., His father immigrated from Chios, Greece and owned a restaurant for 40 years. Dr. Gaffos graduated from Camden High School, and he attended the University of South Carolina where he graduated in 1960. He was involved in Student Government and he also was a cheerleader! 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, the “Give Back a Smile” program for the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, and the “Dentistry from the Heart” program. 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 Dentistry, 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.

Inspired by his mentor, Dr. Gaffos collected dental antiques for decades and has established his own museum in Columbia, SC. It was opened briefly in 2015 before the thousand-year flood ravished it in October 2015 with five feet of raging water coursing through the building. He painstakingly restored the exhibits, and reopened the Gaffos Museum of Dental Antiques in 2018.

Besides his lifelong passion for Dentistry, traveling, supporting the USC Gamecocks, and his other hobbies, Dr. Gaffos is delighted by his three adult children, Electra, Nick, and Katherine, and 4 grandchildren, Mills, Nicholas, Eva, and Elle. Staci is a lifelong member of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.