Each year, the UMKC Alumni Association recognizes outstanding alumni achievements with an awards celebration. UMKC is honoring the Mahaffey family with the 2025 Legacy Award.
Three generations of the Mahaffey family began their dental careers at the UMKC School of Dentistry. Charles Mahaffey (DDS ’72) opened the family dental practice in 1975. Charles’s son, Darren Mahaffey (DDS ’05), and Darren’s wife, Sarah Mahaffey (DDS ’05), joined the practice in 2005 followed by Samantha (DDS ’22), who is the granddaughter of Charles and niece to Darren and Sarah. All of them share a dedication to the community of Springfield, MO as well as the overall oral health of Missouri.
How does the School of Dentistry continue to play a role in your family’s legacy?
We were all blessed to have begun our careers at UMKC. It is a gift, obligation and privilege to give back to the institution that gave us so many opportunities in life. UMKC served generations of our family, so we are privileged to give back by serving generations of patients in our community. UMKC gave us more than a diploma. It provided a deep and meaningful life experience that changed our paths forever.
Staying connected to the institution that shaped us into the professionals we are today is vital to continue the legacy that we are honored to be building. UMKC offers a strong alumni base full of like-minded colleagues that serve as mentors and friends. We have all been blessed with many friendships with classmates and faculty that have lasted years beyond our time at UMKC.
What motivates you to dedicate so much time to advocacy and mentoring in the field of dentistry?
We all view participation in both local and state-level dental organizations as an important way to give back to a profession that means so much to us. Our motivation to dedicate so much time to mentorship and advocacy comes from our commitment to our patients and bettering the future of dentistry for them. There is a lasting impact of investing in the future of our profession. What will the standard of care look like for our 4-year-old patients when they are 70? We have the privilege of serving a multi-generational practice, which gives us the unique motivation to invest in the future of what dental care will look like.
We have been given the gift of changing people's lives, by getting them back to school, work and social events, or simply getting them out of pain and back to smiling. It is our duty to pay it back and do our part to better the future of dentistry.
What advice would you give to today’s students who are starting out in a rapidly changing world?
Students that are just entering the profession should always remember to be authentic and genuine in their care for people. If your motivation is to better your patient’s health every day, you will always continue to find joy in your daily practice. Darren and Sarah remember Charles’s advice of, “Focus on taking care of people and they will take care of you.”
Your patients are your “why” – why you went through rigorous schooling, why you continue to better yourself at every chance and why you show up every day. True joy in life does not come in the form of financial packages. It comes from the investment in people and in your community.
Looking back on your careers, what is a moment that stand out to you as defining your journeys in the profession?
All four of us have found joy in serving others who may not have readily available access to care. Serving the needs of others will always fill our cups and stand out along the timeline of our careers. Darren and Sarah served in Venezuela during their dental school years through the UMKC School of Dentistry. There, they saw the impact that care can make on underserved communities. Samantha was blessed to serve in Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Ghana through Global Brigades.
In 2011, Darren and Sarah also founded the Missouri Mission of Mercy (MOMOM), a large-scale dental clinic that provides free oral health care to patients of all ages who cannot otherwise afford or access care. Part of a nationwide effort, Missouri Mission of Mercy has provided more than $7.98 million in free care to 12,311 patients since its inception. An especially fulfilling element was how many of our dental colleagues, as well as supply companies and other facets of the dental community, came together for the greater good of others. The camaraderie we experienced was fulfilling for our profession and community in ways we didn’t anticipate.