Dr. Afsheen Lakhani DMD 06 AEGD 07

During Dr. Afsheen Lakhani’s tenure at GSDM, she has done it all, ranging from being a student and a resident to receiving the 2021 Spencer N. Frankl Award for Excellence in Teaching and, most recently, being honored with ADEA Chair of the Board Citation at the ADEA 2023 Annual session. After being appointed to Director of Group Practices, she has been experiencing “full-circle moments,” taking her back to her student days, one of which being gifted a personalized bobblehead from the graduating Class of 2020 - the exact same graduation gift her AEGD class gave their program director.

We spoke to her about her GSDM experiences and what she hopes to bring to her new role.

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How meaningful is it that you’ve become a faculty member at your alma mater?

I feel really blessed that I’m able to give back to my institution, because there have been so many of the mentors and teachers who have been so inspiring to me, and they’ve played an instrumental role in my success and in my learning… I would never be able to give back to them what they have done for me, but at least I’m able to pay it forward.

Congratulations on starting your new role as Director of Group Practices back in October 2022. What are you most looking forward to achieving in this new role?

Luckily, I’ve been part of all these roles as a student, resident, supervising faculty, practicing dentist at a private office and the BU Dental Health Center, practice leader, and now as a director. I know what every person in those roles is thinking. My goal is to integrate that together –because dentistry is all about teamwork – to enhance and improve the group practice experience for students and patients.

If we can ensure there is a strong alignment between the didactic and clinical portions of student education, it will automatically translate into high-quality patient care.

What do you envision as the future of group practice model?

We have a very dedicated team of faculty members at GSDM and, together, our vision is to give students real-life dental practice experience in order to enhance patient services and improve student learning. Our goal is to prepare students to become compassionate and competent oral healthcare providers by instilling in them effective communication skills, practice/patient management skills, and leadership skills. Our aim is to inspire them to become future dental educators and leaders who provide patients with the highest standard of professionalism and service.

What do you hope students will take away from their time in group practice?

I want them to become caring, competent oral healthcare professionals. They shouldn't think of themselves as “just a dentist.” I want them to feel passionate about our profession and to feel proud to be a GSDM alum. And I want them to give back as educators, if they are able to.

I want them to also remember that as they are entering the real world, they are not alone. They are and will remain a part of this extraordinary GSDM family. It’s a bond for life. They can use these relationships and experiences here at GSDM to boost their success and grow their professional network, build an active community of GSDM alums, so that they can support each other and at the same time strengthen our institution.