“I always loved going to the dental office and trying to see what they were doing through the reflections from their goggles,” said the Knoxville, Tenn., native. “My childhood dentist was the only healthcare provider I had who looked like me. As I grew up, I also wanted to be a source of inspiration for future generations of providers,” she said.

Rainey, a May 2026 graduate, took a moment to speak with UofL News about her journey to become a dentist.

UofL News: You worked as a dental hygienist in Tennessee from 2014 to 2020 before being accepted to the UofL School of Dentistry. What inspired you to go for dental school and why Louisville?

Rainey: Dental school was always the end goal. I learned about ULSD as a pre-dental student through Dr. Sherry Babbage-Melisizwe, who visited Tennessee State University to present about the dental school. Her tenacity and passion during that meeting ignited my desire to be taught by her and a curiosity about Louisville. The next summer, I attended Summer Medical and Dental ����ֱ�� Program (SMDEP) in Louisville, and I knew ULSD was my dream for dental school. When it came down to it, Louisville was the first dental school to offer me the chance to complete my number one childhood goal.

UofL News: What has been your favorite part of the dental school experience?

Rainey: All the meaningful connections and communities built along this journey. From classmates to staff and faculty, and even patients, I formed new life-long friendships that I can’t imagine living without. There are lots of individuals I am really going to miss seeing on a daily basis.

UofL News: You received numerous awards for the volunteer hours you have devoted to community dentistry such as UofL’s Goodwill Opportunity Clinic and Free Smiles Clinic. What is it about that work that is gratifying for you?

Rainey: I always had a heart for service. From middle school forward, I was always active in local and national community-based service organizations (such as Beta Club, USNDA, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Remote Area Medical). Coupling that with my love of providing free dental services is my niche. I plan to continue volunteering with free dental clinics wherever I am living. Sometimes, help is simply needed without any strings attached.

UofL News: What are your post-graduation plans?

Rainey: I am a National Service Corps scholar, so the next four years I will be fulfilling my service requirements in underserved areas. I’ve signed on with a federally qualified health center in Northern Kentucky. While I wait on my license to process to begin work, I will definitely enjoy a bit of a break.

UofL News: Now that you are embarking in your career as a dentist, what is your patient care philosophy?

It is important to me that I understand my patient’s needs and wants so that I can provide them with the necessary information for them to make an informed decision about their health. I always want to create a safe, non-judgmental environment for my patients to build a bridge of trust. The majority of them notice and appreciate this.

UofL News: How do you envision your long-term goals and career path?

Rainey: As far as long-term goals, I see myself volunteering and providing mentorship to other young aspiring professionals. How and where I will be to do that is still up in the air, but I know everything will work out in the end. I hope my journey in becoming a dentist may inspire upcoming generations of oral health professionals.

“Carrying the floss had nothing to do with me wanting to do dentistry,” she said. “It had everything to do with me not liking things in between my teeth.”

But McPheeters knew she wanted to be some type of medical professional.

“I would look up anatomy in encyclopedias, intrigued with the human body and thinking, ‘wow, this is inside of me.’”

She said a mentor from her hometown of Chicago who helped minority students pursue professional careers was instrumental to guiding her to dentistry. After dental school graduation from Indiana University in 2016, she began her career in public health dental practice, but always with an eye towards academia later in her career.

That timetable was unexpectedly accelerated after her second child, Joshua, was born in 2018 with Trisomy 18, also known as Edwards Syndrome – a very rare genetic condition that causes severe developmental delays. The syndrome has no treatment and is usually fatal before birth or within the first year of life, but miraculously Joshua continues to beat the odds.

The demands of a special needs child and the arrival of COVID-19 prompted McPheeters to explore a career shift to academic research. In January 2021, she joined UofL and couldn’t be happier with the transition.

Her son’s special needs also became the inspiration for the professor’s decision to conduct oral health care research for special needs children.

“I had this idea to come up with some things to teach the community,” she said. “We have home nursing, however most clinicians don’t have any training on how to brush teeth or care for the mouth because most of the times they’re focused on things like, ‘Hey, is their heart working OK?’”

She applied for and received a  to create a curriculum to help providers with oral care training for special needs patients.

“Most times we don’t see special needs patients until they’re in their 20s or 30s, and they need a full-mouth teeth extraction because someone hasn’t brushed with them, so I knew there is a need in that area. There are specialty clinics, but they have a two-year waiting list, so being on the prevention end will be helpful in so many ways.”

With the grant, she collaborated with local company Ohio Valley who provides home health services, and stocked them with special dental supplies for the community. McPheeters will present results of her initial community engagement research in March 2025. With the success of the Gheens grant, she plans to apply for larger grants that will allow her to continue and expand the work.

Coming from a big city, McPheeters has appreciated a slower pace and friendly vibe that is more aligned with family and work-life balance. She said she loves UofL’s emphasis on welcoming diversity.

“I never wake up dreading coming in to work, and when I come here, it brings joy to my day. I could be having a really tough morning, but if I’m able to mentor a student and touch their life in a way where I can encourage them and give them some good advice, it makes my day.”