Dr. Rolfe McCoy, Chillicothe Dentist, Honored with MDA Distinguished Service Award 

Dr. Rolfe McCoy, a dentist in Chillicothe, Mo., has been named the 2023 Missouri Dental Association (MDA) Distinguished Service Award winner. He was honored at the Association’s annual awards banquet hosted during its House of Delegates at Margaritaville Lake Resort, June 21, 2024. 

The Distinguished Service Award is presented to a member with a long history of exemplary service and dedication to the dental profession and organized dentistry. This commitment and dedication are evidenced by Dr. McCoy’s 39 consecutive years of membership and during this tenure, service in numerous leadership roles.

Most recently, Dr. McCoy is acknowledged for his tireless commitment to the development of the curriculum and clinical testing for the Oral Preventive Assistant pilot program, which seeks to study the effectiveness of a new type of Expanded Function Dental Assistant to increase access to preventive care. He and a team of other volunteer dentists have helped develop the online curriculum and the content of the clinical skills training and testing of students as well as the training processes for EDFA course trainers. Dr. McCoy has been a lead trainer for all MDA EFDA courses since 2006.

This recent work adds to the body of Dr. McCoy’s volunteer and leadership roles over the years. Within the Northwest Dental Society, a local component of the MDA, he has served as president and trustee to the MDA Board. He has been a delegate to the ADA House of Delegates and served on various state committees. In the larger dental community, Dr. McCoy served on the Missouri Dental Board for 10 years, which included two terms as president. He has been a mentor for many dentists throughout the state, including dental students. He formerly was a UMKC School of Dentistry Adjunct Faculty member and rotated students through his practice from 2000 to 2014. Also, Dr. McCoy has been an examiner with one or more regional dental examination boards since 1999.

His community service includes the local YMCA board, Boy Scouts, Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Knights of Columbus and Chillicothe Board of Public Works. In early 2023, Dr. McCoy began working with the Dominican Republic Mission of the Orlando Diocese to start a dental clinic in Padres Las Cacas. After physically laying pipe to extend community water lines, and eventually flying down dental equipment and supplies over several trips, the clinic saw its first patients in November 2023, with Dr. McCoy as one of the dental providers.

Dr. McCoy resides in Chillicothe with his wife, Julie, and is a second-generation dentist who first practiced with his father, Dr. Chad McCoy. He now practices with his daughter, Dr. Emily Mattingly and son-in-law, Dr. David Mattingly, as well as four other dentists. The family practice — McCoy Samples Mattingly — celebrated its 70th anniversary this June.