‘Baby,’ we’re gonna miss you

Whether in need of a pick-me-up, seemingly random dental equipment, refreshments for a student meeting or even just for someone to finally “tell it like it is,” students, faculty and staff at Texas A&M College of Dentistry can mosey on up to Dr. Loulou Moore’s seventh-floor office. There they’ll find their ally, even if room to sit is scarce. Her workspace is a repository of sorts, where outgoing dental students can part with supplies they no longer need. Stacked plastic drawers are filled to the brim with items that will later gain new life, whether in the hands of down-on-their-luck dental students who have lost necessary instruments or participants in the college’s summer enrichment programs gaining exposure to the profession for the first time.

It’s all because of Moore’s propensity to give. A clinical associate professor in restorative sciences, Moore has been a faculty member at the College of Dentistry for 19 years; she even got her start at the school. She received her dental degree from the college in 1993 and later completed its Advanced Education in General Dentistry program. Through it all, she has never come up short on finding ways to serve.

In 1998, she took on the role of faculty adviser for the college chapter of the Asian-American Dental Society. That same year she created the student organization’s Biannual Free Sealant and Prophy Day, an initiative she coordinated for nearly two decades to follow. It has brought free cleanings and oral health exams to thousands of young children throughout the area.

Outside the dental school, other volunteer ventures include work with Cedar Valley College, Mosaic Family Services and the Museum of International Cultures. During her own Aug. 29 retirement reception, she seized yet another opportunity to give back, presenting a $25,000 check toward a dental operatory in the college’s new building, in honor of her ADS “babies.”

Anyone who has worked with Moore has certainly been addressed with this term of endearment — even her supervisor.

Dr. Steve Karbowski, restorative sciences department head, shared a specific memory of the time Moore unapologetically asked him, “’Oh baby, you’re getting a little fluffy, are you gaining some weight?’”

“Loulou does it in such a disarming way you just have to smile and laugh and say, ‘that’s just Loulou,’” Karbowski remarked during her reception.

It’s this blend of generosity and good humor that makes Moore so beloved at the school, earning her the title of Teacher of the Year in 2017. As much as her students will miss her, the feeling is mutual, Moore declares.

“The reason I am here is because of our students and our staff,” Moore said to a room filled with co-workers, students and alumni. “If they are not here, we are not here.

“You taught me. Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your dental training.”