South Gables Dental
You're in Good Hands
Lawrence Lesperance, DDS, Dentist
Dr. Lawrence Lesperance was born and raised in Coral Gables, Florida. He graduated from Columbus High School, earned his B.A. in…
Shah Rassoulian, DMD, Endodontist
Dr. Shah Rassoulian attended the University of Massachusetts Boston and majored in Biology. He later earned his Doctor of Medicine in…
Learn More About Dr. Shah Rassoulian, DMD
Robert Kaufman, DMD, Periodontist
Dr. Kaufman concentrates his efforts and continuing education in periodontal surgery and the surgical placement of dental implants…
Learn More About Dr. Robert Kaufman, DMD
Deya Alegria, CRDH, Dental Hygienist
Deya Alegria was born and raised in Miami, Florida. Her family is originally from Masaya, Nicaragua. She graduated from Miami Senior High School in 2008 and from Miami Dade College in 2012 with an Associates in Arts in Elementary Education. While pursuing her career in early childhood education, she initiated her Dental career at Dr. John Raffel’s office as a Dental assistant/receptionist where she remained for three years. She joined Dr. Lesperance’s Dental office as a hygiene coordinator, where she is able to expand her previously acquired knowledge and skills. Deya schedules most of the cleaning appointments for our patients. She is fluent in English and Spanish.
Joan Thomas, CRDH, Dental Hygienist
Joan Thomas was born in Managua, Nicaragua. She attended both Miami Killian Senior High and Miami Sunset Senior High School. She acquired her associate of Science degree in 1995 from Miami-Dade College. Joan became a member of the South Gables Dental team in 2014. She provides periodontal maintenance therapy, scaling and root planing procedures, and implant care. Joan has a combined 26 years of experience as a hygienist and has worked in both general dentistry and periodontal offices. She makes certain each patient is treated with care and ensures that their needs are addressed to help them maintain a healthy smile that will last a lifetime.
Joan is fluent in English, Spanish, and is certified in the administration of local anesthesia and nitrous oxide sedation. Joan continues to further her knowledge through yearly CE courses to provide her patients with the highest quality of care. When she is not in the office, she enjoys spending time with her husband of 31 years and her two sons Jacob and Matthew.
Osiris Irizarry, Hygiene Coordinator
Osiris Irizarry has been part of the South Gables Dental team since 2006 and serves as the practice’s hygiene coordinator. She was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, and came to the United States in 1993. She received her dental assisting certification from Robert Morgan Educational Center & Technical College in 2000.
In her personal time, you can find Osiris traveling with her husband. Together, they have traveled to over 20 countries. While not traveling or working, she enjoys spending time with her two grown children.
Yesenia Rodríguez, Dental Assistant
Yesenia “Yesie” Rodríguez was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and raised in Miami, Florida, where she graduated from Braddock High School with honors. As a dental assistant for 29 years in South Florida, she takes great pride in serving patients by providing quality care.
She enjoys Mexican food, kayaking, and listening to music. Yessie has three daughters and enjoys spending quality time with them.
Tara Auclair, MBA, Director of Marketing
Tara Auclair, MBA, is the Director of Marketing for South Gables Dental. A seasoned marketing, public relations and communications professional, she loves to create a sense of community and to make her companies and their incredible people more famous.
In her most recent role as Senior Marketing Communications Manager at Modernizing Medicine, she was responsible for increasing brand equity by overseeing and participating in multiple aspects of marketing and communications including public relations, media and community relations, crisis communications, corporate social responsibility, social media, blog, website, customer reference program and more. Tara has a passion for the healthcare industry as evidenced by her over 20 years of experience in various roles held at the Palm Beach County Medical Society, Boca Raton Regional Hospital, the Maine Health Management Coalition (now the Healthcare Purchaser Alliance of Maine) and others.
Tara earned her BA from Tulane University and her MBA from Boston University. Dedicated to the community, she donates her time to the Alzheimer’s Association of Southeast Florida, currently serving as the organization’s Vice Chair of the Board of Directors, Advocacy Chair for the 2019 Walk to End Alzheimer’s – Miami and Chair of The Longest Day. Tara recently joined the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce and serves on the Business & Government Affairs Committee. She’s a long-time member of the Junior League where she has held numerous leadership roles and received the Outstanding Service Award in 2019, and she’s active in the Tulane Alumni Association. Before relocating to Coral Gables, Tara served on the boards of the Peter Blum Family YMCA of Boca Raton and the Boca Chamber’s Golden Bell Education Foundation, where she received the Chair’s Award from the Boca Chamber in 2018.
