Tooth Talk: Q&A with Savannah Thaw DMD 26
In our Q&A series, “Tooth Talk,” we are sitting down with GSDM students and residents to learn more about their paths to Boston University, their time at GSDM, and how they have made Boston their home.
For this latest edition, we spoke with Savannah Thaw DMD 26. She discussed her extracurricular activities, as well as what made GSDM and Boston the right dental school for her. Do you want to read more from our interview with Thaw? Keep an eye out for the summer 2025 issue of Impressions!
Want more Tooth Talk? Read the rest of the series on the Tooth Talk newsfeed page.
Questions and responses have been edited for clarity, context information, and length.
When did you first know you wanted to be a dentist?
I practically grew up in my dad’s dental office so that was an easy way to get my foot in the door with it. I was never closed off to it, but I ultimately decided during my third year of college that I wanted to pursue it after working at different dental offices. I’ve always had the belief that the oral cavity is the gateway to systemic health, so oral health has always been a huge passion of mine. That long-lived belief of mine and admiring the artistry in dentistry ultimately swayed me to pursuing this field!
You grew up and went to school on the West Coast. What led you to Boston?
I’m from California originally, and I went to school at University of Washington in Seattle, so I am super big on exploring different cities. My aunt graduated from Boston College and she said Boston was an amazing place to do some soul searching. Once I moved here, I found most of my character development has been from living on the East Coast and I absolutely love it here!
You are the 2024-2025 American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Professional Development Coordinator. What do you do in this role?
With ADEA, we do professional development events for students, including sessions on post–graduate plans, study skills, or informative sessions on the different specialties. I also help as a teaching assistant where the upperclassmen help instruct tutorials for the summative [assessments] that the D1 and D2 classes have. ADEA has given me the wonderful opportunity to be a part of a mentorship program and is a great way to prepare myself for my hopeful involvement with academia in the future.
You were a matriculation ambassador in 2023. How was that experience?
I loved being a matriculation ambassador. I know what it’s like to be lost and scared prior to matriculation so being an ambassador gave me the chance to guide incoming students. I found it very rewarding to help and advise students on how to become successful in their own way.
If you could give advice to a pre-dental student, what advice would you give them?
My number one advice would be for students to not burn themselves out. It’s very common for students to put a lot of pressure on themselves to be perfect, but I have learned perfectionism is the worst trait to have. Finding a mentally and physically stimulating hobby outside of schoolwork is so important to combat burn out. Really taking care of yourself and making sure you have the mental strength to keep going would be my tip.
Getting familiar with Boston is one of the many perks of being part of the GSDM community. To end our conversation on a fun note, where is your favorite thing to do in Boston?
I love going on walks on the Esplanade, the scenery is quite breathtaking. I also love the food here. I find myself always ending up back at an eatery on Newbury or Tremont Street.