Student Profile: Childhood Classmates Ghazaleh Amini DMD AS 27 and Mahsa Sayad DMD AS 27 are Studying Together Once Again

For a quarter of a century, Ghazaleh Amini DMD AS 27 and Mahsa Sayad DMD AS 27 have been a dynamic duo. The friends attended the same primary school, middle school, high school, and dental school in Iran. 

Now, Amini and Sayad are taking on their latest endeavor as fellow classmates in the DMD Advanced Standing Class of 2027.  

“Sometimes, I post on Instagram, and some people say ‘Again? You are classmates,’” Amini said. “It is funny because people in our class don’t know we are [long-time] friends, and we have two different personalities. People will look at us confused, and we say “’Don’t worry. We are friends, it’s been 25 years that we have been together.’”  

Amini and Sayad are from Ahvaz, Iran, and grew up in the same neighborhood. Despite their contrary personalities—Amini is extroverted and energetic while Sayad is reserved and calm—the pair said they bring the best out of each other.  

“In primary school, for some reason, we just became friends. It just happened one day,” Amini said. “Then, in middle school, we started to study together and it’s just kept going.”  

The pair has a lot in common. They were both influenced by their families to pursue dentistry. Amini’s father, Seyed Emadaldin Amini DMD 25, worked as a dentist in Tehran. While Sayad’s father is a medical doctor, her three cousins are dentists. 

Amini and Sayad also both spent time living in the U.S. Amini’s family moved to the U.S. in 2011, while Sayad and her husband relocated to the U.S. in 2017 because of his education. However, both women traveled back to Iran for dental school, from which they graduated in 2018.  

After completing dental school in Iran, Amini relocated from California to Florida to work as a dental hygienist. Sayad was living in Pennsylvania, working as a dental assistant. The duo stayed in touch throughout their dental board exams and U.S. dental school applications but did not realize they were both interested in GSDM. The pair made the discovery when a mutual friend made a comment about their GSDM interviews.  

“We’ve been in touch all the time, but we were so busy that we couldn’t share what was going on,” Amini said.  

When Amini and Sayad separately made the decision to attend GSDM, the pair was ecstatic to be back in a classroom and studying together again—this time in their mid-thirties instead of early-twenties.  

“It was really exciting for me,” Sayad said. “I was unable to believe that we would be classmates again.”  

Sayad said having Amini by her side at GSDM made her transition back to being a dental student more manageable. To add to that comfort, they are neighbors again, living on the same street. 

“It was easier for me to start at GSDM because I didn’t have to stress about the environment and new people,” Sayad said. “I knew her. I called her and asked her everything.”  

In their first semester at GSDM, Amini and Sayad are back to studying together, just like how they’ve studied together throughout their entire academic journey. Sayad said she couldn’t imagine preparing for any exam without Amini’s support.  

“We always talk to each other before the exam,” Sayad said. “We send some messages to get energy and continue studying.” 

Their friendship is undergoing a big change, now with Sayad juggling parenthood to a four-month-old baby and dental school. owever, the pair said they will always be working in tandem and supporting each other throughout personal and professional developments. Sayad said she hopes their GSDM chapter won’t be the last time they are in the same place at the same time.  

“I hope to be able to live in the same city in the future and work in the same clinic–if possible,” Sayad said.