Miriam Ivry and Daniel Nasimov, Touro College of
Dental Medicine ’21, reflect on meeting each other in dental school.

(Courtesy of Touro College) It all started with a late-night group study session in the fourth-floor student lounge at the Touro College of Dental Medicine (TCDM).

When they first met in the fall of 2017, both Miriam Ivry and Daniel Nasimov were just first-year dental students focused solely on their future careers and ensuring they got the grades to get them there. With the idea of falling in love the last thing on either of their minds, the pair initially met through friends over stacks of textbooks and diagrams of teeth. Miriam and Daniel then grew closer together over the course of several study groups, forming a strong friendship that quickly developed into something more.

Not unlike in many great romances, Miriam and Daniel then began dating secretly, choosing not to share the news with their friends and fellow study group members. “We actually didn’t tell anyone until we were close to getting engaged,” said Miriam who, upon graduating from TCDM this month, will be going on to a general practice residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital. “We decided not to because if we broke up it would have been awkward! We went for secret walks around campus and made discreet trips to Starbucks and no one realized.”

By April, the two were engaged and married shortly after in July of 2018, starting out their lives as husband and wife by living in an on-campus apartment at New York Medical College. Both said that living on campus together was an incredible and fulfilling experience as they were constantly surrounded by friends and students from both institutions. They had their routines—like working out together in the gym on the ground floor of 19 Skyline Drive and going into New York City every Thursday night for pizza—and supported each other 24/7 though didactic exams, competencies and clinical practice. “It made dental school easier for me just having someone there the whole time. I can speak to him about all of the procedures, and he will understand exactly what I am going through,” shared Miriam.

The dynamic husband-and-wife team, trusting each other implicitly, also supported each other through personal dental treatment, performing dental procedures on one another and overseeing one another’s treatment at TCDM. “Learning and practicing dentistry alongside each other has been great because I have another opinion always right next to me,” said Daniel, who will be entering private practice after graduation. “She was always there for me. I had a lot of dental work done at the school, including a tooth extraction, and she was always there on top of everything.”

Miriam and Daniel are now preparing for the next stage of their DDS journeys…and with a new addition to their family! In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic—and right in the middle of board examinations—the couple welcomed a healthy baby boy, Raphael, in July 2020, making Miriam and Daniel the first couple to meet, get married and have a baby while at TCDM!

Taking two different paths post-graduation, Miriam and Daniel—who have been living in Queens with family since the onset of the pandemic—share that while they will miss working together and constantly seeing each other every day over the course of the next year, they both see themselves starting their own family practice together one day. “He likes the surgery and implants and I like the fillings, prosthetic and cosmetic stuff, so that’s the plan!” said Miriam. “I love the support I get from him, and I really liked being in school together. We are definitely going to miss it but are so excited for this next chapter.”

Visit www.dental.touro.edu  for more information on Touro College of Dental Medicine.