Savannah Kanters, Tachae Douglas-Miller and Davis White are three newly qualified Indigenous Australian dentists who recently attended the UQ Indigenous Graduation Sashing Ceremony. Savannah is a Djabugay and Iman woman from Woorabinda in Central Queensland, born in Rockhampton, who has always been a strong advocate for Indigenous oral health and culturally safe care. She will be working with Queensland Health providing public dental care in 2026 while continuing as a tutor for UQ dental students. She is keen to pursue further advocacy roles for her people in future. Tachae is a proud Ngunnawal woman with a deep passion for Indigenous oral health and a long-term dream of becoming an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. She will be studying Medicine in 2026. Davis is from the Kunja mob through his father’s side, with family connections across Cunnamulla, Kowanyama and Lockhart River, and he’ll soon be travelling throughout Western Australia to provide public dental care as he works toward specialising in orthodontics.
“Standing together at the Sashing Ceremony reminded us of how far we’ve come. None of our journeys to graduation were straightforward—we each had our own challenges, moments of uncertainty, deferred years, and times when we had to rely on resilience, family, community, and the strength of our ancestors. Along the way, we didn’t just learn about oral health; we learned what it means to care deeply for people and to show up for our communities with compassion and responsibility.
The sashing ceremony represents persistence, cultural pride, and a shared purpose of improving oral health in our communities. We’re stepping forward as new Indigenous Australian clinicians with pride, gratitude, and a genuine commitment to our people and the generations who will come after us.”