Posted: November 5, 2025
By: Cheryl Bell
Photos: Danny Abriel
For Giving Power
This story originally appeared in the 2025 issue of the , the Faculty of Dentistry’s annual magazine.
Dr. Tom Boran (DDS’78) has a long history with ĢAV. He was just 17 when he arrived from Springhill, N.S., in 1972 to study chemistry. But being a student is only one of the many roles he has filled during his 53-year connection with ĢAV.
After graduating with his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 1978, Dr. Boran returned one year later to teach prosthodontics part time. After several different teaching and administrative roles, including dean, he’s never really left the Dentistry Building. However, one of the roles he most prizes is that of donor.
For that reason, a piece of Dr. Boran’s heart will always be at Dal long after he does eventually retire. The Dr. Tom Boran Oral Health Outreach Fund was established in March 2017 to help support the Faculty of Dentistry’s outreach clinics in the Halifax area and it has helped countless patients who would not be able to afford the dental care they need. The fund was renamed the Dr. Tom and Deb Boran Oral Health Outreach Fund in 2019, the year his wife unexpectedly died.
A living will
This year, Dr. Boran arranged to boost the Dr. Tom and Deb Boran Oral Health Outreach Fund with the gift of a $200,000 life insurance policy. He started the policy over 40 years ago when he was setting up a new practice and wanted to provide some coverage for his wife and young sons. It will be a significant boost to the outreach fund when the policy is paid out in the future.
"It’s like a living will in the sense that I can designate where the money goes and feel good about it now, rather than simply leave the money to ĢAV in my will," says Dr. Boran. Another benefit is that the insurance premiums he continues to pay are treated as charitable donations, which means that Dr. Boran enjoys tax benefits now.
“I think everybody should know that this way of making a gift is available to them,” says Dr. Boran. “Those of us who are baby boomers have done quite well, and many of us have that ability to give back.”
The mission that drives him
The outreach clinics in central Halifax, Dartmouth, and North Preston have always been near and dear to Dr. Boran’s heart. During his years as dean, he worked to increase support to the Faculty of Dentistry from alumni and grant-funding bodies to be able to provide patients on low incomes or living in marginalized communities with the necessary oral health care at little or no cost to themselves.
As long as I still feel like I’m giving something back and doing a good job, I’ll continue to do it. — Dr. Tom Boran