Education
- DDS, Distinction in Dental Education, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
- BS Biology, Magna Cum Laude, The University of Texas at San Antonio
Overview
Originally from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Dr. Stephanie Schaaf (formerly Swords) graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from The University of Texas at San Antonio. While at UTSA, Dr. Schaaf received many honors and awards, most notable of which was a full athletic scholarship to play for the NCAA Division I Roadrunner women’s basketball team. From there, she went on to receive her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree with Distinction in Dental Education from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
Prior to coming to UNC, Dr. Schaaf taught part-time for several years at Texas A&M College of Dentistry and maintained a private practice focused on relationship-based dentistry. Dr. Schaaf is committed to providing a personalized, positive experience for all her patients. Her philosophy is to diagnose and treat her patients in the same way she would treat her own family. She values honesty, and treatment is recommended only when necessary or beneficial. She believes that while her patients may never know the attention to detail she puts into their dental work, they will always know the careful attention she gave to know them as people.
Dr. Schaaf is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences and sees patients on Mondays in the Dental Faculty Practice. The rest of the week she teaches her future colleagues in both clinical and non-clinical settings and engages in scholarly activity that is centered around integration of dental and dental hygiene curricula to promote practice-readiness. She has a special interest in TMD and orofacial pain, having completed the Orofacial Pain Continuum at the Louisiana State University School of Dentistry, and she is currently pursuing the four-part continuum at the prestigious Pankey Institute in Key Biscayne, Florida.
When she is not teaching or caring for patients, she enjoys spending time with her husband Will, and two Pomeranians, Taz and Dottie. She loves to cook, often documenting her kitchen creations on her personal Instagram page. She is a huge college basketball fan—filling out a March Madness bracket every year, and she loves to visit the beach, and her family in Texas. She and her husband are also expecting their first child in March 2025.