Sara Gdulin Krout studied dentistry in Ukraine and Latvia before moving to Chicago and graduating from University of Illinois College of Dentistry in 1924. Krout opened a private practice, and after the US joined World War II she joined the war effort as the first female dentist in the Navy. At the time, the military did not allow women but Krout got around this by joining the US Navy's Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services (WAVES) as a lieutenant. She served in active duty from 1944-1946, and remained in the Naval Reserve until 1961 when she retired as a commander. After the end of World War II, Krout opened a practice in Evanston Chicago.