Anonymous
Post 06/09/2024 19:54     Subject: dont send your kids to dental school!
Anonymous wrote:I work 30 clinical hours a week and graduated 9 years ago.
Student debt- 230k (granted this has gone up- probably 350k now for a reasonable school).
Started a practice from scratch but found an already built out building- loan was 250k. This was in 2020.
400k/year
Average “salary” of a dentist might be 150k but that is W2 wages and includes people who work park time. As a business owner I take home just as many dividends. But wage reports just show W2 salaries.
I will say the job is STRESSFUL (much more stressful than your average person would understand)


How is it stressful?
Anonymous
Post 06/08/2024 15:21     Subject: dont send your kids to dental school!
Anonymous wrote:I would hate being a dentist though - always in person and on your feet a lot of the time, have to schedule time off far in advance.


+1. Who wants to come into an office everyday??
Anonymous
Post 06/08/2024 13:54     Subject: dont send your kids to dental school!
I work 30 clinical hours a week and graduated 9 years ago.
Student debt- 230k (granted this has gone up- probably 350k now for a reasonable school).
Started a practice from scratch but found an already built out building- loan was 250k. This was in 2020.
400k/year
Average “salary” of a dentist might be 150k but that is W2 wages and includes people who work park time. As a business owner I take home just as many dividends. But wage reports just show W2 salaries.
I will say the job is STRESSFUL (much more stressful than your average person would understand)
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2024 22:33     Subject: dont send your kids to dental school!
Anonymous wrote:to the "people's mouths are GROSS"
yes they are and really, really hard to work in.
my wife and i have practiced together for 35 years in same practice. trust me, it's worth it.

and no way would either of us send our children to Dental School. Insurance and young DDS' who work for corps ruined a great profession.


Can you expand on that? My daughter is interested in dentistry.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2024 12:21     Subject: dont send your kids to dental school!
to the "people's mouths are GROSS"
yes they are and really, really hard to work in.
my wife and i have practiced together for 35 years in same practice. trust me, it's worth it.

and no way would either of us send our children to Dental School. Insurance and young DDS' who work for corps ruined a great profession.
Anonymous
Post 06/06/2024 11:26     Subject: dont send your kids to dental school!
Anonymous wrote:I would hate being a dentist though - always in person and on your feet a lot of the time, have to schedule time off far in advance.


People's mouths are GROSS. I would hate to be staring into them all day long.
Anonymous
Post 06/06/2024 10:42     Subject: dont send your kids to dental school!
I would hate being a dentist though - always in person and on your feet a lot of the time, have to schedule time off far in advance.
Anonymous
Post 06/06/2024 10:32     Subject: dont send your kids to dental school!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DH's orthodontist worked in finance for 8 years before going to an Ivy dental school on full scholarship so had no debt and ton of savings and investments.


If you were good at finance, why inna hell would you want to be an orthodontist?


I work in finance and make about $1M at 44. I would 100% rather be an orthodontist. I hate my job


So change jobs. You only get one life!
Anonymous
Post 06/06/2024 10:31     Subject: Re:dont send your kids to dental school!
dentistry is a good gig. but with the cost of education you NEED to have a plan when you get out.

and being an employee isn't it
Anonymous
Post 06/06/2024 09:51     Subject: dont send your kids to dental school!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:You can not argue against the fact that there has been to significant increase in reimbursement from insurance companies.

If cost of everything including education has gone up but you're still getting paid the almost the same as 20 years ago, then your personal income is going down.

Delta dental pays $36 for a dental cleaning code, same as 20 years ago. The person cleaning your teeth has gone from $36 to $70/ hour now so the dentist is eating the extra cost. TRUST ME on this, its our reality.

I would not send my kids to dental school.

For those who are wondering, average dentist salary is still at 150k, same as it was 2010. Yes there are some that make more but the AVERAGE is 150K, no way around it.


What about GEHA? Or Metlife?


GEHA does increase of 3% every 2 years eventhough inflatation is min 3% annually and 20% over the last 3 years.

Metlife actually decreased their fees!! All while the CEO got a 22 mill compensation package
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2024 23:26     Subject: dont send your kids to dental school!
Anonymous wrote:It’s because todays Dentists moved to a different model.

My dentists from the 1960s to 1980s worked out of house they lived in. My dentist growing up took no dental insurance. He did not even have a computer. The emergency after hours number was their home phone number.

The wife, or kid or maybe part time stay at home mom took appointments. You paid by check day of or they mail you a bill you mail back check and wife usually dropped off checks at local bank. They often owned one car as husband worked out of house and wife SAHM. Dentist did cleanings too so no staff or had a local young girl help part time.

Today my dentist lives in an expensive home in Potomac. He rents an expensive office in Bethesda. Him and wife two luxury cars, he takes insurance and has multiple staff front desk as well as multiple employees. It is a very expensive business model. It is not sustainable.

If he got rid of Bethesda office, got rid of staff, got rid of his luxury car and worked out of home and had wife or local college student book appointments and stopped taking insurance his expenses would be way way less. In face he be charging less and making way more


This was my dad lol. He did it all (no hygienist or receptionist), I worked part time in the summer catching up his insurance paper work. His office was on the other side of our house (separated by the garage) with it's own entrance. By the time i was in middle school he worked 2 1/2 days a week - so wasn't hurting for $$$.

My sister is also a dentist several states away (no interest in living in our tiny town and taking over his practice) and does well. She is married to an oral surgeon who has his own practice as well - they met at a hospital while both were doing residencies (she didn't want to go straight to a dental practice after dental school).

I'm NOT a dentist

Anonymous
Post 06/05/2024 23:01     Subject: dont send your kids to dental school!
Anonymous wrote:You can not argue against the fact that there has been to significant increase in reimbursement from insurance companies.

If cost of everything including education has gone up but you're still getting paid the almost the same as 20 years ago, then your personal income is going down.

Delta dental pays $36 for a dental cleaning code, same as 20 years ago. The person cleaning your teeth has gone from $36 to $70/ hour now so the dentist is eating the extra cost. TRUST ME on this, its our reality.

I would not send my kids to dental school.

For those who are wondering, average dentist salary is still at 150k, same as it was 2010. Yes there are some that make more but the AVERAGE is 150K, no way around it.


Eh! But around here they have the volume to make up for it. My dentist office of 20+ years have moved to a larger, nicer building and if I miss an appointment it's very difficult to reschedule or get another one for months. Their practice is only growing and the most 'complicated' thing they do is fillings.

In the long run, I don't see any profession (e.g. Accounting, Law, Medicine) that has a moat (regulatory, legislative or other roadblocks that prevent anyone from plying their trade) as being a bad bet.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2024 18:03     Subject: dont send your kids to dental school!
I have two friends who are dentists. Both served in the military and I assumed that wiped out their loans. Early 40s and appear quite wealthy now (post-military).
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2024 17:33     Subject: dont send your kids to dental school!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Which dental schools are giving out scholarships? fake news lol

Universities love dental students because - like MBA students - they are cash cows.


+1. Dental and med schools don’t offer full scholarships. That poster is a liar.



NYU Med is free, as well as Albert Einstein and Cleveland Clinic

Dental schools have to train dentists in their own schools and pay for very pricey equipment, while medical schools get to send students to rotations at hospitals. But you can apply for some dental scholarships and there are organizations that will pay for dental school such as Army, Navy, Air Force through Health Profession Scholarship Program and you work for them after graduation as a dentist or you commit to the National Health Service Corps scholarship and work in an under-resourced community for a few years.



Anonymous
Post 06/05/2024 17:25     Subject: dont send your kids to dental school!
It is worth it if you either: 1) have tons of money 2) go to a public dental school and graduate with a lower amount of loans 3) go into a specialty 4) love working for yourself and making a difference and getting to know your community 5) get the military to pay for it and then work for them as a dentist

I think it is a very family friendly career and decent work life balance, most dentists only work weekdays and sometimes only 3-4 days a week.