Thank you so much for the kind words! I think your daughter is fortunate to have grown up in a dental family, so she gets to see what dentistry is like first hand. I and a lot of my classmates had no idea what we were getting into!
Dentist here with 30+ years of practice. What no one is mentioning is that try to come out with the least amount of debt as possible. Go to a state dental school and forget about expensive overpriced places like NYU, Columbia, , Harvard, etc.....Unless you are going to pursue research and things like that, then you might want to go to these kind of schools where they may have research programs after dental school...do research and find out where the less expensive state schools are, even if it means living there for a year ahead of time to become a resident of that state if you must. Learning how to bond teeth is the same at Rutgers vs. Columbia or any of those private insanely priced schools. If your parents are loaded with money and are picking up the tab and money is no object then, go anywhere you want........Another thing nobody is mentioning is with all of this student debt, you are going go be an employee for a long time. And that is ok if you want that. Most dentists want their own practice and where are you going to get the money to buy into a practice or start a practice? If you are burdened with too much in student debt, forget about ownership anytime Soon. Also, a lot of baby boomers are retiring and a lot of practices are being sold. ...I have a solo practice. I worked as an associate for 5 years before opening my solo practice. It was great for many years but the ownership part becomes burdinsome as time goes on. If I could do it all over again, I would either try to buy into an existing practice or start a practice with a friend. Overhead is high. Technology is expensive & needs to be updated. If you can make it work, ideally, have 2 dentists under 1 roof and be open 6-7 days a week. Stagger your hours, make joint decisions, go over complicated cases together, etc.... Staffing will be your biggest challenge in any dental environment.
Thanks so much for the comment! Solid advice. The only thing I would add is that even with an absurd amount of debt, you can still get a practice loan because of income-driven student loan payments.
I just started dental school at Marquette, and although I'm very limited on sleep, I've enjoyed every day a lot. I hope that it's worth it in the end but having the opportunity to have a great paying job where I can use my hands to create things will always make dentistry worth it to me!
Good luck Max! It’s a great profession, and there are a ton of different opportunities in dentistry. You’ll definitely have ups and downs in school, and in dentistry, but it is a great career!
I think you're actually spot on! I graduated in 2011 with 310k debt. I had no choice but to work at an fqhc in a small town where I really didn't want to be. I was lucky enough to receive 60k via NHSC. Pay is pretty high in small towns with big need and I think my starting salary was 145k Fast forward 10 years and my loans stand at 83k, I'm a dental director in a big city and I make around 150k but I'm pretty burned out and any passion I had for dentistry is gone. I would NOT recommend this profession, it's high stress and low pay after loans.
The scholarships for the military have become very competitive over the years. Also, public health clinics are now getting more competitive wanting 1-3 years of previous experience. Look at GPR positions-get the experience not pushed by unrealistic production figures as you find in Corporate positions.
I seriously considered dentistry and looking from the outside in it looks so great , manageable debt with the money I would be making, work-life balance and autonomy. But I looked a little harder and realized quickly that I would get sick of the career after a few years and the debt wouldn’t be worth it anymore. The physical demand, emotional demand from patients,and financial pressure of repayment of loans and business cost was a deterrent for me. Also I thought about the financial aspect and my thought process, I feel if I became a dentist the financial pressure alone could cloud my judgement of recommending pricey treatments to make money. That would be unethical so I walked away from a dream and now I am regulatory scientist for the FDA making 150k with no debt at the age of 24.
Thanks so much for the perspective!! I seriously hope people in undergrad read this. It is so easy to get laser-focused on one thing in undergrad (I need to go to med school, I need to go to dental school). I like my career and would choose it again, but there are so many other great options out there.
Way to go! After coming down with ulcerative colitis, I quit dental school in the 3rd year. I changed majors to business & earned an MBA. I got an M-F, 8-to-5 government job.
@@zohashahid30984 As stated earlier, dental school ruined my health. I’ve now had 5 corrective surgeries to continue treating my permanent ileostomy…hernias, abscesses, fistulas, impactions, etc…MF? Maybe H&H…a measure of the blood’s ability to transport oxygen & carbon dioxide. Men’s normal value is 13.5 to 17.5. So a value of 8 meant I was beginning to bleed out. No wonder I couldn’t tell the difference between a canine and a molar ;-)
@@zohashahid30984 I did enjoy my MBA. It was like night and day compared to dental school. Lectures Monday- Thursday. Most Fridays for research or to meet with study buddies. At least 2 free weekends per month. Grading was very objective, not super über subjective like dental school. The MBA professors want to know how you arrived at your conclusions, not that you memorized a bunch of facts. No multiple-multiple guess exams. You research and write a term paper for each class and meet with your mentor at least 6 times per semester, and 3 times with your professors. You are constantly asked, “What do you want to learn from this class? University resources are at your disposal.” Never heard that in dental school…
Could you do an in-depth of the business aspect of dentistry? I’ll be a D1 this fall and I’m not familiar with a lot of the intricate aspects of it. It also seems a lot of the D4’s that are graduating don’t learn about it as much which is concerning. 1.) How do you find a practice to buy? Is it strictly by knowing the person who is selling. Is there websites? 2.) How do you figure out what the market saturation is in a certain area? It it just googling the number of existing practices? 3.) How do you select which companies to partner with when buying equipment, chairs, supplies? 4.) Is there contractual clauses that you should watch out for, other than the draws, and either production/collections %’s if wanting to work for an existing practice? 5.) You said you live rural, when choosing either to open a practice or buy an existing, did you look at the population number you were serving, and or the number of practices that already existed (if any) how critical is each parameter? 6.) If you’re moving rural and there is no practice to acquire what would starting a practice from scratch be like. In terms of permits, construction, land, etc... Likely state dependent, but I would want to hear your take on that. 7.) How far outside of a metro do you think is ideal when trying to avoid the saturated the city center? Ties back to how you figure market saturation in the first place. 8.) When opening a practice that has no existent patient pool, how are those initial weeks, months? Where is the money to pay the assistants, yourself, building maintenance, supplies coming from? Is it all from the same bank loan? Is there projections that have to be made pre-practice opening as to the number of patients that are coming in? Do you run the practice by yourself to keep costs down and then slowly start adding staff? 9.) Not really business related but just in general. CE courses can range wildly somebody said even 100K+, for a course??? What CE courses do you actively try to partake in if you do more general work, is it just working to improve everything? Do you pay a lot more to get courses in a specific area? People that emphasize on cosmetic dentistry focus on full mouth restorative work CE courses I believe, what would somebody that does general pay more to get lessons in? If you read thus far. Thank you so much :)
100k-120k is a low estimate, even for new dentists. This may be the case in places like saturated Southern Cali but it's not the norm. Many new grads who relocate and work rural are starting at 150k+
T J Thanks for the insight, great to hear your perspective! According to payscale’s numbers, the average entry level salary is $119,028. I think you are definitely right, you can make more if you are willing to move out of the city especially earlier in your career.
Thank you creating and sharing this video. I wish I was more attentive to the actual cost of dental schools prior to applying last cycle. Like most pre-dents, I was worried more about getting in and not about what it looks like to pay student loans off.
Raaj Thanks so much for the feedback, that really means a lot! I spend some time on Student Doctor Network, and I really worry a lot of people might have unrealistic expectations about the profession. Again, I still like it, but it's good to be realistic too. Thanks for sharing.
In my country(Norway) university is free. Dentists make $150k roughly. But I am 32 and just finished a bachelor in robotics and AI. I can't get a job (my grades are average and I have zero experience). And an average it-guy only makes $50-80k here. Should I become a dentist? My long term goal would be to only work 1-2 days a week while I spend the rest of the time starting companies (until one succeeds). I just love the idea of being so flexible with work times and never having to worry about job hunting/ CVs etc.
I completely agree with everything you've mentioned. Right now, both my husband and I are pursuing dentistry, and we have both applied this cycle. Thankfully we live in Texas, which means we have a shot of getting into a school that will leave us around 300k in debt (per person). However, this is the lowest amount of debt, in the nation. Nowadays, 400k-500k is the norm, and its just insane. If we don't get into a texas school, I wouldn't mind waiting another year and trying again. The debt is just too astronomical and it's not worth it.
Just starting watching your channel and I like the video quality and information! I think this is an important consideration and why people should be trying their hardest to get into a public/cheaper school or seriously consider HPSP (like I did). One point I would add is that at least for now dentists are still able to compete as solo practitioners. The ADA says, "The average net income for dentists in private practice in 2018 was $190,440 for general dentists and $330,180 for specialists". I'm still in school but it seems to me that if you're going to take out 500k+ for school you have to maximize your ROI and plan for private practice at some point. Otherwise like you said it doesn't really make financial sense to pay the highest tuition of health care professionals and barely make 6 figures.
William, thanks so much! Good find on those salary numbers. HPSP is such a good deal, I would imagine it's pretty competitive now. If I could do it over again, that's what I would do.
We are posting a video similar to this as well this week, showing is it really worth it to become a dentist and the pros and cons of it! Very nice video with great breakdown of the student loan concept and the sacrifice, financially, needed to be done to become a dentist! Happy to support a fellow healthcare channel!
I am a dental hygienist in 2022 (straight out of school) I make 105k a year 🤷🏼♀️: I am considering dental School but I Doubt I wanna do that: my plan is that I wanna save so much , buy a house 🏠 and rent it out , I also wanna buy and event space and rent it out , infact I have many plans to Invest my money
Man USA tuitions are expensive as hell!! Here in Quebec, the cost of dental school alone is about 60k for 5 years not including living expenses. I can’t believe you guys have to pay 500k to become a dentist
This was very informative for the student that is considering dentistry for the potential of earning a high income. I've been in practice over 25 years and have seen dentistry change from the reimbursement stand point as well as the costs involved in buying a practice and/or updating equipment. Dentistry is like any other worthwhile endeavor, you must be willing to make sacrifices to make it! It's not as easy as some want to make it sound, but it is still a very rewarding profession!
I’m not in dental school for the future money but I feel called by Hod tone a dentist. Comestic dental work won’t be done as much but fillings, extractions, dentures are always needed. I got a scholarship for dental school and feel I made the right choice.
As clear as water. I would add up another problem: “what if you already got into a 500K debt just to find out 4 years later that you don’t like the profession anymore ?
I definitely agree with this, there is some burnout in the profession. It's a good idea to do a lot of job shadowing and talk to RECENT dental school graduates to hear their experiences.
That’s great news! Where are you in school? Is the 175k an annualized daily minimum, or is it a draw against production? You would have to produce close to 600K your first year, if you were paid 30% of collections. It’s totally possible, but that would be high for an “average” new grad.
I am really not sure why people choose to go the schools that put $500K on your shoulders but for me, I just applied this cycle and waiting for my interviews (hopefully soon) and the biggest deciding factor in my choice of schools was the tuition. All my schools cost less than $50K/year( tuition). I live in Texas and all Texan school cost less than $50K/ year (35-45K) there are also many out or state schools that are affordable. what’s the point if you can’t pay your debt ?
Thx for being real about the field! Some of things that drew me to dentistry was the pay and autonomy. What are some careers that would you recommend to someone now? Or careers that you would be doing besides dentistry? I appreciate your honest opinion!
Thanks Alex! Honestly, I still like dentistry. It really is a great combination of a decent (not amazing but decent) average salary and some autonomy. You really have to be comfortable working with your hands all day, and talking to a lot of people. If you are looking for the best income/school ratio in healthcare, I would bet physician's assistant, nurse practitioner and nurse anesthetist would be way up there. Optometry, chiropractic, veterinary and even pharmacy seem to be going the same way as dentistry (increased school cost with stagnant incomes). My next video is going to be medical school vs dental school, and my sister is a doctor so I asked her a bunch of these questions too. Outside of healthcare, people are always talking about how great computer science is or electrical engineering. I think both of those are rewarding fields, but you have to really like what you do, and in some cases you might need to be willing to move to find a decent job. If I had to pick an alternative career it would probably be something in tech, but again I think dentistry is great too if you can find a way to make the tuition more reasonable. Good luck!
$500k is criminal. Add the cost of purchasing a practice which, for a decent practice will be well over $500k, and even a great practice will leave you with very little after repayments. Go get a trade! My dental degree cost $10k in total ( 20 years ago!).
That’s a really good point about the practice debt. Most people to take out 300 on up are using income driven payment plans for their student loans. It’s a great profession, but for somebody that does not want to go into debt for a really long time, military and public health scholarships are really something to consider.
@@BeyondDentistry income driven plans are a scam. They lower your payment to less than that of the interest therefore increasing the principle over time due to interest capitalization. You will end up with a huge tax bill
@@danieljuarez911 Thanks!! It's an After Effects Template that I edited pretty heavily. The video was shot with a friend of mine who is a photographer. I spent so much time on that opener, and I don't even use it anymore!!
Love how you hit really good points and kept It very real with your opinions. I’m majoring in finance but have been really thinking about switching to dentistry. I know this isn’t the best career for making the most amount of money possible but this type of career does pay better than most and seems to offer a pretty good work life balance which is what is most appealing to me. Do you think at 21 it is too late to pursue dentistry? Would love to hear your opinion. Thank you.
21 is definitely not too late! There were a couple of people in my class that started in their late 20s or early 30s. I feel incredibly blessed to have the work life balance I have, even though I'm going to be in debt for a while. And if you are ambitious, you can still make a ton of money in this field, but just like any other career it comes with some sacrifices. A lot of times it means moving out of the big city, or even moving to a different state if that's what it takes. You could also look into PA or nurse practitioner if you are looking for a decent hourly income with a good work life balance. Another thing that might be helpful is to just job shadow some younger dentists and see what you think. Good luck!
@@Lilmonke_586 hey, I’m also a finance student, but dentistry has been on my mind for a while now. I’m curious to know if you ended up making the switch or taking prereqs on the side, etc?
@@sadiamj Hey happy to answer. So basically one day I opened up a word document and wrote down all the pros and cons of the different career paths I could take and applied them to the lifestyle I want to live in the future. To be quiet honest dentistry hasn’t really crossed my mind in a couple of months when it previously was on my mind all the time. I love school but I think struggling with classes online and falling behind slightly has made me really think about if I want to dedicate so much more time and money in order to become a dentist and ultimately I decided that it’s not really worth it. School is expensive, long, and wild probably be harder than what I am currently doing. I know and have heard of a lot of people that pursue medicine and many say it can be very difficult and I honestly don’t know if I could handle it. Something that helped me a lot was going on Reddit and asking people how they liked their careers in medicine/dentistry and many said they liked it but also said if they could go back in time they probably would not pursue it. I looked a lot into being a PA just like the creator of this video suggested and it has many of the same qualities that I like in dentistry. Good pay, good work/life balance but it can also be a very long, difficult, and expensive journey to get there. At this point I kind of just want to be over with school and can’t really picture myself starting over to be a dentist, especially not taking out half a million in loans in the process. So best advice I can give is continue to do your research, take an extra class and see how you like it, and check out forums like Reddit where people can share their experiences as a dentist. You should also look in being a PA (physicians assistant) because it’s something you might like as well and it’s in demand. But yeah I don’t think I can really dedicate and the time and money to being a dentist. Remember that business degrees can be used in any field, even medical, and there’s a million things you can use them for so there’s also that. Sorry I rambled, just wanted to be a little thorough. Hope this helps! Good luck.
Thanks for the comment! I still think it is a good career, but not a "ticket to the good life", the way it might have been 50 years ago. There are still plenty of people who will do really well in the profession. Good luck!
Hi , I am a foreign trained dentist, 31 yrs planning to seek dds in usa. According to you ,is it worth so much debt. And if u can suggest what other next bst career path I can pursue . TIA
Hygiene is a great value in terms of cost of school vs potential income. As a dentist, you might feel a little bit overqualified, but that could also be a great fit: for example if you end up in a periodontal office doing scaling and injections.
Hi Dr, Wife is a foreign-trained dentist. 28 years old. She is considering either pursuing DDS for about 300k investment or moving to a different state and becoming a dental hygienist instead with minimal investment (no schooling needed on her end on this particular state). Could you please add your input to this? I feel that dental hygienists are making good money without the loan craziness.
Hi Samuel! I think it might be a good idea to talk to someone who has done something similar - financially, 300K is not too bad for a dental degree - so that could be good option, but if she wants to make good money sooner, dental hygiene could be a good option, too - especially if she wants to work part time. In some markets, they are making $50/hr or more - close to associate dentists in the same office! Either way, it sounds like you guys will do well!
for me, i'm applying for a goverment scholarship that i don't need to pay anything for the first 4 years it even includes daily expenses. And i always wanted to be dentist. so if there is no big debt , is it still worth it ?
I'm only familiar with US and Canada a little bit, but if you can get a great scholarship like that, and you have spent enough time around dentists to be excited about dentistry, I think it could definitely be worth it!
I'm between this and med school, and I have shadowed both physicians and dentists. I have noticed that I don't have a particular preference and really enjoy both professions. I would also be a competitive applicant to both types of schools. If you were in this scenario with an equal interest in both careers, what would you do? This is the question I am asking myself as I begin the application process. Thanks.
@@user-lu6yg3vk9z med school opportunity cost is worth it if in a high pay low residency time specialty like E-med Anesthesia Dermatology Ophthalmology
@@user-lu6yg3vk9z med school is cheaper then dental school with some med schools having free tuition and md/phd programs with free Tution and some surgical subspecialties making 600k- 1.2m+ (also Iv card , electrophysiology, Iv gi, Iv radiology, Iv pain,)
Thanks for the comment! That’s a great idea I will keep that in mind for the future. There’s a really wide range, but a general dentist is about 150 to 200K with experience. Specialists like oral surgeons or orthodontists usually make more than that, but there is still a really wide range.
One guy in my class started as a janitor, and he is a dentist now! There are plenty of stories like that. That being said, there are a ton of other great careers, and a lot of dentists are really unhappy! I think the best thing is to make the most of whatever situation you’re in.
I want to do dentistry. I know the reality is that most people are obsessed with private practice, but the reality is that there are just as many bad private practices as there are corporate offices. Could you make a video about things to look out for in a contract and questions to ask when shadowing a practice when you first start working?
Absolutely, there are good corporate jobs and definitely some bad private associateships! I was never an associate myself, but I will definitely dig into some contract information, that is a great idea for a video.
@@BeyondDentistry I would also love to see a video explaining the difference between a good contract vs a bad one; whether it be a corporate or private practice.
That’s a great idea! I will have to have somebody more knowledgeable than me about corporate dentistry on. I really think the noncompete is the big one to watch out for. The other thing would be your salary, and whether or not you have to do a draw.
Believe it or not, it's all over the place. I know some dentists that make a ton doing nothing but fillings and crowns, but they do $1000 crowns all day, and 3-4 fillings in an hour. If you do implants, but you are slower, you might actually make less money. The dentists that I know of that place "a lot" of implants, like 10 or more a month on top of regular, efficient dentistry might make 300-400K or more. But that's pretty rare and it takes a ton of hustle and discipline. And I bet there are as many dentists that make close to that that don't do implants at all. You can make a lot on regular dentistry if you are fast. Personally, I take my time. There's no right way to do it, but for me personally, going slower is a lot better for my stress level.
Beyond Dentistry thanks for the detailed reply! I’m a subscriber. You have excellent content. Keep it up! It would be a crime if your channel were to not go viral, i expect and hope it will
I am at a top public college in my state right now (transferred here after getting an associate's from a community college). Although I am currently a business major entering my third year in college now, do you think it's still possible to make a change to dentistry and get into a good dental school? (public in my state)? Also, what advice would you have for me who's a little late in the game and is from a non-traditional background?
Hi Ananya! You could absolutely make the change to dental school if you wanted to. One of my classmates was in his early 30s when he started school and had an undergrad degree in computers. The hardest part for you right now would probably be having to take all of the biology and chemistry classes in undergrad and keeping your GPA very high to have a competitive dental school application if you don't have a science background already, but you could absolutely do it. My advice would be to shadow newer dentists (graduated in last 5 years or so) to get their perspective. It is a lot of debt to go into dentistry, even with the "cheaper' schools. Good luck!
Hi.iam really confused on which career to go for.i like dentistry. I also have second thoughts for medicine or nursing. Iam currently doing my grade 12 year. Please help.which one is worth doing out of the three careers?
Hi Megan, thank you for the comment! Honestly, choosing a career can be tough and intimidating. If I had one piece of advice it would be to imagine what you want your life to look like in the next 5-15 years. Do you want to be very goal oriented and career-focused? Is making a lot of money or having a high status job important? Do you see yourself ever wanting to slow down to part time maybe after starting a family? What would your ideal work/life balance be? There are no “right” answers to these questions, but they can definitely help narrow down your career path. Talking to your friends and family, the people that know you, can really help too. I know when I was younger there were some things I “thought” were important to me that I realized later I didn’t really care about. In my opinion, choosing a career is really about choosing what will serve your other goals and values best. Dentistry is a good job, but the debt is very high, and it is a job that once you start, you are pretty much committed to working full-time if you are trying to pay down student loans. Medicine is kind of like that, but on average the pay is higher in the debt is a little bit lower. For choosing a field of study now, I would say think about it, you could even make a pro con list, ask your friends and family, and definitely don’t expect an answer to come to you all at once. You might have to think about it for a while but I bet you get some clarity over time. Good luck!
@@BeyondDentistry Thank you so much for responding! I am currently a hygiene student but the more I interact with dentists and see their work, the more I fall in love with it. Thank you for your help! :)
Can we talk about work culture too? Like the type of offices that new grads end up working at? But can we also be positive. I really believe that it’s not just doom and gloom. Sure, you may interview and take on a position where you’re undervalued and perhaps overworked. Hopefully didn’t sign a non compete clause, and can just get a better gig somewhere close. But at a certain point, can’t you tell by interviewing the owner doc and having a lawyer investigate your contract for what positions will be like? A lot of the horror stories of associates doing glorified hygiene come form those who didn’t have their contracts reviewed. I really want to believe there are more good owner docs out there vs bad ones. Also, on a 15 year repayment plan, aren’t you still living the lifestyle of someone making 55k? That’s pretty decent! Also, your skills will increase with time! You’re not at 120k forever! But also, what job out there pays this much still? Honestly, we are still pretty lucky. Other careers have you working upwards of 50 hour weeks to make 120k! I’d love to talk about work culture more though, hopefully we can raise awareness and bring about change.
That's a really great point about the work life balance and 100% true! Some professions make a lot more money, but a lot of people have to travel and the work life can be a lot more stressful. Thanks for all the insight!
That's a great question, and really a personal decision, but I can tell you what I think. 1 - Whatever you decide, make sure you are not viewing "dentistry" as a this goal that will make your life better just by achieving it. It is a decent field, but trust me, the thrill of the prestige and being a "Dr." wears off quickly. 2 - Do a lot of research on incomes. Dentistry has seen declining incomes over the last 15 years, even in the face of inflation. If you are driven and high-energy, and find yourself in the top 10% of income earning dentists, you will do very well (maybe $300K+), but it will be hard, tiring work day-to-day. It is very hard to get to that income level while working a laid-back schedule. My short answer would be that if you are a very driven and motivated person and genuinely like to work hard, dentistry could pay off. But if you are looking for something more low-key, or even thinking you might like to slow down eventually (to raise kids), the payoff might not be there.
@@tucky.w Thank you! I should have clarified more - my answer would apply specifically to US. Dentistry is much different in other countries (specifically, the school is often much less expensive outside US and Canada, and the incomes may also be lower). Good luck with your decision!
I appreciate the honest video and responses. I would love your perspective on my situation. I’m a foreign trained dentist currently with a great $200k+ career in management consulting. To get back to dentistry I’m going back to school for 2.5 years at the cost of $300k. Is it worth the transition at 42 years?
Hi John! If you like your career and are making 200k, I honestly think it will be really hard to beat that in dentistry if you have to spend 300k unless you are a specialist. You could always talk to some of the dentists going through the program you are looking at and see what they think. And if you really feel called to dentistry, I think you could definitely make it work. If you consider “opportunity cost” 2 1/2 years of foregoing your 200 K income is 500 K, plus the 300 K cost, it could be more like 800 K to get back into dentistry. That would be hard for me to do lol.
I graduated DDS in 1999. Dentistry is NOT a good financial proposition for a young person now. It is probably the worst. Don't do it; you'll ruin your life.
@@PrincePalmUwU Attend your state school or community college. DO NOT attend a private school or out of state school. Keep your student loans as close to zero as possible. It doesn't matter whether you went to Harvard Fancy School of Dental Hygiene or Down By the River Community College School of Tooth Scraping.....all that matters is the license you get afterwards and your work ethic. If you go to DH school, don't marry a dental student (male or female) or a dentist. THEIR DEBT becomes your debt.
Thanks Hilal! I have an Instagram at lifebehindtheloupes, but I don't use it too much. I hope your year is going well, especially with all of the covid stuff. U of D is a good school, especially once you get into UHC stuff. I know it's super stressful, but it goes by fast.
Nice try. Your attempt at discouraging others from pursuing dentistry failed miserably. I'm really not sure what you would gain from this since you're already a dentist. It's not like you have to compete with other applicants.
Hey, Creative Ajay’s Kitchen! I wouldn’t discourage anyone from pursuing dentistry. It’s a great career. If I had to do it again I would try to do it with a public health scholarship; $500K is a lot of debt load, and I think it’s worth it for young people to consider the debt factor. Most 22 year olds don’t understand the consequences of that kind of debt, I know I didn’t.
Hey Ajay I don’t see his video this way. To me he’s not discouraging anybody from pursuing dentistry, he is just providing you with facts and insight about this profession. It’s getting competitive each year to get into dental school, yes it is true. However among those students, some want to get into dentistry because of money. The glamor days of dentistry I think is somewhat over given the current huge debt, as I talked to many dental professionals. Dentists fresh out of schools do not have the high fees paid from insurance likw before etc etc. Dentists in their 50-60s have no problem doing bread and butter dentistry and make decent money, but if recent grads decide to do it with that debt, I am sorry I think it’s not worth it if they come in for the money given the years of lost income and student loans. Anyway, great insight doc. Appreciate your effort in giving us facts w the current situation!
Thanks for the comment! The debt is definitely a concern. If there is robotic dentistry anytime soon, it will look like robotic surgery where the surgeon controls the robot. We're actually already seeing this in implant dentistry with Yomi.
@@user-lu6yg3vk9z Healthcare professionals will be one of the last in line to be "replaced" by AI. Sure, there will be AI-assisted surgeries and procedures, but patient-doctor interactions are a huge part of being a doctor. On the other hand, blue-collar jobs are far more likely to be completely replaced by AI.
Daniel Mid-Level Provdiers+ A.I. will replace Physicians. Physicians are actually being replaced. They are working on replacing Dentists. You are wrong trader workers is actually harder to replace.
@@user-lu6yg3vk9z I'd like to hear your reasoning because that last statement is almost impossible to substantiate. There are already so many startups that have raised millions from VC's that are designed to completely replace blue-collar jobs. It just makes sense. People will have far less of a problem with a robot replacing their roof, fixing their car, etc. over a robot performing a surgery (without human guidance). Maybe in the next generations to come we will see that occur, but in this generation AI is already making a leap in replacing lower-tier jobs.
![So You Want to Be a DENTIST [Ep. 40]](/img/1.gif)
As a 70 y/o retired DDS with a daughter who just got accepted to dental school, I appreciate your honesty. Well done!
Thank you so much for the kind words! I think your daughter is fortunate to have grown up in a dental family, so she gets to see what dentistry is like first hand. I and a lot of my classmates had no idea what we were getting into!
Dentist here with 30+ years of practice. What no one is mentioning is that try to come out with the least amount of debt as possible. Go to a state dental school and forget about expensive overpriced places like NYU, Columbia, , Harvard, etc.....Unless you are going to pursue research and things like that, then you might want to go to these kind of schools where they may have research programs after dental school...do research and find out where the less expensive state schools are, even if it means living there for a year ahead of time to become a resident of that state if you must. Learning how to bond teeth is the same at Rutgers vs. Columbia or any of those private insanely priced schools. If your parents are loaded with money and are picking up the tab and money is no object then, go anywhere you want........Another thing nobody is mentioning is with all of this student debt, you are going go be an employee for a long time. And that is ok if you want that. Most dentists want their own practice and where are you going to get the money to buy into a practice or start a practice? If you are burdened with too much in student debt, forget about ownership anytime Soon. Also, a lot of baby boomers are retiring and a lot of practices are being sold. ...I have a solo practice. I worked as an associate for 5 years before opening my solo practice. It was great for many years but the ownership part becomes burdinsome as time goes on. If I could do it all over again, I would either try to buy into an existing practice or start a practice with a friend. Overhead is high. Technology is expensive & needs to be updated. If you can make it work, ideally, have 2 dentists under 1 roof and be open 6-7 days a week. Stagger your hours, make joint decisions, go over complicated cases together, etc.... Staffing will be your biggest challenge in any dental environment.
Thanks so much for the comment! Solid advice. The only thing I would add is that even with an absurd amount of debt, you can still get a practice loan because of income-driven student loan payments.
Thank you for your comment. Very nice.
Thanks for your detailed shared insights
And wow this is crazy you kept it very real about the profession
Thanks so much man!
I just started dental school at Marquette, and although I'm very limited on sleep, I've enjoyed every day a lot. I hope that it's worth it in the end but having the opportunity to have a great paying job where I can use my hands to create things will always make dentistry worth it to me!
Good luck Max! It’s a great profession, and there are a ton of different opportunities in dentistry. You’ll definitely have ups and downs in school, and in dentistry, but it is a great career!
I think you're actually spot on! I graduated in 2011 with 310k debt. I had no choice but to work at an fqhc in a small town where I really didn't want to be. I was lucky enough to receive 60k via NHSC. Pay is pretty high in small towns with big need and I think my starting salary was 145k
Fast forward 10 years and my loans stand at 83k, I'm a dental director in a big city and I make around 150k but I'm pretty burned out and any passion I had for dentistry is gone.
I would NOT recommend this profession, it's high stress and low pay after loans.
David thank you for sharing and for the insight! I’m a fellow 2011 grad.
The scholarships for the military have become very competitive over the years. Also, public health clinics are now getting more competitive wanting 1-3 years of previous experience. Look at GPR positions-get the experience not pushed by unrealistic production figures as you find in Corporate positions.
Solid advice!!! Thanks so much for the comment!
I seriously considered dentistry and looking from the outside in it looks so great , manageable debt with the money I would be making, work-life balance and autonomy.
But I looked a little harder and realized quickly that I would get sick of the career after a few years and the debt wouldn’t be worth it anymore. The physical demand, emotional demand from patients,and financial pressure of repayment of loans and business cost was a deterrent for me. Also I thought about the financial aspect and my thought process, I feel if I became a dentist the financial pressure alone could cloud my judgement of recommending pricey treatments to make money. That would be unethical so I walked away from a dream and now I am regulatory scientist for the FDA making 150k with no debt at the age of 24.
Thanks so much for the perspective!! I seriously hope people in undergrad read this.
It is so easy to get laser-focused on one thing in undergrad (I need to go to med school, I need to go to dental school). I like my career and would choose it again, but there are so many other great options out there.
Way to go! After coming down with ulcerative colitis, I quit dental school in the 3rd year. I changed majors to business & earned an MBA. I got an M-F, 8-to-5 government job.
@@golfertexdid you enjoy MBA? What is MF?
@@zohashahid30984 As stated earlier, dental school ruined my health. I’ve now had 5 corrective surgeries to continue treating my permanent ileostomy…hernias, abscesses, fistulas, impactions, etc…MF? Maybe H&H…a measure of the blood’s ability to transport oxygen & carbon dioxide. Men’s normal value is 13.5 to 17.5. So a value of 8 meant I was beginning to bleed out. No wonder I couldn’t tell the difference between a canine and a molar ;-)
@@zohashahid30984 I did enjoy my MBA. It was like night and day compared to dental school. Lectures Monday- Thursday. Most Fridays for research or to meet with study buddies. At least 2 free weekends per month. Grading was very objective, not super über subjective like dental school. The MBA professors want to know how you arrived at your conclusions, not that you memorized a bunch of facts. No multiple-multiple guess exams. You research and write a term paper for each class and meet with your mentor at least 6 times per semester, and 3 times with your professors. You are constantly asked, “What do you want to learn from this class? University resources are at your disposal.” Never heard that in dental school…
Could you do an in-depth of the business aspect of dentistry? I’ll be a D1 this fall and I’m not familiar with a lot of the intricate aspects of it. It also seems a lot of the D4’s that are graduating don’t learn about it as much which is concerning.
1.) How do you find a practice to buy? Is it strictly by knowing the person who is selling. Is there websites?
2.) How do you figure out what the market saturation is in a certain area? It it just googling the number of existing practices?
3.) How do you select which companies to partner with when buying equipment, chairs, supplies?
4.) Is there contractual clauses that you should watch out for, other than the draws, and either production/collections %’s if wanting to work for an existing practice?
5.) You said you live rural, when choosing either to open a practice or buy an existing, did you look at the population number you were serving, and or the number of practices that already existed (if any) how critical is each parameter?
6.) If you’re moving rural and there is no practice to acquire what would starting a practice from scratch be like. In terms of permits, construction, land, etc... Likely state dependent, but I would want to hear your take on that.
7.) How far outside of a metro do you think is ideal when trying to avoid the saturated the city center? Ties back to how you figure market saturation in the first place.
8.) When opening a practice that has no existent patient pool, how are those initial weeks, months? Where is the money to pay the assistants, yourself, building maintenance, supplies coming from? Is it all from the same bank loan? Is there projections that have to be made pre-practice opening as to the number of patients that are coming in? Do you run the practice by yourself to keep costs down and then slowly start adding staff?
9.) Not really business related but just in general. CE courses can range wildly somebody said even 100K+, for a course??? What CE courses do you actively try to partake in if you do more general work, is it just working to improve everything? Do you pay a lot more to get courses in a specific area? People that emphasize on cosmetic dentistry focus on full mouth restorative work CE courses I believe, what would somebody that does general pay more to get lessons in?
If you read thus far. Thank you so much :)
J Jr. Right on! Thanks for all the ideas, I’ll do them piece by piece but those are some really great concepts. Thanks so much!
Beyond Dentistry can you do a video on advancing technology. they say dentist will be replaced with machines.
Great points! I actually just sent in a letter of intent for UBC in Canada because the cost is around $200,000 vs $430,000 at UCSF pre interest :/
For sure, that can be such a tough call!!
100k-120k is a low estimate, even for new dentists. This may be the case in places like saturated Southern Cali but it's not the norm. Many new grads who relocate and work rural are starting at 150k+
T J Thanks for the insight, great to hear your perspective! According to payscale’s numbers, the average entry level salary is $119,028.
I think you are definitely right, you can make more if you are willing to move out of the city especially earlier in your career.
Thank you creating and sharing this video. I wish I was more attentive to the actual cost of dental schools prior to applying last cycle. Like most pre-dents, I was worried more about getting in and not about what it looks like to pay student loans off.
Thanks so much man, that really means a lot!!
Great video and thanks for keeping it real. A lot of my friends who are dentists in their early 30s have echoed the same sentiments to me.
Raaj Thanks so much for the feedback, that really means a lot! I spend some time on Student Doctor Network, and I really worry a lot of people might have unrealistic expectations about the profession. Again, I still like it, but it's good to be realistic too. Thanks for sharing.
In my country(Norway) university is free. Dentists make $150k roughly. But I am 32 and just finished a bachelor in robotics and AI. I can't get a job (my grades are average and I have zero experience). And an average it-guy only makes $50-80k here.
Should I become a dentist? My long term goal would be to only work 1-2 days a week while I spend the rest of the time starting companies (until one succeeds). I just love the idea of being so flexible with work times and never having to worry about job hunting/ CVs etc.
I completely agree with everything you've mentioned. Right now, both my husband and I are pursuing dentistry, and we have both applied this cycle. Thankfully we live in Texas, which means we have a shot of getting into a school that will leave us around 300k in debt (per person). However, this is the lowest amount of debt, in the nation. Nowadays, 400k-500k is the norm, and its just insane. If we don't get into a texas school, I wouldn't mind waiting another year and trying again. The debt is just too astronomical and it's not worth it.
Eqra Kazi, you guys are smart! I actually applied to the Texas schools because of the tuition, even though I am from Michigan.
What dentist school are you going to?
Just starting watching your channel and I like the video quality and information! I think this is an important consideration and why people should be trying their hardest to get into a public/cheaper school or seriously consider HPSP (like I did). One point I would add is that at least for now dentists are still able to compete as solo practitioners. The ADA says, "The average net income for dentists in private practice in 2018 was $190,440 for general dentists and $330,180 for specialists". I'm still in school but it seems to me that if you're going to take out 500k+ for school you have to maximize your ROI and plan for private practice at some point. Otherwise like you said it doesn't really make financial sense to pay the highest tuition of health care professionals and barely make 6 figures.
William, thanks so much! Good find on those salary numbers. HPSP is such a good deal, I would imagine it's pretty competitive now. If I could do it over again, that's what I would do.
Also, in terms of practice ownership, now could be a really good time to buy a practice. A lot of people want to retire.
In my country, first 6 years are free but then you have to pay to specialize but not as much because salaries are smaller here
We are posting a video similar to this as well this week, showing is it really worth it to become a dentist and the pros and cons of it! Very nice video with great breakdown of the student loan concept and the sacrifice, financially, needed to be done to become a dentist!
Happy to support a fellow healthcare channel!
Thanks so much! I really like all the financial advice you guys have on your channel!
Wow man! thank you for being honest about your carrer. It's nice of you...
I am a dental hygienist in 2022 (straight out of school) I make 105k a year 🤷🏼♀️: I am considering dental
School but I Doubt I wanna do that: my plan is that I wanna save so much , buy a house 🏠 and rent it out , I also wanna buy and event space and rent it out , infact I have many plans to Invest my money
which city do u work may i ask
Man USA tuitions are expensive as hell!! Here in Quebec, the cost of dental school alone is about 60k for 5 years not including living expenses. I can’t believe you guys have to pay 500k to become a dentist
So true..
This was very informative for the student that is considering dentistry for the potential of earning a high income. I've been in practice over 25 years and have seen dentistry change from the reimbursement stand point as well as the costs involved in buying a practice and/or updating equipment. Dentistry is like any other worthwhile endeavor, you must be willing to make sacrifices to make it! It's not as easy as some want to make it sound, but it is still a very rewarding profession!
Agree 1000%! Everything takes sacrifice. Thanks for the perspective!
Very informative video, great content!
Thanks!!
I’m not in dental school for the future money but I feel called by Hod tone a dentist. Comestic dental work won’t be done as much but fillings, extractions, dentures are always needed. I got a scholarship for dental school and feel I made the right choice.
As clear as water. I would add up another problem: “what if you already got into a 500K debt just to find out 4 years later that you don’t like the profession anymore ?
I definitely agree with this, there is some burnout in the profession. It's a good idea to do a lot of job shadowing and talk to RECENT dental school graduates to hear their experiences.
I'm a D4, in the class above me I dont know anyone who will be making less than 175k to start.
That’s great news! Where are you in school?
Is the 175k an annualized daily minimum, or is it a draw against production? You would have to produce close to 600K your first year, if you were paid 30% of collections. It’s totally possible, but that would be high for an “average” new grad.
I agree with this. Talking with professionals in my school and doing research into job openings, there’s rural areas that will pay 200k+
Judging from financially alone, I would still practice in Europe after graduation.
Thanks for insights dr
I am really not sure why people choose to go the schools that put $500K on your shoulders but for me, I just applied this cycle and waiting for my interviews (hopefully soon) and the biggest deciding factor in my choice of schools was the tuition. All my schools cost less than $50K/year( tuition). I live in Texas and all Texan school cost less than $50K/ year (35-45K) there are also many out or state schools that are affordable. what’s the point if you can’t pay your debt ?
Texas schools with Texas in-state tuition is a great combination. Good luck this cycle!
Beyond Dentistry thanks 🙂
Accrued interest alone adds 100k to the principle. So if you borrow 300k for in state that number will jump to 400-450k after graduation. 🤔🤔🤔🤔
Crazy to think that dental school is free here in France ! I only had to pay for my dental equipment
🤯
Yeah but the income of a french dentist is alot lower,and more taxes
@@jhondalton130 can I ask you how much incomes you make as a dentist if you’re from the USA ? I’d just like to have a brief idea
@@alicel5823 aroun 170 000$ a year
Thx for being real about the field! Some of things that drew me to dentistry was the pay and autonomy. What are some careers that would you recommend to someone now? Or careers that you would be doing besides dentistry? I appreciate your honest opinion!
Thanks Alex!
Honestly, I still like dentistry. It really is a great combination of a decent (not amazing but decent) average salary and some autonomy. You really have to be comfortable working with your hands all day, and talking to a lot of people.
If you are looking for the best income/school ratio in healthcare, I would bet physician's assistant, nurse practitioner and nurse anesthetist would be way up there. Optometry, chiropractic, veterinary and even pharmacy seem to be going the same way as dentistry (increased school cost with stagnant incomes).
My next video is going to be medical school vs dental school, and my sister is a doctor so I asked her a bunch of these questions too.
Outside of healthcare, people are always talking about how great computer science is or electrical engineering. I think both of those are rewarding fields, but you have to really like what you do, and in some cases you might need to be willing to move to find a decent job.
If I had to pick an alternative career it would probably be something in tech, but again I think dentistry is great too if you can find a way to make the tuition more reasonable.
Good luck!
@@BeyondDentistry agree 100% with you on this.
$500k is criminal.
Add the cost of purchasing a practice which, for a decent practice will be well over $500k, and even a great practice will leave you with very little after repayments. Go get a trade!
My dental degree cost $10k in total ( 20 years ago!).
That’s a really good point about the practice debt. Most people to take out 300 on up are using income driven payment plans for their student loans.
It’s a great profession, but for somebody that does not want to go into debt for a really long time, military and public health scholarships are really something to consider.
@@BeyondDentistry income driven plans are a scam. They lower your payment to less than that of the interest therefore increasing the principle over time due to interest capitalization. You will end up with a huge tax bill
If you don’t mind me asking, how did you make that intro that is phenomenal. Editing and everything is on point!
Thanks so much man!! I sent you an email, give me a heads up if it didn't go through!
@@BeyondDentistry Could you possibly share this with me as well? The quality is amazing! Thank you!
@@danieljuarez911 Thanks!!
It's an After Effects Template that I edited pretty heavily. The video was shot with a friend of mine who is a photographer. I spent so much time on that opener, and I don't even use it anymore!!
Love how you hit really good points and kept
It very real with your opinions. I’m majoring in finance but have been really thinking about switching to dentistry. I know this isn’t the best career for making the most amount of money possible but this type of career does pay better than most and seems to offer a pretty good work life balance which is what is most appealing to me. Do you think at 21 it is too late to pursue dentistry? Would love to hear your opinion. Thank you.
21 is definitely not too late! There were a couple of people in my class that started in their late 20s or early 30s.
I feel incredibly blessed to have the work life balance I have, even though I'm going to be in debt for a while. And if you are ambitious, you can still make a ton of money in this field, but just like any other career it comes with some sacrifices. A lot of times it means moving out of the big city, or even moving to a different state if that's what it takes.
You could also look into PA or nurse practitioner if you are looking for a decent hourly income with a good work life balance.
Another thing that might be helpful is to just job shadow some younger dentists and see what you think.
Good luck!
Beyond Dentistry really appreciate your reply. I will definitely keep that in mind. Thank you!
@@Lilmonke_586 hey, I’m also a finance student, but dentistry has been on my mind for a while now. I’m curious to know if you ended up making the switch or taking prereqs on the side, etc?
@@sadiamj Hey happy to answer. So basically one day I opened up a word document and wrote down all the pros and cons of the different career paths I could take and applied them to the lifestyle I want to live in the future. To be quiet honest dentistry hasn’t really crossed my mind in a couple of months when it previously was on my mind all the time. I love school but I think struggling with classes online and falling behind slightly has made me really think about if I want to dedicate so much more time and money in order to become a dentist and ultimately I decided that it’s not really worth it. School is expensive, long, and wild probably be harder than what I am currently doing. I know and have heard of a lot of people that pursue medicine and many say it can be very difficult and I honestly don’t know if I could handle it. Something that helped me a lot was going on Reddit and asking people how they liked their careers in medicine/dentistry and many said they liked it but also said if they could go back in time they probably would not pursue it. I looked a lot into being a PA just like the creator of this video suggested and it has many of the same qualities that I like in dentistry. Good pay, good work/life balance but it can also be a very long, difficult, and expensive journey to get there. At this point I kind of just want to be over with school and can’t really picture myself starting over to be a dentist, especially not taking out half a million in loans in the process. So best advice I can give is continue to do your research, take an extra class and see how you like it, and check out forums like Reddit where people can share their experiences as a dentist. You should also look in being a PA (physicians assistant) because it’s something you might like as well and it’s in demand. But yeah I don’t think I can really dedicate and the time and money to being a dentist. Remember that business degrees can be used in any field, even medical, and there’s a million things you can use them for so there’s also that. Sorry I rambled, just wanted to be a little thorough. Hope this helps! Good luck.
@@sadiamj happy to answer any more question btw
Love your vids
Piotr thanks so much!
The question that most student can't answer is whether it ia a good bet for the future?
Thanks for the comment! I still think it is a good career, but not a "ticket to the good life", the way it might have been 50 years ago. There are still plenty of people who will do really well in the profession. Good luck!
Hi ,
I am a foreign trained dentist, 31 yrs planning to seek dds in usa.
According to you ,is it worth so much debt.
And if u can suggest what other next bst career path I can pursue .
TIA
So now is Hygiene worth for an International trained Male dentist in Canada?
Hygiene is a great value in terms of cost of school vs potential income. As a dentist, you might feel a little bit overqualified, but that could also be a great fit: for example if you end up in a periodontal office doing scaling and injections.
Hi Dr,
Wife is a foreign-trained dentist. 28 years old. She is considering either pursuing DDS for about 300k investment or moving to a different state and becoming a dental hygienist instead with minimal investment (no schooling needed on her end on this particular state). Could you please add your input to this? I feel that dental hygienists are making good money without the loan craziness.
Hi Samuel! I think it might be a good idea to talk to someone who has done something similar - financially, 300K is not too bad for a dental degree - so that could be good option, but if she wants to make good money sooner, dental hygiene could be a good option, too - especially if she wants to work part time. In some markets, they are making $50/hr or more - close to associate dentists in the same office! Either way, it sounds like you guys will do well!
for me, i'm applying for a goverment scholarship that i don't need to pay anything for the first 4 years it even includes daily expenses. And i always wanted to be dentist. so if there is no big debt , is it still worth it ?
I'm only familiar with US and Canada a little bit, but if you can get a great scholarship like that, and you have spent enough time around dentists to be excited about dentistry, I think it could definitely be worth it!
@@BeyondDentistry thank you
I'm between this and med school, and I have shadowed both physicians and dentists. I have noticed that I don't have a particular preference and really enjoy both professions. I would also be a competitive applicant to both types of schools. If you were in this scenario with an equal interest in both careers, what would you do? This is the question I am asking myself as I begin the application process. Thanks.
Neither. Skip Med School and Dental School. The Debt, Opportunity Cost, Stress ect really doesn’t make it worth it.
@@user-lu6yg3vk9z med school opportunity cost is worth it if in a high pay low residency time specialty like E-med Anesthesia Dermatology Ophthalmology
@@bluethunder9102 no it’s not
@@user-lu6yg3vk9z med school is cheaper then dental school with some med schools having free tuition and md/phd programs with free Tution and some surgical subspecialties making 600k- 1.2m+ (also Iv card , electrophysiology, Iv gi, Iv radiology, Iv pain,)
Could you make a video on how much dentists really make with experience?
Thanks for the comment! That’s a great idea I will keep that in mind for the future.
There’s a really wide range, but a general dentist is about 150 to 200K with experience. Specialists like oral surgeons or orthodontists usually make more than that, but there is still a really wide range.
Beyond Dentistry no problem! & I love where you’re going with your channel! There’s not much dental advice on here.
I’m poor but I wanted to become a dentist 😩
One guy in my class started as a janitor, and he is a dentist now! There are plenty of stories like that.
That being said, there are a ton of other great careers, and a lot of dentists are really unhappy! I think the best thing is to make the most of whatever situation you’re in.
I want to do dentistry. I know the reality is that most people are obsessed with private practice, but the reality is that there are just as many bad private practices as there are corporate offices. Could you make a video about things to look out for in a contract and questions to ask when shadowing a practice when you first start working?
Absolutely, there are good corporate jobs and definitely some bad private associateships!
I was never an associate myself, but I will definitely dig into some contract information, that is a great idea for a video.
@@BeyondDentistry I would also love to see a video explaining the difference between a good contract vs a bad one; whether it be a corporate or private practice.
That’s a great idea! I will have to have somebody more knowledgeable than me about corporate dentistry on. I really think the noncompete is the big one to watch out for. The other thing would be your salary, and whether or not you have to do a draw.
What’s a typical salary for general dentists that do implants in addition to the usual stuff?
Believe it or not, it's all over the place. I know some dentists that make a ton doing nothing but fillings and crowns, but they do $1000 crowns all day, and 3-4 fillings in an hour.
If you do implants, but you are slower, you might actually make less money. The dentists that I know of that place "a lot" of implants, like 10 or more a month on top of regular, efficient dentistry might make 300-400K or more. But that's pretty rare and it takes a ton of hustle and discipline. And I bet there are as many dentists that make close to that that don't do implants at all. You can make a lot on regular dentistry if you are fast. Personally, I take my time. There's no right way to do it, but for me personally, going slower is a lot better for my stress level.
Beyond Dentistry thanks for the detailed reply! I’m a subscriber. You have excellent content. Keep it up! It would be a crime if your channel were to not go viral, i expect and hope it will
To make really good $ you need to own a practice with 2 or more chairs. Aim to buy out or buy in to your practice.
I am at a top public college in my state right now (transferred here after getting an associate's from a community college). Although I am currently a business major entering my third year in college now, do you think it's still possible to make a change to dentistry and get into a good dental school? (public in my state)? Also, what advice would you have for me who's a little late in the game and is from a non-traditional background?
Hi Ananya!
You could absolutely make the change to dental school if you wanted to. One of my classmates was in his early 30s when he started school and had an undergrad degree in computers.
The hardest part for you right now would probably be having to take all of the biology and chemistry classes in undergrad and keeping your GPA very high to have a competitive dental school application if you don't have a science background already, but you could absolutely do it.
My advice would be to shadow newer dentists (graduated in last 5 years or so) to get their perspective. It is a lot of debt to go into dentistry, even with the "cheaper' schools.
Good luck!
Hi.iam really confused on which career to go for.i like dentistry.
I also have second thoughts for medicine or nursing. Iam currently doing my grade 12 year.
Please help.which one is worth doing out of the three careers?
Hi Megan, thank you for the comment!
Honestly, choosing a career can be tough and intimidating. If I had one piece of advice it would be to imagine what you want your life to look like in the next 5-15 years. Do you want to be very goal oriented and career-focused? Is making a lot of money or having a high status job important? Do you see yourself ever wanting to slow down to part time maybe after starting a family? What would your ideal work/life balance be?
There are no “right” answers to these questions, but they can definitely help narrow down your career path. Talking to your friends and family, the people that know you, can really help too. I know when I was younger there were some things I “thought” were important to me that I realized later I didn’t really care about.
In my opinion, choosing a career is really about choosing what will serve your other goals and values best.
Dentistry is a good job, but the debt is very high, and it is a job that once you start, you are pretty much committed to working full-time if you are trying to pay down student loans. Medicine is kind of like that, but on average the pay is higher in the debt is a little bit lower.
For choosing a field of study now, I would say think about it, you could even make a pro con list, ask your friends and family, and definitely don’t expect an answer to come to you all at once. You might have to think about it for a while but I bet you get some clarity over time.
Good luck!
Thank u so much.it just worries me because its already midyear and i havent found clarity yet.
@@meganheher7975go in medicine then
Why is starting salary so low?
It’s probably higher now (due to inflation), 130-150k (usd) is probably a little more accurate
Would it be beneficial to get my dental hygiene degree first?
I’m in hygiene school now but I planned on working for a bit, saving up money and then going on to pursue dental school. Thoughts?
I think that is a great plan! I know of dentists who were hygienists first, plus you always have a great career to fall back on.
@@BeyondDentistry Thank you so much for responding! I am currently a hygiene student but the more I interact with dentists and see their work, the more I fall in love with it. Thank you for your help! :)
Dental schools should this so they could stop ripping people off with high tuition
Can we talk about work culture too? Like the type of offices that new grads end up working at? But can we also be positive. I really believe that it’s not just doom and gloom. Sure, you may interview and take on a position where you’re undervalued and perhaps overworked. Hopefully didn’t sign a non compete clause, and can just get a better gig somewhere close. But at a certain point, can’t you tell by interviewing the owner doc and having a lawyer investigate your contract for what positions will be like? A lot of the horror stories of associates doing glorified hygiene come form those who didn’t have their contracts reviewed. I really want to believe there are more good owner docs out there vs bad ones. Also, on a 15 year repayment plan, aren’t you still living the lifestyle of someone making 55k? That’s pretty decent! Also, your skills will increase with time! You’re not at 120k forever! But also, what job out there pays this much still? Honestly, we are still pretty lucky. Other careers have you working upwards of 50 hour weeks to make 120k! I’d love to talk about work culture more though, hopefully we can raise awareness and bring about change.
That's a really great point about the work life balance and 100% true! Some professions make a lot more money, but a lot of people have to travel and the work life can be a lot more stressful.
Thanks for all the insight!
I'm 32 y.o. and just barely realized that I want to go for dentist is it too old too start? BTW thank you for the best VDO
That's a great question, and really a personal decision, but I can tell you what I think.
1 - Whatever you decide, make sure you are not viewing "dentistry" as a this goal that will make your life better just by achieving it. It is a decent field, but trust me, the thrill of the prestige and being a "Dr." wears off quickly.
2 - Do a lot of research on incomes. Dentistry has seen declining incomes over the last 15 years, even in the face of inflation. If you are driven and high-energy, and find yourself in the top 10% of income earning dentists, you will do very well (maybe $300K+), but it will be hard, tiring work day-to-day. It is very hard to get to that income level while working a laid-back schedule.
My short answer would be that if you are a very driven and motivated person and genuinely like to work hard, dentistry could pay off. But if you are looking for something more low-key, or even thinking you might like to slow down eventually (to raise kids), the payoff might not be there.
Thank you so much! This is so great answer.
@@tucky.w Thank you! I should have clarified more - my answer would apply specifically to US. Dentistry is much different in other countries (specifically, the school is often much less expensive outside US and Canada, and the incomes may also be lower). Good luck with your decision!
I appreciate the honest video and responses. I would love your perspective on my situation. I’m a foreign trained dentist currently with a great $200k+ career in management consulting. To get back to dentistry I’m going back to school for 2.5 years at the cost of $300k. Is it worth the transition at 42 years?
Hi John! If you like your career and are making 200k, I honestly think it will be really hard to beat that in dentistry if you have to spend 300k unless you are a specialist.
You could always talk to some of the dentists going through the program you are looking at and see what they think. And if you really feel called to dentistry, I think you could definitely make it work.
If you consider “opportunity cost” 2 1/2 years of foregoing your 200 K income is 500 K, plus the 300 K cost, it could be more like 800 K to get back into dentistry. That would be hard for me to do lol.
RDA for 20 years after Covid, I finally got my worth rate. Changing professions at 40 to SLP
What is SLP?
I graduated DDS in 1999. Dentistry is NOT a good financial proposition for a young person now. It is probably the worst. Don't do it; you'll ruin your life.
How about Dental Hygienist? RDH?
@@PrincePalmUwU Attend your state school or community college. DO NOT attend a private school or out of state school. Keep your student loans as close to zero as possible. It doesn't matter whether you went to Harvard Fancy School of Dental Hygiene or Down By the River Community College School of Tooth Scraping.....all that matters is the license you get afterwards and your work ethic.
If you go to DH school, don't marry a dental student (male or female) or a dentist. THEIR DEBT becomes your debt.
but doesnt debt cancel in 20 years?@@prun8893
@@prun8893😂😂😂😂
Fellow UDM grad!!!
Nice!!
you're such a cool guy! Do you have an instagram? I'm currently at UDM dental haha
Thanks Hilal! I have an Instagram at lifebehindtheloupes, but I don't use it too much. I hope your year is going well, especially with all of the covid stuff. U of D is a good school, especially once you get into UHC stuff. I know it's super stressful, but it goes by fast.
Do NOT,...become a dentist. Just trust me on this.
15+ year dentist advice.
Why?
You can go to flight school for $60,000 and Airline pilots make $200,000 a year.
Wow
all i can say is 😍😍😍😍😍😍 hi Adam lol, Dr.Adam😌
Nice try. Your attempt at discouraging others from pursuing dentistry failed miserably. I'm really not sure what you would gain from this since you're already a dentist. It's not like you have to compete with other applicants.
Hey, Creative Ajay’s Kitchen! I wouldn’t discourage anyone from pursuing dentistry. It’s a great career. If I had to do it again I would try to do it with a public health scholarship; $500K is a lot of debt load, and I think it’s worth it for young people to consider the debt factor. Most 22 year olds don’t understand the consequences of that kind of debt, I know I didn’t.
Hey Ajay I don’t see his video this way. To me he’s not discouraging anybody from pursuing dentistry, he is just providing you with facts and insight about this profession. It’s getting competitive each year to get into dental school, yes it is true. However among those students, some want to get into dentistry because of money. The glamor days of dentistry I think is somewhat over given the current huge debt, as I talked to many dental professionals. Dentists fresh out of schools do not have the high fees paid from insurance likw before etc etc. Dentists in their 50-60s have no problem doing bread and butter dentistry and make decent money, but if recent grads decide to do it with that debt, I am sorry I think it’s not worth it if they come in for the money given the years of lost income and student loans.
Anyway, great insight doc. Appreciate your effort in giving us facts w the current situation!
No not anymore . The debt and soon to be robots will replace dentists.
Thanks for the comment! The debt is definitely a concern. If there is robotic dentistry anytime soon, it will look like robotic surgery where the surgeon controls the robot. We're actually already seeing this in implant dentistry with Yomi.
Beyond Dentistry Nah, A.I. Dentists are not the only healthcare professionals Pharmacists, Physician ect are also being replaced.
@@user-lu6yg3vk9z Healthcare professionals will be one of the last in line to be "replaced" by AI. Sure, there will be AI-assisted surgeries and procedures, but patient-doctor interactions are a huge part of being a doctor. On the other hand, blue-collar jobs are far more likely to be completely replaced by AI.
Daniel Mid-Level Provdiers+ A.I. will replace Physicians. Physicians are actually being replaced. They are working on replacing Dentists. You are wrong trader workers is actually harder to replace.
@@user-lu6yg3vk9z I'd like to hear your reasoning because that last statement is almost impossible to substantiate. There are already so many startups that have raised millions from VC's that are designed to completely replace blue-collar jobs. It just makes sense. People will have far less of a problem with a robot replacing their roof, fixing their car, etc. over a robot performing a surgery (without human guidance). Maybe in the next generations to come we will see that occur, but in this generation AI is already making a leap in replacing lower-tier jobs.