The ADEA provided details on dental school debt in its “Trends in Dental Education” report for 2022-23. The organization received responses from 2,871 survey participants about how they paid for dental school in 2022.
Six ways dental students paid for dental education in 2017 vs. 2022:
2017
Loans: 66 percent
Financial support from parents, relatives or friends: 17 percent
Grants and/or scholarships: 9 percent
Savings from self and/or savings or earned income from spouse: 6 percent
Part-time employment: 1 percent
Other: 1 percent
2022
Loans: 65 percent
Financial support from parents, relatives or friends: 20 percent
Grants and/or scholarships: 10 percent
Savings from self and/or savings or earned income from spouse: 4 percent
Part-time employment: 1 percent
Other: 0.5 percent
