New dentists in affiliated private practices have an average of $309,355 of educational debt plus an additional $78,188 in other debt, the highest of any practice setting, according to research from the American Dental Association Health Policy Institute.
The survey collected data on the amount of debt new dentists have across four practice settings. New dentists are classified as dentists who are less than 10 years out of dental school.
Here is the amount of education debt and other debt that new dentists had upon graduating dental school by their first practice setting:
Affiliated private practice
Educational debt: $309,355
Other debt: $78,188
Unaffiliated private practice
Educational debt: $274,370
Other debt: $74,097
Federally qualified health centers
Educational debt: $281,763
Other debt: $28,016
Additional public settings
Educational debt: $133,569
Other debt: $58,882