The effects of student debt weigh heavily on former dental students' wallets and on the industry itself.
In 2019, the average dental school graduate owed $292,169 in student loan debt, according to the most recent data from the Education Data Initiative, a resource that collects data and statistics about the U.S. education system.
Here are three dentists' insights on student debt's effect on the industry:
Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Matt Carlston, DMD. Vice President of Marketing and Partner Recruitment at Comfort Dental: I have the opportunity to speak with many dental students and new dentists. Some of them cover their ears and close their eyes when we speak of debt that they assume to fulfill their professional goals. I was recently told by the dean of a former dental school, "We do not believe that the amount of student debt assumed is insurmountable … yet." This is an alarming statement. Many young dentists are saddled with student loan debt that may inhibit their professional future.
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Trevor Lines, DDS. Dentists of Chandler (Ariz.): People are graduating with half a million dollars in debt, and that's a giant payment. On top of that, you have to either buy a practice or buy into a practice or just be employed. One thing that I have felt in my own life, and I'm sure many dentists feel, is just very trapped. There's not much room for growth. I don't know how we solve this problem because its scope is just so large. The idea of graduating in your mid- to late 20s with half a million dollars of debt that you're paying over 30 years, and then you can only be a dentist in order to meet your income needs is very — I don't want to say soul crushing, but I'm going to, because it really can be. There's only so much room for personal growth within that profession because you're doing the same thing in a very highly repetitive manner for decades. That's a problem that needs to be solved.
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Larry Stone, DDS. Doylestown (Pa.) Dental Solutions: When I graduated, there was no debt. The average debt now is about $300,000. And I heard the other day it takes about seven years for a graduate to pay that off. Only 7 percent, I believe, of the dental school graduates are debt free.
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