Dental school is worth it as long as you keep your educational debt low and plan to own a dentistry practice, although dental school can be a risky financial burden if you take on more than $400,000.00 in high interest loans for the dental school.
Public dental schools cost around $240,000.00 to $320,000.00 total and private dental schools can easily exceed the cost of $400,000.00.
Most dental school students also graduate with $300,000.00 to $400,000.00 or more in student loans when also factoring in their living expenses and undergraduate debt.
And financial experts at Student Loan planner also note that massive debt leaves new dentists with a very small margin for financial error.
For general dentists, the average annual salary ranges from $150,000.00 to $210,000.00.
For specialist dentists like orthodontists and oral surgeons they can earn between $300,000.00 to $500,000.00 or more per year.
And owning your own dentistry clinic also often produces much higher income than working as an associate dentist for someone else.
Dentistry is good for job security, good work life balance and good for hands on work.
People always need dental care, which makes the field of dentistry stable and resistant to economic recessions.
Dentists also enjoy high schedule flexibility, with options to work part time or open an independent dentist office.
And the job of dentistry also combines science, art and direct interaction to relieve patient pain immediately.
There's also no age limit for dental school admissions and many non traditional dental school students begin dental school in their 40s and even 50s.
Although you must also weigh the financial costs, physical demands and substantial time it takes to go through dental school.
You must be willing to commit to the time and study for dental school.
For the Prerequisites and school, expect 7 years to 8 years total if you still need undergraduate prerequisites, the (DAT) Dental Admission Test, and 4 years of dental school.
If you start dental school at age 40, you will likely graduate dental school by age 47 to 48 years old.
And many dentists still practice their dentistry well into their 60s and 70s, which give you a 20 to 30 year dentistry career after graduation.
For the financial factors of dental school you also need to factor in the high debt and retirement timeline.
Dental school tuition and living expenses also often exceed $250,000.00 to $500,000.00 total.
And starting dental school later means less peak earning years to pay off large student loans while also simultaneously saving for retirement.
Working in dentistry also has physical and personal demands that you must also take into consideration.
Dentistry requires intense manual dexterity and can also cause chronic neck strain, back strain and hand strain over time.
And balancing family or financial obligations in your 40s alongside of rigorous dental coursework is also harder than doing it in your 20s.
And mature dental schools students also often possess superior discipline, time management skills and real world communication skills that patients and admissions committees value.
Dentists will always remain in demand so it can be a great career to get into even at age 40.