As I approach my 30th year as a dentist, my advice to you is to start you retirement account right away. Cut cost where you can. Delay buying a fancy car. Pay down the debt and put the maximum you can into your retirement account. My wife (also a dentist) and I started our retirement by the 2 year of starting a practice from scratch. Now she thanks me that I forced ourselves to contribute the maximum for retirement while we drove a older car and we usually ate at home. I have heard too many stories of dentist in their 50s who have not started their retirement account and can never afford to retire. Meanwhile, we paid for private education for our kids and we paid for all the tuition for a Ivy League education for both kids (we were blessed they both got accepted). It was a priority to us and we made it happen. Remember, “ Don’t keep up the Jones. What you see is not always what it seems.” Best of luck to you.

I love how you're so straightforward; like other dentists/doctors would never share their incomes but you're different, you talk about things that actually matter. Thank you!

Ughhhh I love how transparent you are.

Dave Ramsey's suggestion would be to live on the $40k and pay $100k a year towards student loans so that you can be free of student loan debt in 4 years. Live like nobody else so that in time you can live like nobody else.

Thank you for being so transparent! It’s hard to find videos like this where the person is straightforward about things. Thanks again!😊

I am a dentist 2 years out of school. Great insight to the other aspiring and young doctors. Luckily I chose military practice so I will be debt free in 2 more years.

Dental school tuition is absolutely insane! Thank you for your honesty and keeping it real. The information you provided was very useful.

So 400k is only student loans. Keep in mind that doesn't include house mortgage, car loans, plus other expenses. That's insane.

Thanks for being transparent, Dr. Wendy! Looking forward to more videos 💕

I always keep coming back to this channel for the realness! Thanks Dr. Wendy.

Definitely a monster looming over your life --> grad school debt. It definitely has helped get me over the 6 figure mark as far as salary is concerned though. I guess you just take what's manageable and don't have overly optimistic hopes of post-grad income. Great video Wendy! Thanks for posting!

Great video! Very direct & to the point! The title was accurate, + you gave us so much more info! Thanks

i love you. these are things they don’t tell us about going into dental. they make it seem like rainbows and butterflies. please continue with these. ♥️♥️

I’m still waiting on that video you mentioned you would upload! Love this❤️

This is something rare to see. And I'm glad to see that someone's willing to talk about salary.

i love your videos so much! can't wait for the next one following this topic because no one talks about this stuff when its so important to!

The transparency earned my sub! Thank you :)

I love your realistic point of view! Thank You!

Thank you Wendy for the videos. I will be attending dental school this upcoming year and the tuition for my school is about 90k a year so I'll be out with around 500k in debt. Your info on the outlook of employment was helpful. Can't wait for your next video.

As a dentist and practice owner myself, I would encourage any considering this profession to think twice about it. Managing patients, staff and the business side of it all is a continuous headache.

Yasss another video!! Please do a expenses/budget video. You are awesome

Hi Dr.Wendy, Iam new to your channel and found it to be interesting. I love how transparent you are and how you take the time to explain things. Looking forward to watching more of your videos and maybe answer questions if I have anything I need to know.

Great presentation ! Thanks for rhe information on both patient and doctor dental economics . Your smile is as beautiful as you are.

I wanted to be a dentist when I was younger but didn’t go and went into policy and government instead. Love your channel.

Dr Wendy, thank you for your honesty and openness about the dental profession, especially about the debt and the “glamour” of dental practice. Unfortunately your videos don’t garner the number of views that they deserve. Dental schools continue, as they had in the past, to prey on the ignorance and lack of financial literacy of these young aspiring dentists about the realities of graduating with so much debt and the detrimental impact on their lifestyles. There is another vlogger who is currently a USC dental school who commented on dental school debt. I was appalled when she described how she was told during orientation by the financial director that “it’s going to be okay.” As a USC dental alumni, I can safely say that taking on the debt was one of the worst financial decisions anyone can make. Again thank you for your videos.

Thx so much for being so candid

please make more videos!!! i love you and your honesty about the reality of this career

You are amazing. Keep doing you and continue pursuing your journey :')

My dentist retired a few months ago. I"ve been seeing him since I was 12 (I'm 48 now). He was relatively new to the trade when I first saw him and his practice was quite modest and lived quite frugally the first few years to pay off his student loans. Now decades later, he's kicking it somewhere in the Bahamas. My new dentist is in the same spot as you are now and about your age. He's cooler than my previous one and have no doubt he'll pay off his loans in no time.

180k is not going to pay off 400k with ease. After taxes, your at 130k. Interest on a 400k note is 26k. To even tackle the principle in 10 years, your down to 60k. You would have to live on bare minimum. Super difficult

Wow insightful

Dam that’s expensive . I even think about it twice on getting a 50k debt

love you and thank you for this!!💞💞💞

I'm a graduating dental student. Thank you for the video

thank you for the honesty and information! I am in between the DAT and MCAT and im not sure which way to go. Hopefully whatever I do leads to a good, happy life!

You're very wise and have a very good understanding of living in the real world. Paying off loan(s) should be the first major thing to concentrate on once working. Eventually, the other things in life will come. Too many times you see young graduates starting a career and spending their earnings instead of paying down their debt and saving for the future. You'll do well, and you have a beautiful smile! Who's Your dentist? lol

Great video and yes, all that debt is worth it. I count mortgages of my various properties as "investments" and you should think of payment on your loan likewise. Good Luck

I made $220k as a new grad. Lol. Secret here is to apply when there are less dentists applying for jobs - you have more negotiating power. ;)

The issue is getting into the cheaper schools. State schools are way more competitive to get into.

Thanks for being so honest and open about this. Very helpful! Any updates on your debt payment journey? Graduating in may and wondering how I should tackle my student loans. Also any advice to new associates? Thanks!

Thank you for the video. I have a one question. What do you think about idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis? The number of dentists treated for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) at this Virginia tertiary care center was about 23 times higher than expected. Is that true? Hope it’s not true... please let me know what you think when you have a chance. Thank you.

I know someone who went into the United States Air Force as a dentist officer for only 2 years and they paid his FASA debt. The funny thing is he didn't like the military and really didn't enjoy it.

Can I ask why you didn't go to dental school in Canada and then come down? Twenty years ago, even though I really wanted to go to the US, I decided to stay at McGill and attend medical school there for next to nothing. As a result, I graduated with no debt and came to the US for residency and practice. I felt I got the best of both worlds. Thanks for sharing your story!

Hello Wendy! I'm also Canadian student hoping to go to US dental schools. How diversely did you apply and how hard did you find the process of getting accepted? Thank you for your videos!

Another downside of DSOs is the high number of DHMO insurance plans they accept. Someone does have to accept these insurance plans I guess, but you end up doing high volume and risk burning out physically and mentally. I was even a clinical director for a DSO for a year and a half and did not like the amount of pressure and sales tactics the corporations wanted to implement in our region. I finally took the leap and just opened my own practice 3 months ago. It’s a lot of work but I love the autonomy I have. The downside is in most cases you’re taking on more debt. I was fortunate enough to go to an in-state dental school and my parents also helped me out some. Anyway, great video and always love hearing from other dentists!

Not looking forward to that dental school debt! Thankfully Texas has some reasonable tuition compared to other schools! I start school in the fall!

Thanks for sharing Dr. Greetings from Mexico

Thanks for making this video! Is it really that easy to find a job after dental school? How much would you work and get paid if you worked as a dentist in one of those "greedy" dental corporations?

How much did you pay in living expenses throughout school?

It’s so different in America compared to the UK! Interesting to hear about it

Thank you for the insight! I'm starting DMD in the fall and appreciate your words! Do you have any updates on if you decided to move/ change offices or something! Thanks!

very sincere advice ! Thank you

Omg please do a follow up. I’m currently trying to decide between dentistry and hygiene. I would love to know about you rent and the car you drive and all the perks

Learn to code. Six figure + income and zero debt. But I absolutely appreciate my dentist. She is taking over her father’s practice which speaks to one of your points in regard to opportunity.

I have a friend that's a pediatrician, she got out of debt really fast with these easy steps. 1. She got a few DR. friends to write up medical evals to declare she was a cronic cripple. (which kind of bars a person working in the U.S). 2. She got a job in a foreign country overseas. 3. Got a few citizenships elsewhere and moved out of the U.S, and ended her american citizenship.

I suggest you go into private practice as soon as you can. You have a lovely bedside manner and your patients will love you, and send you friends and family. Treating family’s, friends, and seeing them over the years is a wonderful life. You also can have autonomy to do the dentistry that they need. When you work for someone else like a corporation it isn’t the same. The more personalized dentistry is, the better. Moving after a rapport has been established is a real loss to both parties in the doctor-patient mutual trust relationship. Cherish and nurture that.

I'm a predental student. Thank you for this!

What and where did you do your Undergrad? I’m at the U of Windsor in my 3rd year of Human Kinetics and I plan on applying to dental school next year!

This is why I never went to dental school. Did an Masters in finance and first job landed $110k. Had only $120k student debt and making $240k now. Problem with dental school is you are really stuck in only one career rest of your life. If you do a leading Masters degree or top MBA then there are many career choices you can swap to.

You could just study in a cheaper uni or in a cheaper country you can get a full dentistry degree for 8k in many places. Is the name of the uni and its prestige really that important ?

What do you think about dental chains versus individual practices?

I’m 31 years old. My house mate is 33 years old. We live in California. I did not go college. My house mate went to Stanford University. I make between 100k - 120k a year selling stuff on eBay and Amazon. He makes about 85k as a resident Doctor. I have $0 debt. He owes over $300,000 in student loans. My point is, college is a RIP OFF. It is not needed for someone to be “successful”.

**Dave Ramsay has entered the chat**

Student loans here in Montreal do not exceed 100 000 CAN$ for the 5 years program. I also feel so lucky to still live with my parents so my student loans are less than average.

I really appreciate this. I just finished my undergrad. I’ve been contemplating between dentist school vs. pharmacy school vs. med school. Originally, I’ve always wanted to go to pharmacy school however I’m really considering medical and dentist school. Pharmacy seems to have a gloomy outlook. I never really considered dentistry bc I felt like no one likes doing to the dentist and I wanted to do something that helps and makes people happy. But I’m been looking into cosmetic dentist and it’s really wavering my decisions.

Thank you for this video, it's hard to find a lot of information about this sort of thing since these crazy tuition fees are a relatively new thing. I'm a Canadian student still in the process of gaining acceptance (landed interviews last cycle but got rejected) but I think I'm going to end up in a pretty similar situation to you with ~400k in debt. Even though I'm not even in dental school the future is really stressing me out because like you I won't have family support (although like you my parents fortunately paid for my undergrad) and I don't have connections within the dental industry. The video was very informative in terms of how you got there, the reality of things and how much you're making but I'm definitely curious in regards to how long you'll be taking to pay off the 400k. I did notice that the amount you were making as a fresh grad is higher than I was anticipating which I guess is a location thing as you said. Is the higher pay one of the reasons you stayed in the US instead of going back to Canada?

This is why I go to the Philippines once a year and everything (including cleanings) done there and pay out of pocket and get great care for pennies on the dollar.

In the netherlands it cost around €15.000 to be a dentist. €2500 per year. But it is difficult to get into. And the start salary is €42.000 and the average income is €99.000

Hi Dr. Wendy, do you have an e-mail we can ask you questions at? I'm a Canadian student with some questions about dental school and a career in dentistry!

Hi Wendy! Just wanted to ask your opinion. If given the chance, would you go to a cheaper school outside the country even if it’s less quality of an education? This is for an International Dentist Program. For me,Im looking at the possibility of going to USC ASPID which is approx $260-280k for the two years OR newly approved IDP IN Moldova which is in Europe which is about $150K for 2 years. Just curious if you still think it’s better to go for the cheapest school in this case, but of course would take your input as a grain of salt. Thanks so much!!

Hello Wendy, Great insight for the younger generation. Okay I will try to keep this short. The cost of school today is truly crazy, BUT if you get your typical job paying 130-180 per year you can pay off that debt in 5 years. Obviously you need to live below your means (which the younger generation has a hard time doing). Live with a roommate, drive an older car and before you know it, you are debt free. At that point you then have the decision to save for your own practice or to continue being an associate (contractor). Here in CA, there are Dentist everywhere (disclaimer, I am not, but my wife is). You have to be willing to work for several different companies/offices and you have to be willing to work! Now with that being said, my wife is making the same amount as she did eight years ago. Which means, the more Dentist available, the harder it is to raise the bar for base pay. BUT making a minimum of 130K here in CA (if you work, it is impossible to make less) is nothing to sneeze about if you are smart with what you do with your money. So yes, go to the cheapest school, but once out, you must be a go getter and make some money. Live less and in five years you can live anyway you desire!

It’s kinda funny how this pop up on my feed. I got made fun of because I decided to go the IMG route for medical school. I’m dual citizen and decide to go to my parents home country of Mexico. 40,000 dollars for 6 years of medical school. scored 250 on my step one and currently doing my residency in Texas. Meh I feel for you guys

so do you think for doing residency the ranking of the school matters? Do you have a greater chance of going somewhere better because of the dental school you went to? What if you went to a cheap state school that was lower ranked? Thanks

How did you take the loans as an international student? I am a junior year student in Houston from Venezuela and I wanna go to dental school and my biggest fear is money. I could never afford dental school and I do not know where could I find loans since am international student.

Were you on an F1 visa while going to dental school? How did you get to stay and work in the US if so? Thanks in advance!

How much do you pay a year for student loans? Dentists make an average of $164,000 a year, but what is the take home pay actually like when you are paying student loans? $100? $60k?

this is why going to the usa as a canadian is crazy....dental debt here is around 80k for dental school around 40k undergrad....jesus amercia.

Nice smile, you can get a job modeling it, and fits your profession.

Hello! I am a recent graduate from a US dental school and also Canadian! Would love your advice on some things in regards to our scenario since you’re a few steps ahead of me!

The insurance comparison was quite valuable. I didn't know any state would have insurance that covers 100%. I'm guessing that was a result of a good local employer, not the state but IDK.

Subscribed. Great video !

I work at a college that has a Dental school and interact with many of its students as part of my job as well as a patient. One option that future students might want to explore is the military. Each branch has programs that will pay up to 4 years of dental school. You have to join the military first and get accepted to dental school before you apply for the scholarship program. Obviously one has to have an undergraduate degree before they can pursue dental school. One student I know worked as a Hygienist for a few years before deciding to pursue dental school. She joined the Army and because she was already a college graduate she held the lowest officer rank, I believe 2nd Lieutenant ( correct me if I'm wrong) she got accepted at dental school but because of timing she missed the cut off date to apply for a 4 year scholarship so she applied for the 3 year. Only issue with that is the ones that didn't get a 4 year scholarship get placed in the pool of candidates for the 3 year which made it more competitive. But she got picked for the 3 year scholarship and her job in the Army was to go to dental school. They pay 3 of the 4 years plus she received monthly living expenses. When she graduated she automatically gets promoted to the rank of Captain. I believe she has to make a commitment to the Army for 3 years maybe a little more. But she doesn't have all that debt and she gets a lot of experience. The military isnt for everyone but its an option one should look into. Obviously there are certain standards that have to be met like grades and you don't have a choice on where you want to be stationed once you graduate. Another student I know rejoined the Army to pursue dental school and she said, in her words, "I won the lottery" because she got a 4 year scholarship. We also have several students in our medical school that are either currently enlisted or are planing to join the service after graduating and take advantage of programs that will pay off a good chunk of thier debt. As I said the military isnt for everyone but for those who have what it takes it certainly can make a big impact as a new dentist, doctor, nurse and PT and OT.

As a Canadian, are you able to come back to Canada to work as a dentist despite schooling in the US

thank you mam for the information im planning on becoming a dentist after my AL are done thank you

How hard is it to go through dental school and actually become a general dentist? How hard is it to get a ortho residency?

In Bulgaria dentistry is 4000€ per year

Thank you for this video ❤

My dental degree cost me about $18k ... Paid the absolute minimum debt repayment and couldn't help but pay it off in 5 or 6 years. Shame it's not still like that ...

if you start a 529 plan its tax free...like a HSA or 401k. Irony how if you want that stuff you have to prepay it, but if you wait it costs you a lot more. Dentists actually make out really well if you were certified before colleges increased tuition costs, they've skyrocketed. I can't fathom a 400k debt in any circumstance.

Very very nice video..I'm a D2.Please talk about how to move to the US to work as a dentist.

I love it Just subscribed

How long do you expect it to take to pay loans back? What is the interest rate?

Aside from the stress of paying off loans, would you go down the dentist route again if you could start over the few years of your life before you made the dental school decision?

Hi Wendy! I'd love it so very much if you could do a vid about how you budget and manage your student loans! I'm about to be wiped out by half mil loan for dental school myself :(

Thank you so much for sharing❤️

Hygienist from Windsor! ❤

In our country most dental schools only require 100$ tuition per semester

STAY away from MIDWEST in WISCONSIN..... or MONDOVI,

Omg thank you for the advice

I think it’s so important for people to spend less on their undergrad. The name on that degree does not mean anything.