This is a question that is so multi-faceted that I don't think even this blog post could answer. However old you are, where you are in life, and think about the profession there is so much to consider. If you are even remotely serious about the profession, my first piece of advice is this: shadow a dentist. Shadowing will allow you to watch and learn about the career, talk to the dentist, and see what a day in the life of a dentist looks like. Even better, I recommend you see at least 3-4 dentists to get multiple opinions and viewpoints of what a dental practice looks like.

Let's take it back a notch. One thing to consider is that many of the dentists you shadow have been working for a good 10, 20, even 40 years. They grew up in a different time, when schooling was different, dentistry operated with less technology, and so much more. As someone who is currently 21 years old, I can provide a sense of what dentistry looks like for our generation, as I have spoken to many current dental students and am about to embark in the journey myself.

When you look in the news, dentistry is often pictured as an easy career with lots of flexibility, autonomy, and a pretty decent salary. If you think I am kidding, even US News has dentistry as one of the best jobs in America. Doesn't this mean choosing a career in dentistry is a no-brainer then? Well, I wish it were that easy. There are some key things to consider:

Cost: Oh boy, this is a big one. A BIG ONE. One thing you cannot deny, is that the cost to receive a dental education will cost you an arm and a leg? - no. Both arms and legs? - no. A nice family sized home that people sign a 30-year mortgage for? - yes, that's a lot closer. Let me break this down simply. If you look online, there are places that say for a 4-year education, you will end up with $250,000 in debt. However, this is outdated, doesn't take into consideration cost of living while in school, and most importantly, leaves out interest. Interest isn't the same as your undergraduate loans. No, rather than a 3-4% rate, you may be looking at anywhere from a 6-8% rate. 6 to 8 percent.... think about that. Using a famous "Rule of 72" if you divide 72 by the interest rate that's how many years it will take to double your loan/investment. Great case scenario, you get a 6% rate, well you're looking to pay nearly double your loan after 12 years. Yes, you can pay part of the principle down while working, but you can't spend all of that paycheck on loans. Oh, and don't forget taxes do take a cut of your paycheck. Another piece of information is that your interest starts the minute you take out the loan. Long gone are the days of subsidized undergraduate loans sadly.

If you take all of this into mind, dental schools can cost anywhere from $400,000 to $700,000 by the time you step out of dental school with your diploma. How long will it take you to pay this back? Well that's for a whole other post where we do some nice algebra and see some scary numbers. For those of you interested, I highly recommend checking out this post by studentloanplanner.

Corporate Dentistry: Have you seen those Park Dental, Pacific Dental Services, Heartland Dental, Midwest Dental, and other dental buildings spring up around where you live? Well those are corporate businesses where they hire dental students. Better known as DSO's (Dental Service Organizations) they are branch of dentistry where dentists basically go in and work for the organization while leaving management to those in charge. For those of you thinking that dentistry is full of autonomy, these are making it harder and harder for individual dentists to start their own practice. You may shadow dentists in a private practice, but in your case believe me when I say it will be a lot more difficult for you to do the same, given the battle with DSO's. As corporate dentistry starts to expand we may be facing a situation where dentists become more like modern-day pharmacists and doctors at hospitals. Not saying it is now, but something to be aware of.

Physical Toll: Okay, you will probably hear this when you shadow but wanted to say it again. Dentistry is not a cake walk. From stories I've heard and talking to my personal dentist, being a dentist is not easy. The continuous state of being over a patient and doing meticulous procedures causes tension in the arms, hands, neck, and back. Of course, these are things you can practice and exercise, but it also something to note.

Now you may be asking me - "But Ethan, why is dentistry such a good job?", "Should I consider a different career?", "Dentistry isn't all negative, right?". And to those questions I will say this:

Dentistry is a good job: Dentistry still is one of few jobs where you can come out of school and have the potential to open up a personal business and really grow. However, the cost of schools are becoming a problem where it's getting less feasible to be able to do this. You will most likely be faced with the question of how to pay all of the dental debt back, and choose a job like a DSO which provides immediate relief to your financial situation, rather than place yourself in more debt to open up a business. Most importantly, dentistry in my eyes is a noble profession. Few jobs allow you to make a direct impact on peoples lives day in and day out. If this is what you seek, this is a good job for you.

There are other careers: Yes, I will go ahead and say this. The number one job in America is a software developer. This market is booming with technology growing each day. With a four year COLLEGE degree, you can be doing well financially and have a stable life. The jobs are apples and oranges, and I think you need to decide this for yourself.

Dentistry has positives: I'm not going to write too much about it because you most likely have these targeted in your mind. But having a well paying career that helps others, more autonomy, and being respected in society (although feared) are what come to mind.

At the end of the day this is a tough decision to make, and I can see it being more and more difficult as costs of school rise in all sectors in America. I would love to talk on an individual case-by-case basis if you would like to contact me. I hope to upload another blog post where I identify some very good ways to have your dental education paid for. It will be linked to the bottom of this post if so. Ta-Ta for now!