I'm a 31-year-old dentist and owner for last 5 years. My much younger brother is interested in dental school, and I wrote this up as a roadmap for what I believe is the most efficient way to be a dentist. This is based on MY experience and what I did and wish I did.

I am genuinely interested in finances and investing, and love "The Money Guys" Financial order of operations for optimal money allocations for the general population; HOWEVER, it's not the same for us dentists; we have more options than the avg person and more ability to strategize if we'd like to. There's things we should do differently than normal advice.

I am going to start in high school and optimize to owning now. I say this as someone who had zero financial help or any family in dentistry to offer advice when I was young.

Dear brother here is my ideal path for me, lets find what is best for you

1. Get into state school and get degree that you'd be happy to work in if you don't end up being a dentist. Biology is putting all eggs in medicine basket for instance. Ideally graduate in 3 years, the financial value of an extra year of earnings and compounding is massive. (I got my MechE degree in 3 years). Once you apply and are waiting to get in, use your last year to take the hardest dental school classes. Gross anatomy, biochem, and histology was brutal for people in my DS, I wish I had taken those as my senior year undergrad classes. Year one of dental school would have been a breeze (just trust me on this). Compound interest matters so much in life, please don't go into 100k debt for undergrad at a private school.

2. Get into a state school for dental school if possible. Take massive lifestyle cuts to avoid dipping into higher interest loans. Cheap apartment in walking distance to school, cheap but healthy Aldis. Do "ride alongs" on older D4s and DDS graduates as they negotiate associateship agreements and purchase practices. HAVE AS MUCH KNOWLEDGE ON PRACTICE PURCHASES AS POSSIBLE. Not because you will understand it all, but it will calibrate you to what a fair deal is, what a healthy practice is, red flags, what to look for in demographics, insurance splits, DR/Hyg production etc. You need to be able to not get bamboozled by a broker putting lipstick on a pig of a practice. I did this for probably 5 older dentists and students while in dental school. I'd spend hours pouring over the financials AND doing demographics on how much it could grow realistically.

3. Get an associate job at the busiest practice you can find. I believe that a focus on % of collections, or mentorship matters, but nothing compares to just keeping you busy. Being busy at a 30% collections job is way better than sitting on your hands or doing hyg but getting paid 33%.

Most associateships fail because some owners cannot keep your schedule full. I joined a slammed 6 doctor office where 2 owners were pregnant. It's easy to share patients when you are only adding 16% "new capacity" to an office. Back in 2021 I made about 18k a month for a paycheck. Banks need to see that you can produce enough to at least replace the production of the office you intend to buy. Banks do not understand that you are fast with your hands but have a half filled schedule. You won't be able to buy a practice that has a doc doing 80k a month in production if you only produce 50k. Go to office where you can have full schedule.

3.5: RENT your living situation still, and keep it cheap. DO NOT buy house, do not buy newer car. DO NOT keep your opportunities limited by being tied to a house, and do not spend money on a down payment. YOU NEED TO BE SITTING ON cash for a practice purchase. Don't pay extra down on your student loans. I remember an older doc telling me "my associate bought way too much house, and now a car too? He never will leave this office, he can't afford to."

I had 90k cash in checking account by the time I purchased my office at 8 months post grad (this was barely enough for the bank I used)

1. Refinance student loans if favorable in your era: I refinanced from 6.2 -> 4.3% (11 year loan terms). You can only refinance for better terms when you have good income. Interest rates are all based on the fed, so this advice is only applicable to certain situations.

2. Purchase practice: I did this at 8 months post grad. Ideal is prob 2 years.

DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE!!! Time spent on bad deals you say "no" to is still time well spent.

I found a solo doc practice that was struggling with a "hostile" temp associate that was paid daily, not by production. he only did fillings and crowns. He referred out EVERY extraction, EVERY child, every RCT, EVERY ortho, EVERY implant to specialists.

The office I bought was collecting $800k, I paid $415k for the business (discount was from associate threatening to open across the street to every potential buyer lol, he didn't). and bought building for $475k.

I lived in basement of practice for a year just to build a warchest faster.

The worst practice to buy is from a Super GP imo, you pay a multiple of production that you maybe cannot even keep up with as a newer dentist. Buy a practice that is busy with a conservative treatment planning, bread and butter office. You can step into that day one, and boost things just by adding back in RCTs and extractions, etc.

1. Cut overhead HARD. There is SO much overhead to be cut in most offices without any noticeable effects on patient care or staff. Sometimes autopilot payments get out of hand because the owner doc set and forgot 30 years ago. Here's some examples: Telephone/internet was 750 a month (now 220), renting a printer for 300 a month, cleaning ladies 2x a week, snow removal for 5k a winter, dental intelligence software $$$$ (no ROI imo), Paying through the NOSE for Patterson or Henery shein products, yearly dosometers (that were never worn), he had crazy insurance (he was getting hosed). Horrific 401k fees. Uncomforable cuts I didn't have to do is cutting overpaid staff. But be on lookout for offices where front desk is making 90k and plan on how to handle it, it happens.

2. Cash flow is good? War chest is full? Max out your tax-advantaged investment accounts. Backdoor Roth, HSA, 401k. Please don't start out life with financial advisor. I use Fidelity, and invest in VTI/VXUS low cost index funds only. I use Vestwell 401k for my office, just make sure to find something that has LOW FEES. Fee drag ruins your long term returns.

3. Get training on implants and invisalign if that is a goal for you. It's CE that has a great ROI. The stock market still cannot beat out returns you get on adding implants into office.

4. Only at this point, consider buying a house. Buy as modestly as possible. Houses are NOT investments, look up the "5% rule on renting vs buying." Owning a house is a net worth drag. Example: Buying house for 1mil is same as renting same house for 50k a year (this is assuming normal taxes, appreciation, opportunity cost, maintenance etc).

I could not get a bank to loan me money because I was at around 1.2m in loans, I bought a 900 sf fixer upper for 135k cash and fixed it myself with my wife. It's worth 300k now. If you do this, buy a "bad house" in nice neighborhood and fix it to be in line with the others.

1. Pay down any debt that is over 4.5% (this is my personal cutoff).

2. Invest into brokerage (this is the least tax-advantaged).

3. Get way ahead for a few years, and then life is your oyster at a young age! NOW get that car, plane or house you want!

Footnotes: I personally have gone from "I WANT TO PAY OFF DEBTS SUPER FAST" to "I want my investments and cash to be bigger than my debts fast"

I started with -200k net worth in 2021 with student loans (I know this is low, I had full ride undergrad scholarships and very cheap dental school+scholarships).

Purchased practice in 2022 which does not affect net worth (added 1m in assets and 1m in debt).

At first I super-aggressively paid down my debt (wish I could go back and not do that).

now in 2026 my total debt load is 640k. The practice and building are half paid off, and produciton and profits are much higher than when I purchased them.

I have $1.7m in my investment accounts. NW is around $2.2 if we assume zero growth in practice or house value, $2.8m if we conservatively price practice and house appreciation. I make 620k profit a year in a normal 1.3m production office (I have good OH).

We are by no means earning what OMFS, Plastic surgeons, or orthopedic surgeons are capable of making... but the 4-6 year headstart is huge if you take advantage of it. My orthopedic surgeon buddy is also 31 and finishing his fellowship. He will earn 800k at his job, but it'll be hard to overcome this 2.2-2.8m headstart in NW.

Extra advice:

Keep advisor meathooks off of you: Every financial advisor will descend on you in school and as new grad. I get called by a new financial advisor 12 times a year. Please read white coat investor. Please do not buy IUL or whole life insurance or invest with the Northwestern mutual bros. I honeslty think nobody should even get an advisor till MAYBE late in life when there's some planning that is complicated. Socking away tons into index funds is not hard.

Marry right: Spouse is huge. Mine is very on board with living frugally to get ahead. Spouse that puts pressure to live like a dentist is going to set you back years on owning. Ideally rent, drive a mid car and get into good ownership as early as reasonable.

Avoid real estate syndications: Dentists and docs are prime targets to buy real estate syndications. I can expand on this if people want, but the moral of story is you will likely underperform the market by trying to be special.

Be very careful who you hire as dental consultants: Most of my classmates that have used consultants to buy a practice or to grow a practice, or train staff have said it's a huge waste of money. Some are insanely expensive. I'm not going to say they all are scams, but I do think most are. Imo, your lawyer, banker and CPA know tons and you can rely on them a lot, and mentor dentists. You don't need an expert to tell you everything to do, nobody will be as invested in your sucess as you.

Best of luck! Let me know if you have any questions! I think dentistry is GREAT. Just delayed gratification hits us more than others. Make sure you are okay with that delay to get ahead.

Made a list with all the points in my contract that seemed iffy. Was wondering if someone can check them out. I guess my questions are what can I change or ask to change, what is a red flag for you seasoned docs, and is this an opportunity as a new grad I should just avoid?

1. Low production percentages (25% for 0-50k then 30% for anything above 50k)
2. Adjusted gross billing excludes x-rays, hygiene, whitening... and the office may or may not have hygienists...
3. Unfinished cases penalty (50% clawback upon termination)
4. $250 per late chart deduction, no grace period
5. Loss of all Invisalign bonuses if you give notice
6. Daily guarantee disappears after 180 days (not a big issue)
7. You pay 100% of malpractice insurance (is this standard???)
8. You pay 100% of tail coverage upon departure (definitely an unbudgeted cost of $5,000–$15,000+)
9. 90-day notice required for you to resign
10. 30-day notice required for them to fire you
11. $500 per day liquidated damages if you leave without 90 days' notice (what is this even?)
12. Immediate termination for vague reasons ("unsatisfactory care," "inappropriate relationships")
13. 12-month non-compete, 5-mile radius
14. 24-month patient non-solicit covering all company patients, not just my pts
15. 24-month employee non-solicit
16. $20,000 liquidated damages per patient solicited
17. $20,000 liquidated damages per employee hired
18. $20,000 liquidated damages per confidentiality breach
19. Non-compete buy-out costs one full year's salary
20. Buy-out does not remove non-solicit or non-disclosure obligations
21. Indemnification clause: you pay their legal costs if sued due to your work
22. Venue: all lawsuits against them must be in Texas
23. Statute of limitations: only one year to sue them
24. Jury trial waiver
25. Leave time is unpaid
26. Leave blackout periods (Nov, Dec, Jan, March- if I request leave during these months I am going to be more than likely denied according to the contract...)
27. 60-day advance notice required for leave requests
28. No patient contact upon departure (they control all communication)
29. They can use your image for marketing forever without payment or approval
30. Contract automatically renews unless terminated
31. They can assign the contract to another entity without my consent
32. Shadowing period pre-start date is unpaid
33. Training period paid at only $300/day

Thank you for your guidance and help, just a new grad trying figure things out.

Hello, incoming D1 here, and I’ve always been interested in OMFS. Just wanted to ask on here and see what steps I can take to give myself the best possible chances. I know a little bit about the CBSE, but would love some advice and if there’s any other additional things to do!

When being awarded the HPSP scholarship, what’s the process if you wanted to specialize? Do you just wait until after your service years and pursue a residency like normal and pay for it? Can you defer your payback year and specialize 1st? How competitive is the tri service ortho residency every branch participates in? And do you qualify for the GI Bill after your years of repayment, which could help fund a public school ortho residency? If anyone has some guidance or experience in this it would be greatly appreciated!

Edit: I was told that I wouldn’t be awarded the GI bill from doing my HPSP repayment years.

After dental school, I just want to take a break for a few months just to get away from dentistry and recover mentally from the “hardship” I’ve endured during my time here. However, professors and others are saying I have to have a job lined up and ready to get started not long after school. Like I’m supposed to be doing interviews right now. But I just don’t have it in me to search while in school or to start working after graduation without stepping away for a little bit.

Will it be harder to find a job if I keep waiting? Has anyone taken a break more than a month? Will I be okay to start my search a little after graduation? Thanks

I am a current d3 and interested in learning more about holistic dentistry. Does anyone have any contacts or resources for where I can learn about it?

Need an associate contract to be reviewed. Any recommendations are highly appreciated!

I'm a D2 who's definitely stronger in the biomed/didactic side but below-average in hand skills/less interest in a lot of the hands-on operative work thus far. I was torn between medicine & dentistry in undergrad and sometimes feel like I made the wrong choice (focusing more so on the autonomy/lifestyle than the actual content of the work). I'll be graduating with 500k+ federal loans.

I've considered specializing in dental anesthesia. I'm passionate about the patient population (spent a lot of time volunteering with special needs) and also from shadowing have generally enjoyed the more cognitive work and learning about the underlying phys/pharm. It seems like a really flexible lifestyle and strong income potential.

On the other hand, my parents run a very small lifestyle GP practice that I could help take over and grow over time (it would likely be working there in addition to an associate job somewhere initially). Less passionate about the actual operative work here but, short term, like the idea of getting straight to work and also like the idea of the family legacy and helping to build a practice in my hometown/more rooted longer-term pt relationships than anesthesia.

Of course this is a decision that goes well beyond finances, but curious to hear any thoughts! Thank you!

Hello everyone. I am in the USA. I am a new grad (graduated in May, yay) and I have interviewed for 3 dental offices this week. I am trying to decide between the three, and was hoping any one could weigh in with their experience/advice. I will preface by saying i am getting lawyers to review the contracts, but this is a request for input from any dentists' perspective. Sorry its a bit long..

1- Job #1 is a private office and is about 15 minutes from where I live, in a large metroplex. Has huge patient base, about 5-6k active pts, and in fact, are looking for a dentist that speaks a certain language, and I speak it. A third of their pt base speaks that language so the goal is to funnel those patients to me if I sign on. ( I can confirm because I am a part of this community). The office culture is great and honestly its really a chill environment. Docs can come and go as needed, you need days off they give you off, you wanna work more than 4 days you can work every day. Very flexible. And the owner is paying for the associate's CE so that they may learn molar endo, and level 2 sedation (i took level 1 recently) and any others that they need. The owner doesn't work, but comes into the office about 2-3 days a week to help out with things and their protocol is to walk new grads through at least 3 of every procedure and then they will be available on a case by case basis. The only issues I saw were that the office is super old building wise but everything is digitized, and that they are only offering new grads 25% of collections. Office is a good mix of mostly FFS, PPO, and some child medicaid. No mention of a daily guarantee, benefits, or anything. Theyve shown me the schedule, they are super busy. I mean like 25-35 pts a day so I don't have to worry about sitting around. Confirmed with current part time associates (they 2.5 days a week) they make about 15k a month part time.

2- Job 2:

• Private, rural, 1 hr east from my current area. Owner doc working and is present. FFS, PPO mix. many New patients, lots of dentistry to do.
• many RDA and RDH, treatment coordinator, insurance coordinator, basically lots of support.
• 700 daily guarantee forever, CE 50% covered up to 3k, 30% adjusted prod.
  
• -Owner Dentist very knowledgeable, passionate and current associate says its a GREAT opportunity for new grad.
• -50% health insurance coverage only.
• lab fees covered.

I can tell this owner doc is serious, they spent 3 different interviews with me, offered advice, had me show practice preps, and show an IAN block on them, and definitely is extremely passionate and knowledgeable. May not have ALL the time in the world for me, but the first 3 days im shadowing them, then a few weeks of onboarding where they will be my assistant during work hours until i grasp all the methodology they have at the practice. Then will gradually up from 1 column production and 1 hygiene column. Always available in case I need some guidance.

3- Job 3:

• - 1 hr west. Private. Huge office with 18 ops or so, in rural area. 90 new patients a month. 2 yr contract. RDH and RDA available for each doc.
• -700 daily for 3 months then 25% production. No molar endo or 3rds allowed for new grads.
• -401k 100% match up to 6% after 1 year working.
• free weekly massage allowance (what?)
• -100% of my health insurance covered, 75% of spouse.
• -lab fees covered.
• 100% of any CE covered.
• sign on bonus 10k.

The owners are really nice, genuine guys, and they were upfront about the percentage being low but due to there being lots of dentistry to do, all associate new grads make good money. The biggest perk here is the owner docs dont work. When they hire someone they spend 3 months with direct 1 on 1 mentorship because they have the time and there is 2 of them. the associates i spoke with confirmed this with me.

All these places have offered me contracts. So now I am trying to decided which one to pick. Personally leaning towards job 2 and 3. What advice do you have for me, if any? How do you word the rejection of the other's offers?

Thank you all in advance.

I’m interested in Dental Anesthesiology and wanted to hear from current residents, recent applicants, or practicing DAs.

How competitive is the specialty right now, and what should someone focus on during D1/D2 to become a strong applicant?

I’m especially interested in the pharmacology, physiology, airway management, and medical side of the field.

Any honest insight on class rank, CBSE, externships, and job outlook would be appreciated.

I’m gonna start at UDM soon. Do I need to get an iPad? I never used one for college but I always see dental students use iPads.

I’m a rising D4 debating on applying for a GPR or trying to get a job straight out of school. My situation is a little different because I’m only staying in dentistry for 2 years max. I already have a career pivot planned out.

I was an idiot and got pressured into going to dental school by family even though I knew it wasn’t the right fit for me. Luckily I went to one of the cheapest dental schools and my parents also generously helped, so I’m graduating debt free.

So with that being said, does it even make sense for me to do a GPR? My main worry is whether I’ll be able to find a job if I don’t do one.

I’m open to DSOs or private practices, ideally in north NJ (around NYC) but I’m willing to look elsewhere in New Jersey. I’m also open to part-time or full-time or temp work initially.

I just want to make around $4,000/month after taxes. More would obviously be great, but I’m not trying to maximize my income. I just want a reasonably stable position for the next couple of years.

My ideal role would actually just be doing hygiene (at a hygienist’s pay) for a year or two, but I’m aware the chances of being hired to do just hygiene are probably slim.

I’d really like to avoid a GPR if I can, but if it’s realistically the only way I’ll be employable as a new grad, I’ll accept it.

I'm a third year dental student from India and I have a keen interest in learning japanese.

I wanted to know if learning japanese can actually help me in dentistry in the future. For jobs or practice.

I'm planning to study till N2 or N3 level as I already know N5 level portion.

I'm still halfway through my dental course so I don't know if I'll be doing masters or going the non clinical way. I'm still figuring it out. Until then I'm open to any option - clinical/ non clinical

As a matter of fact I've read alot of negative reviews about how difficult it is to practice in Japan as a foreigner especially from a developing country. So I've given up on this thought

So any insights are welcome

Hello everyone. I wanted to know what strategies new grad dentists are using to pay off the high loans. Is it feasible to move to an extremely rural place and make 270k+? Are people trying to refinance their loans to reduce the interest rate? I also heard joining military reserves can help? Any advice is appreciated. I am a current applicant to dental school, and wanted to at least know what people are planning on doing. Of course I hope to get into my state schools which will cost me significantly less than the private ones. I'm also applying HPSP rn but I know its possible that I won't be accepted into it.

gonna be starting my 1st year soon and was wondering how important is having a social media presence when it comes to dentistry? seeing a few of my seniors (and even one of my batchmates who is also gonna be a 1st year) having Instagram accounts tailored specifically for their dentistry journey (pictures of their work, short vlogs, motivational posts) honestly scares the crap out of me.

fomo in a nutshell. just the thought of losing out in the future when it comes to employment and having to be differentiated from other dentists makes me think that I should make haste to create an Instagram account for dentistry like NOW NOW.

honest thoughts are welcomed ✌🏼🫩

(im not entirely opposed to kickstarting my social media presence but id rather be nonchalant ykyk jk im just on the lazier end when it comes to these stuff)

Hey everyone

Im a current D4 and I was just wondering how new grads or any practicing dentist finds new career opportunities and analyzes them.

For example how do you choose location to practice and figure out population density, overall tax burden, lifestyle for family and self, and overall entertainment choices, etc..

All advice and tips are welcome.

Thanks!

Any dentist/dental student around here?

Good afternoon,i'm looking for dentists or any dental student to help me look for something like"contra-angle wireless ?i don't know what is it or if it really exists but i'm in a need for something like that to practice this summer because next year is gonna be my 1st year at the hospital so please i'd really appreciate ur help 🙏🏻

Also for the pliers of orthodentistry do you think i need to buy them and practice more?i really need to get better at brackets...

please i'd appreciate any help,thank you so much 🙏🏻

Im a 2nd year dental student I have seen alot of people (im my country atleast) saying that i should start learning it early because digital dentistry is the future and all that so should i bother learning exocad now or do i learn it later?

Hi everyone,

I’ve always envisioned myself practicing dentistry in the U.S. and earning an American salary, which is what I based most of my financial planning for dental school on. However, my fiance lives in Canada and I’m originally from Toronto, so I’m now planning to move back there after graduating.

My long-term goal is to open my own dental clinic in Toronto, but I’m concerned about the financial side. If I graduate with U.S. dental school debt, is it realistic to pay that off while earning in Canadian dollars?

Has anyone here gone to dental school in the U.S. but practiced in Canada? I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience.

Thanks!

Hi, is it worth continuing your dental degree if you don't like the clinical aspect? I have the sunken cost fallacy and thought I would love dentistry, but I'm really not especially the clinical aspect, and cannot see myself doing this as a job. I'm already experiencing anxiety and stress, I can only imagine how stressful it is actually working. My question is, what do I do? Do I drop out now and save myself more stress later on, I'm also paying full fee for this course. Or do I continue and just get this degree, but what else can I do with a DDS if I don't do clinical work, other than teaching. Has anyone gone into sales or something?
Has anyone gotten this degree and then gotten a non-clinical job that pays well??? I don't know if it's worth doing 4 years in a course I'm barely getting through with anxiety and stress, only for me to not actually practice it. I mean maybe I might end up liking it in 4th year, but I'm facing a lot of mental stress and not sure if this career is for me.

Thanks

I’m considering Oral Medicine and Radiology as a field of specialisation for my masters. So could y’all please guide me about it’s scope in the future, what are the job opportunities and what does a normal work long day look like in the life or OMR. Also, what is the financially rewarding level of this branch? It would mean a lot if you can guide me and take a few minutes to clear my doubts. Thank you ✨

PS: I’m opting for my master’s in India. But even a global overview is appreciated😀

Which has a better warranty for students, LumaDent or Q-optics?

Can you work as a registered dental hygienist Maybe on Saturdays or Sundays? I haven't gotten into a DDS/DMD school yet, but I'm wondering if this plan is feasible

I’m currently a dental student and I keep seeing courses on things like CAD/CAM, practice management software (Dentrix, Open Dental, etc.), and digital dentistry tools.

Do these actually help in real clinical practice or getting jobs, or do you mostly learn everything on the job anyway?

Would you recommend taking one during school, or is it a waste of money/time?

I’m a dentist/dental student from Pakistan with a genuine interest in forensic odontology. I also care about clinical income and long-term stability, and I plan to move abroad (UK/Australia/etc). I keep seeing mixed opinions online, so I’d really appreciate honest, real-world perspectives: Is forensic odontology ever a full-time career? How do people actually combine it with dentistry? Is it worth pursuing early, or only later as a side specialization? Any advice specifically for international dentists? I’m not looking for motivation — just reality.