AEGD Question

[HopefulDMD88]

I'm thinking about pursuing an AEGD after dental school. I don't have any interest in a GPR as I don't like the lifestyle of having to be on call, work in a hospital setting, etc.

My question is about the "salary" I see for most AEGD programs that is between $10,000 and $40,000, with most being on the lower end (PLEASE correct me if this is wrong).

How the heck do you live off of this meager salary? I understand that your student loans defer (but will gather interest, making an AEGD even more unattractive), but how can you support a family on ~$20,000 a year?

I feel like I'm missing something HUGE (perhaps you take out loans as well), but I feel like I won't even have the option to attend an AEGD for financial reason.

Thanks in advance, and sorry if this has been answered before but my SDN search came up with nothing.

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[Flipper405]

I have never seen any that low... the ones I've seen are 30-50k (mostly toward the upper end)
Also, not everyone is supporting a family... if you are, you definitely need to consider that before you decide to pursue an AEGD. If you are in this situation and you want to do a residency, your spouse may need to work as well....

 

[HupHolland]

I did an AEGD at a VA and was paid $50k. This is not the norm, most pay much lower. Just wanted to provide an example of a "high" paying AEGD. Also, there are many GPRs that function much like an AEGD, with limited hospital rotations and lots of experience doing bread n butter dentistry. If you look hard enough, they can be found..

hup

 

[potatoes7]

The Lutheran Medical Center AEGD was paying $40k, but they are such a large umbrella of community dental clinics that $40k would go a long way say somewhere in New Mexico compared to New York. It seems the school based AEGD programs, at least the one my friends went to paid $20k and they had to take out more loans or ask money from family to make ends meet.