Are any of you concerned with funding to purchase a practice after d-school?

[Maybe.a.dentist]

I was talking to a dentist recently and he told me that it's getting tougher to be approved for loans to purchase practices coming right out of school. What are your plans, work as a associate for a while, then get a practice? Hope you get lucky and the banks loan you the money? Have a rich relative ready to kick the bucket?

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[Polkadotfan]

I have no idea honestly. I just want to get in

But honestly from what I've seen volunteering and shadowing I think I would want to work before out-right buying something.
1. I want to know what I want. I've never been a dentist so I don't know what I would want in an office and I don't think it's something I, personally, would learn in school. I've worked in bad environments and shadowed in some that seemed tense. I think to get into this right out of school would suck.
2. I want to know the area. I have no idea where I want to live and therefore would have no idea of the clientele. Even if I did, picking out the place and getting everything set up if I'm not buying a practice would take too long straight out of school I feel.
3 and probably biggest haha.. I would probably make stupid mistakes and get all sorts of crazy instruments because they look cool in the catalog and I would never use them and they each cost a 1000$...(probably x 100 because I would do this a lot without experience). The catalogs have cool stuff...

I would love to plan my next ten years but at this point I want to get in and focus on tuition costs and becoming a great dentist. Who knows...a situation can arise in 4-5 years and I jump at the chance!

 

[NavyDDS1990]

It would be wise to work under a different dentist as an associate first and get an idea of how things work and learn anything that you need to learn before having your own practice. I have heard of some cases where fresh graduates purchasing a practice right after dental school and guess what.. failed.

 

[tlnjd117]

I'm def concerned! My boss is constantly talking about how new grads are going to have to work for dental corporation (Western Dental type places) because we will carry too much debt and not be approved for loans to have our own practices unless our parents have money.. And he tells me this like all the time and I'm like oh thanks .. He's older but he worked for other places for 5 years after graduating back in the day before he started up his own thing

 

[frozenicecreamDMD]

morale of the story:

get in the school that will give you around 300k for total cost of attendance (public school in state, public out of state that give in state after a year).

spend 3-5 years gaining experience, some thick skin, some skills by working under someone and paying down that 300k to hopefully 100k.

take out loan to buy a failing practice and put ur heart and soul to revamp it (around 200k?)

then yea. a plan is still a plan..


some less informed or desperate students who go to USC dental or NYU dental because thats the only place they get into will have to work for the corporation for the longest time because they just can't afford anything else given the debt. no one will loan you 200-300k for a practice when you have 500k student loan and 200k mortgage loan. yet, they still believe dentists have this magical power to print money and pay it back while living a comfortable life.

morale of the story:

go to the cheapest school.

 

[wildzodiac]

Lottery tickets are always a solid investment.

 

[Maybe.a.dentist]

morale of the story:

get in the school that will give you around 300k for total cost of attendance (public school in state, public out of state that give in state after a year).

spend 3-5 years gaining experience, some thick skin, some skills by working under someone and paying down that 300k to hopefully 100k.

take out loan to buy a failing practice and put ur heart and soul to revamp it (around 200k?)

then yea. a plan is still a plan..


some less informed or desperate students who go to USC dental or NYU dental because thats the only place they get into will have to work for the corporation for the longest time because they just can't afford anything else given the debt. no one will loan you 200-300k for a practice when you have 500k student loan and 200k mortgage loan. yet, they still believe dentists have this magical power to print money and pay it back while living a comfortable life.

morale of the story:

go to the cheapest school.

Basically my plan is to minimize debt, it looks like the best option for aspiring dentists. The dentist I was talking to say he thinks in trends continue the way they are a lot of future dentist will be stuck working corporate for far longer than they ever hoped just because the debts are out of hand.

Lottery tickets are always a solid investment.

haha as bad as it is I haven't yet looked at the "odds of winning grand prize 1 in 170,000,000" and thought to myself, "sounds pretty good to me".

 

[JLT223]

Worry about getting into school first.

 

[frozenicecreamDMD]

yea OP worry about getting into dental school and getting out first. dont worry about too much now.

if you get into an inexpensive school, your future will basically be all set. things will come easy and none of the current "off the roof debt" will be a problem to you.

 

[Articaine]

Attend a dental school that won't put you in 500k worth of debt.

 

[deleted696582]

This is one of the reasons it's worth applying to HPSP or HSCP scholarships. If I don't get the HPSP scholarship, my in-state schools like UIC or SIU will still be a lot more affordable than out of state or private schools.

 

[free99]

At the predent level this isn't really something to worry much about, but I get the curiosity, I was the same way. The most important thing you can do right now is to go to the cheapest school possible - this will give you freedom to have more liquid cash on a month to month basis because of the lower monthly student loan payment. Banks care about how much cash comes in and how much goes out per month, how much collateral you have, your credit score, and your business plan. Big student debt will not necessarily prohibit you from getting a practice loan, but it will force you into a higher monthly repayment, equating to less free cash per month, which hurts your overall loan application. Dentists are the 2nd least risky borrowers, second only to funeral homes, and banks know this. That said, times are changing, schools are proliferating, tuition is increasing dramatically every year, and purchasing a practice may not always be as safe of an investment.

 

[EasTexan]

From what I've seen on DT: Banks don't care much about your student debt, that's "good debt". All they care about is that your prospective purchase will be able to cash flow and cover the loan from them. They also, from what I've read, like to see 10% cash reserve in the bank to show you aren't irresponsible with money. You won't necessarily need to put it down on the purchase, they just want to see a little frugality on your part.

That's just what I've gathered from reading. No first hand experience.

 

[ry_guy_chi]

I plan on working as an associate and if I have to (and allowed to) I will work in numerous offices, just to pay off my debt ASAP. And perhaps I will meet a colleague in school that will want to go into practice with me a few years after we graduate.

On a second note, I do intend to specialize in perio or endo and was wondering if specialists tend to open practices or work in clinics? I know an endodontist that works in a clinic and she does very well. She did tell me how she worked as a civilian endodontist on a naval base for several years after school. The periodontist I know owns a practice and works in a clinic and does well too. However, those two doctors could very well be anecdotal examples. I guess this is best left to ponder after getting into dental school and getting through D1 & D2.

 

[tlnjd117]

What bothers me is the minimal value of a new grad dentist. I've heard from hygienists at the office I work at now that they've worked with several associates whom are getting paid LESS than hygienists are ..AND some associates are just doing prophys on patients once a week or so.. It's like new dental grads are expendable (especially living in one of the most dentist saturated areas such as LA) there's a dental office in the same plaza as the laundromat & the liquor store.... Is that what we resort to? And I've heard such horror stories of working for corporations and the corruption and manipulation coming with it, complying with insurance companies or corporate quota and being forced to falsely diagnose and overt treat .. THIS is what scares me. Financing an education & NOT being able to do what I'm actually trying to pursue (own a practice and be an honest dentist) due to the financial deficit we are left with regardless if a school is "cheap" or not.. Debt is debt! ..all in all you literally work towards your dreams, knowing all that and not steering away from the career is what makes us all great future dentists on here we will be ok.. Party at my house in 30 years!

 

[frozenicecreamDMD]

What bothers me is the minimal value of a new grad dentist. I've heard from hygienists at the office I work at now that they've worked with several associates whom are getting paid LESS than hygienists are ..AND some associates are just doing prophys on patients once a week or so.. It's like new dental grads are expendable (especially living in one of the most dentist saturated areas such as LA) there's a dental office in the same plaza as the laundromat & the liquor store.... Is that what we resort to? And I've heard such horror stories of working for corporations and the corruption and manipulation coming with it, complying with insurance companies or corporate quota and being forced to falsely diagnose and overt treat .. THIS is what scares me. Financing an education & NOT being able to do what I'm actually trying to pursue (own a practice and be an honest dentist) due to the financial deficit we are left with regardless if a school is "cheap" or not.. Debt is debt! ..all in all you literally work towards your dreams, knowing all that and not steering away from the career is what makes us all great future dentists on here we will be ok.. Party at my house in 30 years!

these hygienists probably have no shots at getting into dental schools and have to clean teeth all day everyday so they become bitter.

and you cant complain because these dentists can move out of state to a new area and start building hand skills rather than sticking to a super saturated LA where there is a dentist office on every road block.

 

[tlnjd117]

just.

 

[ry_guy_chi]

What bothers me is the minimal value of a new grad dentist. I've heard from hygienists at the office I work at now that they've worked with several associates whom are getting paid LESS than hygienists are ..AND some associates are just doing prophys on patients once a week or so.. It's like new dental grads are expendable (especially living in one of the most dentist saturated areas such as LA) there's a dental office in the same plaza as the laundromat & the liquor store.... Is that what we resort to? And I've heard such horror stories of working for corporations and the corruption and manipulation coming with it, complying with insurance companies or corporate quota and being forced to falsely diagnose and overt treat .. THIS is what scares me. Financing an education & NOT being able to do what I'm actually trying to pursue (own a practice and be an honest dentist) due to the financial deficit we are left with regardless if a school is "cheap" or not.. Debt is debt! ..all in all you literally work towards your dreams, knowing all that and not steering away from the career is what makes us all great future dentists on here we will be ok.. Party at my house in 30 years!

That is why we need to stand together against a mass corporate takeover of dentistry.