Dental Anesthesiologist Talks About Being a Millionaire at 32

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aggietxdent

aggietxdent

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Sorry if this has been posted before, but I don't stalk the page so I wouldn't know. Really great motivation to do well even in dental school.

Guy makes $500,000 a year and is a millionaire at 32! Says he had about $250,000 in debt from dental school and residency. General thoughts on how achievable this is or how rare his situation is? I know personally I'll have slightly less debt when I get out (have some savings and TX schools are cheap so I'll be in the $100,000-150,000 range hopefully) but I'm mostly going towards GP with focus on implants/some easy ortho and hopefully buying a practice in a major TX city ~2 years out of school. Thoughts, ideas, comments?

 
Very very rare. First he only has 250k AFTER school and residency. Considering residency can cost up to 50k-80k a year. I mean he must've had some nice scholarships because he essentially paid pennies for dental school.

People are launching themselves into 400k debt WITHOUT residency. He basically finished residency in 2012, 4 years ago.
 

Sure but I mean for TX schools (not the norm I understand) tuition+living expenses is around $220k and they are super generous with the living expenses ( $1,000+ a month in rent in San Antonio is an unnecessarily nice place and ~$5000 a year in travel when school is less than a mile away) so 250k tuition+residency is doable for me at least. I'm honestly not trying to brag about my financial situation, but knowing that's basically the situation I will be in, it can't be THAT rare can it?
 
aggietxdent said:
Sure but I mean for TX schools (not the norm I understand) tuition+living expenses is around $220k and they are super generous with the living expenses ( $1,000+ a month in rent in San Antonio is an unnecessarily nice place and ~$5000 a year in travel when school is less than a mile away) so 250k tuition+residency is doable for me at least. I'm honestly not trying to brag about my financial situation, but knowing that's basically the situation I will be in, it can't be THAT rare can it?
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Its rare for everyone outside of texas schools(probably the cheapest in the nation along with Alabama).

I mean 500k is like 95th percentile so I think you have a high chance of making less than that. However you are in a better position than alot of students.
 
youraverageasia said:
So what kind of residency is a dental anthesthesiologist?
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What do you mean? It's an ADA specialty like any other.

There are generalists and specialists alike that make his income. I worked under one that made a few times more than his, so it isn't unheard of. A recent salary poll on DT found generalist owners who were responding to the poll were making on average $410k.
 
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ncide said:
What do you mean? It's an ADA specialty like any other.

There are generalists and specialists alike that make his income. I worked under one that made a few times more than his, so it isn't unheard of. A recent salary poll on DT found generalist owners who were responding to the poll were making on average $410k.
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Don't mean to split hairs here but the ADA denied their request to be considered a specialty. So they are not an official dental specialty.

Edit: here's the link !
http://www.ada.org/en/publications/...ecognition-for-dental-anesthesiology-rejected
 
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Mascota said:
"All of us are going to be the exception, because we all know a guy who's the exception." - SDN
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Seriously.. everyone here thinks they'all be at the 99 percentile income level but I wonder if they've ever been 99% in anything, GPA in undergrad., DAT, GPA in dental school, hand skills in dental school, business and finance knowledge, etc.

I think people think that as a way to make themselves feel better of having humongous loans. I don't blame them. I'm concerned of the different reality they'll encounter once they graduate.
 
I don't know what you guys are being cynical about this. Why is it bad to want to be the best and be above average? It's people like you with the mindset of "Oh, I'll never be X because the numbers are not on my side or I don't have Y..." Is that what you thought when you applied for Dental School? NO! Everyone who applied, whether you made it in or not yet, thought you were above average in some way and deserved a shot (not necessarily GPA or DAT) but you wouldn't have wasted the money if you didn't think you could make it. Instead of us all coming together and having a thoughtful discussion on how this is possible and how we could possibly accomplish this goal (if this is your goal...it sure is ONE of mine), you come here and go PFTT YA RITE, point and laugh, and move on. Well, I'm sure a lot of people laughed at this guy when he said he was going to be a millionaire in his early 30s and a lot of people went PFTTT YA RITE LOOK AT THE STATS and now who's laughing? Look, I'm not trying to be overly starry eyed and optimistic, but the reason people (me) post stories like this is to prove that people like this exist. That's all I personally need to motivate me. As long as it's not absolutely impossible, why not?
 
Reality? said:
Seriously.. everyone here thinks they'all be at the 99 percentile income level but I wonder if they've ever been 99% in anything, GPA in undergrad., DAT, GPA in dental school, hand skills in dental school, business and finance knowledge, etc.

I think people think that as a way to make themselves feel better of having humongous loans. I don't blame them. I'm concerned of the different reality they'll encounter once they graduate.
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I personally know many dentists who make over 400k a year so it's definitely very possible!
 
aggietxdent said:
I don't know what you guys are being cynical about this. Why is it bad to want to be the best and be above average? It's people like you with the mindset of "Oh, I'll never be X because the numbers are not on my side or I don't have Y..." Is that what you thought when you applied for Dental School? NO! Everyone who applied, whether you made it in or not yet, thought you were above average in some way and deserved a shot (not necessarily GPA or DAT) but you wouldn't have wasted the money if you didn't think you could make it. Instead of us all coming together and having a thoughtful discussion on how this is possible and how we could possibly accomplish this goal (if this is your goal...it sure is ONE of mine), you come here and go PFTT YA RITE, point and laugh, and move on. Well, I'm sure a lot of people laughed at this guy when he said he was going to be a millionaire in his early 30s and a lot of people went PFTTT YA RITE LOOK AT THE STATS and now who's laughing? Look, I'm not trying to be overly starry eyed and optimistic, but the reason people (me) post stories like this is to prove that people like this exist. That's all I personally need to motivate me. As long as it's not absolutely impossible, why not?
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It's not impossible.

I think you should manage your expectations though. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be above average. Average is based on the situation you are in. You may have an above average GPA, so you got into Dental school. But mostly everyone who got into dental school is a above average, so now there is a new average. What happens next? You want to be an above average dental student. Then an above average resident. Then an above average specialist.

There comes a point where one should be proud of their accomplishments and happy with who and where they are.
 
aggietxdent said:
I don't know what you guys are being cynical about this. Why is it bad to want to be the best and be above average? It's people like you with the mindset of "Oh, I'll never be X because the numbers are not on my side or I don't have Y..." Is that what you thought when you applied for Dental School? NO! Everyone who applied, whether you made it in or not yet, thought you were above average in some way and deserved a shot (not necessarily GPA or DAT) but you wouldn't have wasted the money if you didn't think you could make it. Instead of us all coming together and having a thoughtful discussion on how this is possible and how we could possibly accomplish this goal (if this is your goal...it sure is ONE of mine), you come here and go PFTT YA RITE, point and laugh, and move on. Well, I'm sure a lot of people laughed at this guy when he said he was going to be a millionaire in his early 30s and a lot of people went PFTTT YA RITE LOOK AT THE STATS and now who's laughing? Look, I'm not trying to be overly starry eyed and optimistic, but the reason people (me) post stories like this is to prove that people like this exist. That's all I personally need to motivate me. As long as it's not absolutely impossible, why not?
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Being self-aware, and realistic, is an important trait lost to the millennial generation - queue all the unemployed fine arts majors XD
 
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It's a shame they changed this residency from 2 to 3 years....
 
Likkriue said:
Bro everyone on SDN will be ortho/OMFS!

The equivalent of those two are neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery in the medical fields :laugh:.
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Why are you so pessimistic. Let people dream man, not cool to post this to discourage uninformed people


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile
 
aggietxdent said:
I don't know what you guys are being cynical about this. Why is it bad to want to be the best and be above average? It's people like you with the mindset of "Oh, I'll never be X because the numbers are not on my side or I don't have Y..." Is that what you thought when you applied for Dental School? NO! Everyone who applied, whether you made it in or not yet, thought you were above average in some way and deserved a shot (not necessarily GPA or DAT) but you wouldn't have wasted the money if you didn't think you could make it. Instead of us all coming together and having a thoughtful discussion on how this is possible and how we could possibly accomplish this goal (if this is your goal...it sure is ONE of mine), you come here and go PFTT YA RITE, point and laugh, and move on. Well, I'm sure a lot of people laughed at this guy when he said he was going to be a millionaire in his early 30s and a lot of people went PFTTT YA RITE LOOK AT THE STATS and now who's laughing? Look, I'm not trying to be overly starry eyed and optimistic, but the reason people (me) post stories like this is to prove that people like this exist. That's all I personally need to motivate me. As long as it's not absolutely impossible, why not?
Click to expand...

Let them set a boundary/roof on their career. Don't let it discourage you... Your hard work will pay off


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile
 
Everybody seems awfully cynical when presented with the success of others....

On another note,

Let people have goals, dreams, and aspirations; why would you belittle and condemn that?


schmoob said:
You have no right to judge me and my passion for underwater basketweaving!
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Finally! Somebody I can share my passion with!
 
I think the best perspective to have is one of driven optimism with a healthy dose of reality. The pessimism or "groundedness" I should say, is coming from the fact that becoming a millionaire at 32 is well...uncommon. Its the same argument made when a D1 states they want to specialize in xyz but haven't endured the first onslaught of exams yet. However I will never be one to crush anyone's dreams and hopes. If you are determined enough to endure the many all nighters, study like mad, pursue excellence and essentially work your arse off to position yourself to be financially successful, I aint mad at ' cha. When you put action to your words, people start taking you seriously.
 
Typical Average Student said:
Y'all go ahead and be as 'realistic' and stuff... Just more room for us when we apply for residency! :hungry:
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Or maybe they should realize they are going to school to become a dentist. Specializing should happen AFTER you know what you are good at. They haven't even started dental school yet. There's a very high possibility they end up in the bottom 10% of the class. What now?

No ones telling them they shouldn't consider specializing. keyword: CONSIDER. Not be so dead set on ortho and OMFS that they constantly bring those two up on every opportunity they get.

Coincidentally those two are the two highest paying residencies. Really shows where their priorities are.
 
Hypothetically speaking, if one already knows that they don't want to do a residency and/or specialize, it doesn't matter if they are in the bottom 10% of their class, correct? Does being in the bottom 10% limit any job opportunities in term of being a general dentist?
 
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htdt said:
Hypothetically speaking, if one already knows that they they don't want to do a residency and/or specialize, it doesn't matter if they are in the bottom 10% of their class, correct? Does being in the bottom 10% limit any job opportunities in term of being a general dentist?
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If you choose not to specialize you will make your dental school experience a lot less stressful. It won't effect your job opportunities in the slightest.
 
Likkriue said:
Or maybe they should realize they are going to school to become a dentist. Specializing should happen AFTER you know what you are good at. They haven't even started dental school yet. There's a very high possibility they end up in the bottom 10% of the class. What now?

No ones telling them they shouldn't consider specializing. keyword: CONSIDER. Not be so dead set on ortho and OMFS that they constantly bring those two up on every opportunity they get.

Coincidentally those two are the two highest paying residencies. Really shows where their priorities are.
Click to expand...

How are you going to bash on all these people with ambitions to specialize when you a) have never met them and b) haven't spent one day in dental school. It seems like you just do your own research and take these statistics very much to heart. The chance of somebody getting into dental school from undergrad is roughly the same if not lower than the chance of somebody specializing. I agree that you should be open minded in dental school so you can learn about all of the different branches... but there's no need for you to downplay people's ambitions if they have the motivation to achieve it.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
spressomfs said:
How are you going to bash on all these people with ambitions to specialize when you a) have never met them and b) haven't spent one day in dental school. It seems like you just do your own research and take these statistics very much to heart. The chance of somebody getting into dental school from undergrad is roughly the same if not lower than the chance of somebody specializing. I agree that you should be open minded in dental school so you can learn about all of the different branches... but there's no need for you to downplay people's ambitions if they have the motivation to achieve it.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
Click to expand...

You go to dental school to become a general dentist. You specialize afterwards. What part of that don't you understand?

Majority of them aren't going to become OMFS or Ortho. Thats the simple cold hard truth.
 
Likkriue said:
Majority of them aren't going to become OMFS or Ortho. Thats the simple cold hard truth.
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Agreed. But out of the specialists I know, the overwhelming majority said they wanted to be X before school and now are X.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
The majority of the specialists I've spoken to told me they ended up specializing after knowing exactly what each specialty entails.

I'm specifically bashing those that are trying to get into ortho/ OMFS like they are destined to get into the 2 highest paying specialities without even considering they might just end up general dentists.

They are entering the field for all the wrong reasons because if they don't enjoy being general dentists first and foremost, what happens is that they will end up becoming bitter general dentists. That will have an adverse effect on the field.

You go to dental school to be a general dentist. Expect to be one. This is like going into medicine to become a dermatologist but you end up only matching into internal medicine. Now you are bitter because you are working in a field you dislike(There are so many of these around). You go into medicine to become a physician first and foremost.

Specialties come SECOND, not FIRST.
 
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spressomfs said:
Agreed. But out of the specialists I know, the overwhelming majority said they wanted to be X before school and now are X.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
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I'm sure there are even more people that wanted to specialize going into dental school then soon realized they couldn't make the cut. This has already happened to several of my classmates.
 
In real life @Likkriue would mumble something about having priorities in the wrong place while staring at the floor and pissing himself out of embarrassment lol
 
I know a dude who went into ownership right after graduation and now owns 6 practices within couple of years. His name is Hunter . I am sure he makes more money than this guy and he is a general dentist.
 
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