Did I miss the train to become a dentist?

[FLdad]

Twenty years ago, I wanted to be a dentist but for personal and economic reasons, it was not possible. I'll be turning 40 this year. I got a B.S. in Marine Biology (Costa Rica) and an MBA (from a U.S. nationally accredited univ.). I have done fairly well (I think). Paid off all loans, started a family, bought a house, job w/steady income (low 50's) but with little room to grow.

Is it too late to start a dental career? How long would it take? If it isn't too late, could I use my existing degree(s) to trim off some of the time/classes required? I do not want to get into any specialties, just a general doctor of dental medicine.

I would be taking a loan for school and living expenses during the time needed to complete degree. I live in south FL and I would be after a lower-cost school (if available).

I am just afraid it may not make any financial sense.....

Thank you all!

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[PaulC]

Best case scenario:

You get into an in-state school.
Kids are older and aren't dependent.
Wife works and makes enough to cover living expenses for the both of you and maybe some of your tuition.
You graduate dental school at 46 with $50k or less in debt.
Pay it off in 2 or 3 years and be happy.

 

[FLdad]

I got my B.S. in '98 and my MBA in '12. kids are in middle and high. Thanks!

 

[Screwtape]

The tuition alone for you (your cheapest in-state school UF) would put you right at $200,000. There are many other costs to add as well. You would not be able to work during the four years of dental school. So that would be another $200,000 in lost income. As you can see, you would be getting yourself into a HUGE investment with a relatively short career in front of you. Financially, there have to be better options for you.

 

[sacapuntas]

It will take you roughly 6-10 years after dental school to be in a financially advantageous position to where you would be if you continued on with your current job. You will be in your mid-50s by then and if you are blessed with good health could work another 10-15 years. To me, that is better than staying your current job as the twilight of your career will be more profitable that it would have been otherwise, and you will be living without the regret you are living with now. If you are in good shape physically, I'd say go for it. Though, if you are only looking at this from a financial prospective, there are likely options with a better ROI.

 

[wb1]

This is a tough one to make since you got wife and kids. a mortgage perhaps.
It would be a sort of selfish act to neglect your kids' education and responsibility as a husband.

I think you will break even from the financial point of view. see my breakdown.

excluding taxes, salary increase, interest, dental school app, potential of laying off for worker B pass age 50 from corporate America,

$50,000 x 25 yr (retire at 65) =1,250,000 estimated salary to be make as a non-dentist

est. dental school debt $ 300,000
5 years of not working $ 250, 000= loss of wages. (1 year to take the prereq. courses)

Dentist at age 45, est. working yr as a dentist 20 yrs. retire at 65.
Some dentist work pass 65.
I know a dental student who is in late 40s. I believe that person will be over 50 when graduate.

est. salary as a dentist $150,000 x 20 yrs = 3,000,000
you will net: $ 3,000,000 - (300,000+250,000+1,250,000)= $ 1, 200,000 (short of $ 25,000 which I think is negligible).

EDIT: I didn't realize that I minus out 1,250,000 in the calculation. You are looking to make $2,450,000 (estimated figures). or looking to earn 1,200,000 on top of what you'd have earn as non-dentist from current work. which i think is a sweet deal. i would still trade dentistry over other career even if I break even.

Let's know if you decide to do it. You have to be physically healthy as well as mention by others.

 

[Dentalguy8621]

Twenty years ago, I wanted to be a dentist but for personal and economic reasons, it was not possible. I'll be turning 40 this year. I got a B.S. in Marine Biology (Costa Rica) and an MBA (from a U.S. nationally accredited univ.). I have done fairly well (I think). Paid off all loans, started a family, bought a house, job w/steady income (low 50's) but with little room to grow.

Is it too late to start a dental career? How long would it take? If it isn't too late, could I use my existing degree(s) to trim off some of the time/classes required? I do not want to get into any specialties, just a general doctor of dental medicine.

I would be taking a loan for school and living expenses during the time needed to complete degree. I live in south FL and I would be after a lower-cost school (if available).

I am just afraid it may not make any financial sense.....

Thank you all!

Tuition at UF has skyrocketed. It's roughly 41,000 for tuition a year. and with fees, instruments, living, will be roughly 60 (frugal living man)-74k a year. Roughly 250,000-290,000 a year. It stinks because our tuition is so darn expensive. Then you have to look into the interest accruing and all that jazz. You look at the figure and decide.

 

[Miley Cyrus.]

I think Physician Assistsant would be a really nice career for you. Only 2 years of school. Can dabble in most things that a doctor does. Career growth is promising. Salary is around $120k and I'm sure it will be going up with all the healthcare reform.

 

[Dentalguy8621]

I think Physician Assistsant would be a really nice career for you. Only 2 years of school. Can dabble in most things that a doctor does. Career growth is promising. Salary is around $120k and I'm sure it will be going up with all the healthcare reform.

This.

 

[Totori]

This is a tough one to make since you got wife and kids. a mortgage perhaps.
It would be a sort of selfish act to neglect your kids' education and responsibility as a husband.

I think you will break even from the financial point of view. see my breakdown.

excluding taxes, salary increase, interest, dental school app, potential of laying off for worker B pass age 50 from corporate America,

$50,000 x 25 yr (retire at 65) =1,250,000 estimated salary to be make as a non-dentist

est. dental school debt $ 300,000
5 years of not working $ 250, 000= loss of wages. (1 year to take the prereq. courses)

Dentist at age 45, est. working yr as a dentist 20 yrs. retire at 65.
Some dentist work pass 65.
I know a dental student who is in late 40s. I believe that person will be over 50 when graduate.

est. salary as a dentist $150,000 x 20 yrs = 3,000,000
you will net: $ 3,000,000 - (300,000+250,000+1,250,000)= $ 1, 200,000 (short of $ 25,000 which I think is negligible).

Let's know if you decide to do it. You have to be physically healthy as well as mention by others.

That seems too low
I would say 180,000 to 200,000 a year for 20 years is more representative of current avg income by a dentist

 

[wb1]

That seems too low
I would say 180,000 to 200,000 a year for 20 years is more representative of current avg income by a dentist

Thanks, good to know. Got to knock down those student loans.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

That seems too low
I would say 180,000 to 200,000 a year for 20 years is more representative of current avg income by a dentist

If you use the average ADA dentist income for practice owners of ~200k, then you will also need to assume the debt that comes along with buying a practice. He certainly won't be making 200k from day 1 with or without owning a practice. I'd say the 150 number over a 20 year career is a decent estimate. Less in the early years and most likely more towards the end of his career.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

I think Physician Assistsant would be a really nice career for you. Only 2 years of school. Can dabble in most things that a doctor does. Career growth is promising. Salary is around $120k and I'm sure it will be going up with all the healthcare reform.

This is a great idea.

Not sure if ANY career in medicine will be going up with healthcare reform, though.

 

[Dentalguy8621]

This is a great idea.

Not sure if ANY career in medicine will be going up with healthcare reform, though.

PA will be. And NP. That's my thoughts though.

 

[Dentalguy8621]

This is a great idea.

Not sure if ANY career in medicine will be going up with healthcare reform, though.

Cheaper skills for the same drills.

 

[Miley Cyrus.]

PA will be. And NP. That's my thoughts though.

Yea, PA/NP will go up. NP requires more work and schooling, but I think it gives more opportunity for going into administrative aspects in medicine (if that's your interest).

If I'm not mistaken, California just passed a bill that will allow NPs to practice independently. If you follow such trends and know a little bit about politics, you will know that as California goes, so goes the rest of the nation. Oregon passed a law that allows PAs to make the same amount of dough that a doctor makes, when it comes to providing primary care services.

 

[hellopeople]

I say if the job seems enjoyable to you dental school can still make sense if you go to a cheap school. I'm just assuming you can get in without leaving work for undergrad classes.

4 years of dental school:
-200K in lost income
-200K for school
- 1% initiation fee with 6.8% interest on a 20 year repayment plan
What's that? Around $570,000 down the hole by the time you hit 44.

Average, say 150,000 to be conservative (or so I hope) per year from 44 until maybe 57 or so.
That's 13 years at an average income of $100,000 above your current pre-tax income.
So, what, around $1,300,000 of increased earning power for those remaining 13 years.
I imagine an increased marginal tax rate cuts into the advantage here, but you still end up ahead by a bit less than roughly $730,000 by my these messy numbers.

Actually, if you had to go to professional school this seems to me to be your best bet. I regretfully agree that dentistry won't have the long-term stability as medicine, but you're not looking as long term as most students. You probably could benefit from the reduced training time.

Dental school sucks though. Just saying.

Good luck.

 

[Firm]

Don't do it. The average income will be much less by the time you finish.

 

[wb1]

Don't do it. The average income will be much less by the time you finish.

please explain more.

 

[Godspeedyou]

Don't do it. The average income will be much less by the time you finish.

Lol reminds me of the thread over on the pre-med section where all the med students/physicians were warning pre-meds to not go to med school because it's a miserable experience/low pay for amount of time spent working/ no one will respect you/ lawsuits/ etc etc.

I think it's interesting how much opinions differ in every field of work, it's almost like people have opinions or something. My childhood pediatric orthodontist highly recommended I go into the field and how his practice pulls in >$4m/year .

Oh and good luck with that bachelor's of (insert science) degree because in 10 years robots will replace you

TL;DR if you pre-dents actually want to help people either go abroad and live in huts and volunteer forever or become a proficient gambler and donate your winnings to charity because the health fields are not for you