is there a best to way to pay off dental loans fast?

[airwolfrocks999]

I'm in need of paying off my dental school loans as quickly as possible. I'm trying to switch to another job, but it requires training in itself. And nothing is realistic until I'm free from my 300k debt.

I graduated from dental school last month and am scheduled to be in a gpr this upcoming July.

What should I do? Should I drop my gpr position?

And is there some sort of dental job that you recommend, so that I can pay off my debts real fast? Any advice in general? ( I don't care about the type of dental work. And I have very little to do in life, so I also don't mind working 80-100 hrs/wk. I'm also willing to relocate anywhere within the continental US. I have a simplisitic lifestyle and don't intend on buying a home soon, just incase it's all relevant to this discussion )

Thanks.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Jaybe]

What should I do? Should I drop my gpr position?

Try the drop your pants position. 😱 That's a lot of cash to try to pay off quickly.

I guess just get as high paying job as possible and work as many hours as you can. Live cheap.

 

[Robert Paulsen]

Do it the old-fashioned way- marry or inherit money...

RP

 

[2006Grad]

I'm in need of paying off my dental school loans as quickly as possible. I'm trying to switch to another job, but it requires training in itself. And nothing is realistic until I'm free from my 300k debt.

I graduated from dental school last month and am scheduled to be in a gpr this upcoming July.

What should I do? Should I drop my gpr position?

And is there some sort of dental job that you recommend, so that I can pay off my debts real fast? Any advice in general? ( I don't care about the type of dental work. And I have very little to do in life, so I also don't mind working 80-100 hrs/wk. I'm also willing to relocate anywhere within the continental US. I have a simplisitic lifestyle and don't intend on buying a home soon, just incase it's all relevant to this discussion )

Thanks.

Go and purchase the book "Personal Finance for Dummies" and then come back and comment on the forum.

 

[diagnodent]

You shouldn't be worried about paying off your loans early until you have enough money to do so. First consolidate your loans on a low interest 30 year plan. You should be getting as much experience in dentistry and the dental business as possible. Then buy an existing practice in a good location. Then start making more money than you can as an associate. Purchase a house and fully fund a retirement plan. Then start paying off your loans early. You need to start aquiring equity and building wealth and you won't even worry about your student loans after a while. This has been my plan and has worked great. I will be debt free exept for my house mortgage and have 500k in retirement by the time I'm 35.

 

[airwolfrocks999]

You shouldn't be worried about paying off your loans early until you have enough money to do so. First consolidate your loans on a low interest 30 year plan. You should be getting as much experience in dentistry and the dental business as possible. Then buy an existing practice in a good location. Then start making more money than you can as an associate. Purchase a house and fully fund a retirement plan. Then start paying off your loans early. You need to start aquiring equity and building wealth and you won't even worry about your student loans after a while. This has been my plan and has worked great. I will be debt free exept for my house mortgage and have 500k in retirement by the time I'm 35.

Thanks for the advice, guys. But as I stated in my original post, I need to pay off my debts really fast because I'm trying to switch to another career.

So I don't need all that dental experience. Rather, I'm looking to see if there is some sort of dental job ( don't care whether I learn from it ) that will allow me to attain an above-average salary and work overtime if necessary.

 

[Cold Front]

Thanks for the advice, guys. But as I stated in my original post, I need to pay off my debts really fast because I'm trying to switch to another career.

So I don't need all that dental experience. Rather, I'm looking to see if there is some sort of dental job ( don't care whether I learn from it ) that will allow me to attain an above-average salary and work overtime if necessary.

This is not common. The time (4 yrs) and money ($300K) you invested to become a dentist will be hard to turn around from. Work once a week as a dentist if you have to, but giving it up all together might be a big mistake.

 

[jackbauer!]

Thanks for the advice, guys. But as I stated in my original post, I need to pay off my debts really fast because I'm trying to switch to another career.

So I don't need all that dental experience. Rather, I'm looking to see if there is some sort of dental job ( don't care whether I learn from it ) that will allow me to attain an above-average salary and work overtime if necessary.

maybe you should have thought about this before going into hundreds of thousand of debt.. 🙄 but i guess you probably already realize that..

jb!🙂

 

[dinesh]

Become a prostitute.

 

[airwolfrocks999]

This is not common. The time (4 yrs) and money ($300K) you invested to become a dentist will be hard to turn around from. Work once a week as a dentist if you have to, but giving it up all together might be a big mistake.

What's the point of working 1x/wk as a dentist?

I'm willing to give up dentistry for good as long as my debts are paid off and I can start fresh with another career. I can't pay off the debts by taking on a different job because I have very little work experience and I need to train from scratch for the career I want to go into.

 

[airwolfrocks999]

maybe you should have thought about this before going into hundreds of thousand of debt.. 🙄 but i guess you probably already realize that..

jb!🙂

But I'm not doing this just for the sake of quitting dentistry. I have some personal circumstances ( hard to explain ) that favors a job change.

 

[Lesley]

I'm in need of paying off my dental school loans as quickly as possible. I'm trying to switch to another job, but it requires training in itself. And nothing is realistic until I'm free from my 300k debt.

I graduated from dental school last month and am scheduled to be in a gpr this upcoming July.

What should I do? Should I drop my gpr position?

And is there some sort of dental job that you recommend, so that I can pay off my debts real fast? Any advice in general? ( I don't care about the type of dental work. And I have very little to do in life, so I also don't mind working 80-100 hrs/wk. I'm also willing to relocate anywhere within the continental US. I have a simplisitic lifestyle and don't intend on buying a home soon, just incase it's all relevant to this discussion )Thanks.

This is a predicament that may be hard to remove yourself from quickly. Assuming the interest rate on your $300,000 of dental school debt is only 4%, you're a monthly payment would be about $5,500/month/five years ($66,000/yr). It is possible you could earn $150,000/yr doing dentistry even as an associate. After taxes and very modest living expenses, you could be free of dental school debt after five years, sooner than that may be overly optimistic. Good Luck.

 

[AMDFAO]

It really depends on the types of loans you have. I'm going to make an educated guess it is NOT all federally backed. Post back types and amounts and what field you want to transition into.

 

[beezies]

This is a predicament that may be hard to remove yourself from quickly. Assuming the interest rate on your $300,000 of dental school debt is only 4%, you're a monthly payment would be about $5,500/month/five years ($66,000/yr). It is possible you could earn $150,000/yr doing dentistry even as an associate. After taxes and very modest living expenses, you could be free of dental school debt after five years, sooner than that may be overly optimistic. Good Luck.

five years on this plan sounds like it could work. in maine the starting rate is around $15K a month (check dentaltown). just curious though, what the hell kinda job are you quitting dentistry for?

 

[1992Corolla]

Did you get onto American Idol? On the Lot? Survivor? Trust me, none of those will work out!

Seriously, good luck with the career move! Sounds like an intimidating mess.

 

[scalpel2008]

I'm in need of paying off my dental school loans as quickly as possible. I'm trying to switch to another job, but it requires training in itself. And nothing is realistic until I'm free from my 300k debt.

I graduated from dental school last month and am scheduled to be in a gpr this upcoming July.

What should I do? Should I drop my gpr position?

And is there some sort of dental job that you recommend, so that I can pay off my debts real fast? Any advice in general? ( I don't care about the type of dental work. And I have very little to do in life, so I also don't mind working 80-100 hrs/wk. I'm also willing to relocate anywhere within the continental US. I have a simplisitic lifestyle and don't intend on buying a home soon, just incase it's all relevant to this discussion )

Thanks.

maybe you should consult an accountant instead of dental students who haven't even started paying off their loans yet.

 

[Turnerjo13]

You should seriously consider playing the lottery

 

[airwolfrocks999]

five years on this plan sounds like it could work. in maine the starting rate is around $15K a month

Starting at $15k/month?

Are you sure about that? Especially for new grads who only have basic skills?
And even if this was for real, I can't imagine these jobs being available for any time.

I just graduated from dental school, and most entry-level salaries were from $72k - $125k / yr among my graduating classmates. Salaries around $80k were most common. I don't know how many hrs/week these salaries involve.

 

[shabu2]

Win the Lottery!😉 Posting a question like what the OP posted will invite many words of non wisdom.

 

[MaxAnn]

I think it will be difficult to pay off in about 5-10 years, but you can do it. If I were in that position, I would look into some sort of loan forgiveness. It may take some digging but do a search for your state and find out if there is anyway you can get some outside help to knock off the debt. Remember to always look at how much you can pay monthly realistically. It is one thing to post numbers here, but different altogether to actually do it every month for years without fail.

Also, try a yahoo job search for "dentist." Last time I looked, there were jobs on there that offered loan forgiveness or repayment.

Even if this only 30 or 60K who cares? Whatever someone else pays, is money you don't have to pay yourself.

Another option would be to simply work overtime. I know it sounds like you are working at a wood mill, but you can realistically do this. I know some dentists that have two jobs; working fulltime at one practice and part time at another. Some of these guys are dealing with alimony, child support and/or kids in college on top of a 2nd marriage and taking care of themselves and the new family. I am assuming you don't have half of that at this point, so you are not alone in these waters.

Whatever you do: Don't ignore the debt. The interest will cause the balance to snowball on you, and it will seriously affect your credit. I would also refrain as much as possible from adding to your total indebtness via credit cards, auto loans, etc. If you have other outstanding debts that are current, keep them there and pay off any other debts that are delinquent or in collection. The only thing worse than collection debt is bankruptcy and that will not save you from any of this.

It will take a lot of discipline to pay off loans of that magnitude in 5 to 10 years, but it can be done. Stay determined.

 

[beezies]

true story, you have to live in the boondocks, but I just recently saw an add for I think Bath Maine, new dentist was okay, starting $15K. It's what got me interested in Maine.

Starting at $15k/month?

Are you sure about that? Especially for new grads who only have basic skills?
And even if this was for real, I can't imagine these jobs being available for any time.

I just graduated from dental school, and most entry-level salaries were from $72k - $125k / yr among my graduating classmates. Salaries around $80k were most common. I don't know how many hrs/week these salaries involve.

 

[rambo2006]

Become a prostitute.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dinesh]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm told it pays quite well, for guys as well 😉

 

[TKD]

Starting at $15k/month?

Are you sure about that? Especially for new grads who only have basic skills?
And even if this was for real, I can't imagine these jobs being available for any time.

I just graduated from dental school, and most entry-level salaries were from $72k - $125k / yr among my graduating classmates. Salaries around $80k were most common. I don't know how many hrs/week these salaries involve.

It's true. Dentistry in rural underserved america salary would be around 10-15K/month. 5 day weeks 8-5. Paid vacation. You may also qualify for loan repayment if it's a FQHC. However before changing careers, why not do the GPR and see if once you get more experience and confidence you actually like dentistry? What are your cirumstances that you're in such a strange predicament?

 

[airwolfrocks999]

I'm told it pays quite well, for guys as well 😉

But what if I'm not good looking?

Since no one here knows me, I'm not embarrassed to say I'm short ( 5' 7 ), too thin, and look like a dog.

 

[airwolfrocks999]

It's true. Dentistry in rural underserved america salary would be around 10-15K/month. 5 day weeks 8-5. Paid vacation. You may also qualify for loan repayment if it's a FQHC. ?

And how exactly are you finding these jobs? Do they specially say 10-15k/month while offering loan repayment and vacation? Any links?

Most of the rural jobs I've seen, FQHC or not, do not mention salary levels on their classified listings.

 

[DesiDentist]

If you are doing a GPR you can defer the loans for another year. But I would try to get your speed up during your "practice" practice and get a job which pays you based on production. On the east coast its not odd to get 40% of your productions. You do a couple crowns a RCT, a few fillings a day you can easily make a $1,500 day. The first 2-3 years are slow but once you get in the groove you will be so busy you won't have time to buy toilet paper, hence you will be using those old 5 or 10 dollar bills. 😛 However, I heard the new silver dollar is quite nice.

DD

 

[iamnew]

😱 u americans have it hard! 300k! brits only pay 3k a year for tuition and even that is paid back at a modest rate

 

[DesiDentist]

a lot more people go to the dentist here in America, I think 🙂

 

[dinesh]

But what if I'm not good looking?

Since no one here knows me, I'm not embarrassed to say I'm short ( 5' 7 ), too thin, and look like a dog.

That sucks, make time for gym between clinic times.

 

[PChemGrad]

Become a professional hit man, you can make a butt load of money on 1 hit.

Or move out of the country and default on your loans.

 

[airwolfrocks999]

On the east coast its not odd to get 40% of your productions. You do a couple crowns a RCT, a few fillings a day you can easily make a $1,500 day.

I don't know. What you describe is far from inconceivable but I don't think it's the norm.

Job listings generally quote $1000+ /day usually for specialists only. And even for a major city on the east coast, general dentists typically make $300-$400/day max.

 

[johntara04]

I don't know. What you describe is far from inconceivable but I don't think it's the norm.

Job listings generally quote $1000+ /day usually for specialists only. And even for a major city on the east coast, general dentists typically make $300-$400/day max.

$300-400 a day?! You guys are getting ripped off. That is what Hygienists make on the east coast. Good grief.

 

[dentwannabe]

hey man, im super curious..

what field are you going into? Business?

I mean, pm me if you have to, but this is killing me. is it dentistry itself? Are you displeased with the job or school or profession?

 

[OceanDMD]

If you are doing a GPR you can defer the loans for another year. But I would try to get your speed up during your "practice" practice and get a job which pays you based on production. On the east coast its not odd to get 40% of your productions. You do a couple crowns a RCT, a few fillings a day you can easily make a $1,500 day. The first 2-3 years are slow but once you get in the groove you will be so busy you won't have time to buy toilet paper, hence you will be using those old 5 or 10 dollar bills. 😛 However, I heard the new silver dollar is quite nice.

DD

Quite frickin misleading people on this website. Do you really think associates are "easily" producing 3.7k/day to take home their 1.5k/day and their 7.5k/week? Come on man! Lets see, that job with about 5 weeks of vacation would pay an associate about 350,000 k / year. Im sure most dentists 2-3 years out are producing 800k/year as an associate as well.

 

[airwolfrocks999]

Quite frickin misleading people on this website. Do you really think associates are "easily" producing 3.7k/day to take home their 1.5k/day and their 7.5k/week?

I was wondering the same thing. Even in the metro, coastal locations, daily take-home salary seems to range from $300 - $500/day. I've seen some associates ( not recent grads ) earn up to $600-ish /day but I'm not finding this common.

 

[johntara04]

I was wondering the same thing. Even in the metro, coastal locations, daily take-home salary seems to range from $300 - $500/day. I've seen some associates ( not recent grads ) earn up to $600-ish /day but I'm not finding this common.

Like I said earlier, $300-500 a day is hygiene pay. If you are making that, you are getting ripped off. Open up your own practice or go work for a dental mill. At least you will be paid what you deserve. $300-500 a day is pathetic for a doctor. You are better than that.

If you open your own shop, do $1500 a day production and keep your office bare bones you will take home $700 a day. It is not hard to make money in dentistry. If you are not making money, that is a U problem. You aren't doing something right. It isn't dentistry's fault. It is yours.

 

[polf]

Why not just do the career switch now? If you're willing to live cheap and work 80hrs a week like you claimed, its definitely doable. Just work your day job, and bartend nights and weekends. You just need an income of $45,000 after tax ($24,000 loan payment over 30 yrs, 21,000 living expense). Even if you're working for minimum wage, you can make that much if you work two jobs.

It may not be financially sound, but if your new career is THAT much better, I think its probably worth it. If you don't see dentistry as your calling, why throw away 5-10yrs of your life doing dentistry when you could be pursuing whatever that is that you want?

 

[airwolfrocks999]

Why not just do the career switch now? If you're willing to live cheap and work 80hrs a week like you claimed, its definitely doable.

Like I said earlier, the career I'm trying to switch to requires training and finances. There's no way I can start fresh if I have 300k in debt, so all of this has to be paid off ASAP before I can change to anything.

 

[johntara04]

Being a general dentist gives you a ton of freedom. Is there anything you like about it? Could you just limit your practice to children, endo, perio, implants, or even just doing hygiene checks? I bet you could make more money in dentistry doing that than any other realistic job. There has got to be something you like.

 

[Rube]

Some people posting these unrealistic numbers don't know jack about actually running a practice. They quote these numbers based on their time shadowing some GP who has been in business 20 years, who took them out to lunch and now they sit around going "See HOW SIMPLE IT IS!!?"

 

[johntara04]

Some people posting these unrealistic numbers don't know jack about actually running a practice. They quote these numbers based on their time shadowing some GP who has been in business 20 years, who took them out to lunch and now they sit around going "See HOW SIMPLE IT IS!!?"

I assume you are talking about me. You don't know me or what I do. You don't have to believe me if you don't want to. BUT, it is that simple. It IS that easy. If not, you would have more dental offices failing. Just the fact alone that we are not given any business training in dental school, and banks are willing to throw hundreds of thousands of dollars at us when we graduate shows you how easy it is.

 

[OceanDMD]

Some people posting these unrealistic numbers don't know jack about actually running a practice. They quote these numbers based on their time shadowing some GP who has been in business 20 years, who took them out to lunch and now they sit around going "See HOW SIMPLE IT IS!!?"

New dentists are graduating with thousands more of debt. There are dental chains now that are working dentists to the bone, charging lesser fees, paying their dentists less, and competing. Less and less dentists are doing start ups now, the trend is to associate or work for a chain. Current marketing is no longer internal, but thousands of dollars are spent on external marketing. Buying a practice or starting one is much more difficult and expensive than it used to be. Banks do not just throw money at Dentists for practice start-up or purchase unless a thorough plan has been presented. You can make plenty of money, and be very successful, but it is not EASY. It takes hard work. Patients arent begging to run into your practice right when you graduate. I speak from experience. I can tell you to beware of students inflating incomes and deflating costs on this forum. It is not SIMPLE, and having a DDS or DMD is certainly not entitlement.

 

[Cold Front]

The best start-ups I have seen are in the underserved communities (or in minority communities).

I have a friend who works at a private practice in south Wisconsin, owned by one dentist, who contracts 150 associates (yes, 150 dentists!) between 6 offices. It all started with the owner targeting a very large Hispanic community in the area, and the success depended on this population very much.

 

[airwolfrocks999]

Just the fact alone that we are not given any business training in dental school, and banks are willing to throw hundreds of thousands of dollars at us when we graduate shows you how easy it is.

Dental schools don't teach business because, with the dental curriculum overloaded as it is, dental students don't want the extra burden of studying more. It just isn't practical to do so.

And whether you open up a deli or a prestigious dermatology suite, banks will perform thorough credit checks. If you don't meet their credit score, they will NOT lend you the loan, not even at a higher interest rate.

 

[airwolfrocks999]

. It is not SIMPLE, and having a DDS or DMD is certainly not entitlement.

Agree. Believe it, I never chose dentistry for money. I never saw it as being profitable anyway; I just assumed it'll be alright, if not superb, in terms of income.

But now to be stuck in deep debt AND being in a mere above-average paying career ( with the hurdles of requiring CE, a so-so job market, keeping tabs with production %, and the physical demand ) ,I really put myself in trouble this time.

I always wished of being given the option of forfeiting my dental degree in exchange for my tuition money so that I can pay off my collectors.

 

[Midoc]

...I always wished of being given the option of forfeiting my dental degree in exchange for my tuition money so that I can pay off my collectors.

I'm kind of curious as to why you would think that would ever be possible. It seems to show a lack of an appreciation for reality. This entire thread seems to show a lack of an appreciation for reality.

 

[OceanDMD]

Agree. Believe it, I never chose dentistry for money. I never saw it as being profitable anyway; I just assumed it'll be alright, if not superb, in terms of income.

But now to be stuck in deep debt AND being in a mere above-average paying career ( with the hurdles of requiring CE, a so-so job market, keeping tabs with production %, and the physical demand ) ,I really put myself in trouble this time.

I always wished of being given the option of forfeiting my dental degree in exchange for my tuition money so that I can pay off my collectors.

Dentistry is one of the highest average incomes to be made as a professional. Regardless of your debt, you need to realize that this income may not be apparent early in your career, but if you make the right choices, watch your debt and credit, you will be happy financially. The important thing is that you love being a dentist. If you dont enjoy doing what we do, the money will not cure how miserable you will be. No amount.

 

[docj1]

Dentistry is one of the highest average incomes to be made as a professional. Regardless of your debt, you need to realize that this income may not be apparent early in your career, but if you make the right choices, watch your debt and credit, you will be happy financially. The important thing is that you love being a dentist. If you dont enjoy doing what we do, the money will not cure how miserable you will be. No amount.

This is very true. The best thing about Dentistry is that you can work as hard as you want to and make alot of money or you can work as little as you want and still make an above average income. This doesn't happen overnight. You have to work hard to get your practice going the way you want it to. the enjoyment comes after a few years when you have a patient population that appreciates and values your service. Once Debt is paid off you can work 2 days a week and still be in a high income bracket. If you hate practicing dentistry this could be difficult.

 

[pmantz]

odd????😕