It hurts my heart to write this but I'm afraid my alma mater is heading downhill. I graduated a few years ago and relocated to work in private practice and have been enjoying my life since then, but I have a few friends currently enrolled in DMD and residency at Temple that I check in with from time to time.
Over the past couple of years, the dean has made some questionable financial decisions like spending over $75k on new projectors and monitors for lecture halls that sat empty for ~18 months during COVID and raising the prices of clinical procedures to almost 4x their original amount (I hear he walked it back after a LOT of outrage, there's a dental nachos post out there somewhere with numbers) but I'm told care is still not affordable for many patients. For those that don't know, Temple is in North Philly and a good majority of the patients are low income with no insurance or on medicaid. Yes, there is a sliding fee scale but it takes less than 20% off the patient's bill. For patients living below the poverty line that is nowhere near enough to move the needle.
Poor financial management aside, I'm even more concerned about recent changes to the clinical requirements. Both the number of minimum points (procedures) and the minimum required score on those procedures to receive a desirable grade has increased significantly. Some time ago the dean accidentally sent an email meant for faculty to the student body basically encouraging them to give students Bs and Cs because he felt too many people were getting As, and it seems this is a covert mechanism to force students into a produce-or-perish situation.
As my colleagues will attest, production is vital to pay the bills. However, that type of pressure does not make for a healthy or sustainable learning environment for students or faculty. I can recall several of my classmates breaking down over exam grades or key patients bailing on them at the last minute so I can only imagine how overwhelmed current students feel under the increased requirements. As an econ minor in college it's also not wasted on me that increased production means increased profits. I crunched a few numbers based on what current students told me and I am appalled at the results. The chart is below for your review. Students have effectively been tasked with producing an additional ~$80k each or ~$12.5 million as a class to get the same degree I graduated with a few years ago at a lower cost of attendance than what they pay now.
All dental schools basically charge you to work for them but this is just absurd. There's no reason to use dental students like money making hamsters on a wheel. And raising procedural requirements does nothing to help patients pay for those procedures.
If you still apply, do so with your eyes wide open. If you get accepted somewhere cheaper, go there instead. You can make up for any lack of clinical volume during dental school with a GPR or a good mentor your first year out.
Over the past couple of years, the dean has made some questionable financial decisions like spending over $75k on new projectors and monitors for lecture halls that sat empty for ~18 months during COVID and raising the prices of clinical procedures to almost 4x their original amount (I hear he walked it back after a LOT of outrage, there's a dental nachos post out there somewhere with numbers) but I'm told care is still not affordable for many patients. For those that don't know, Temple is in North Philly and a good majority of the patients are low income with no insurance or on medicaid. Yes, there is a sliding fee scale but it takes less than 20% off the patient's bill. For patients living below the poverty line that is nowhere near enough to move the needle.
Poor financial management aside, I'm even more concerned about recent changes to the clinical requirements. Both the number of minimum points (procedures) and the minimum required score on those procedures to receive a desirable grade has increased significantly. Some time ago the dean accidentally sent an email meant for faculty to the student body basically encouraging them to give students Bs and Cs because he felt too many people were getting As, and it seems this is a covert mechanism to force students into a produce-or-perish situation.
As my colleagues will attest, production is vital to pay the bills. However, that type of pressure does not make for a healthy or sustainable learning environment for students or faculty. I can recall several of my classmates breaking down over exam grades or key patients bailing on them at the last minute so I can only imagine how overwhelmed current students feel under the increased requirements. As an econ minor in college it's also not wasted on me that increased production means increased profits. I crunched a few numbers based on what current students told me and I am appalled at the results. The chart is below for your review. Students have effectively been tasked with producing an additional ~$80k each or ~$12.5 million as a class to get the same degree I graduated with a few years ago at a lower cost of attendance than what they pay now.
All dental schools basically charge you to work for them but this is just absurd. There's no reason to use dental students like money making hamsters on a wheel. And raising procedural requirements does nothing to help patients pay for those procedures.
If you still apply, do so with your eyes wide open. If you get accepted somewhere cheaper, go there instead. You can make up for any lack of clinical volume during dental school with a GPR or a good mentor your first year out.
| 2023 points | 2024 points | difference | avg charge/ service | $$$ | |
| triage | 8 | 14 | 6 | 50 | 300 |
| os | 75 | 160 | 85 | 94 | 7,990 |
| radio | 10 | 13 | 3 | 65 | 195 |
| ortho | 9 | 10 | 1 | x | x |
| endo | 40 | 55 | 15 | 302 | 4,530 |
| perio | 150 | 215 | 65 | 72 | 4,680 |
| peds | 105 | 150 | 45 | 75 | 3,375 |
| resto | 625 | 875 | 250 | 250 | 62,500 |
| per student | $ 83,570 | ||||
| x150 students | $ 12,535,500 |
