DesiDentist, it's great you have all this ambition. You're on your way to being prepared to bring on dental school when the class of 2007 starts. But earning a DDS is plenty tough by itself without having to earn an MBA or JD at the same time. You're right - an MBA from Penn is probably more attractive than an MBA from Temple - if you were trying to land a job in a big business on Wall Street. To run a successful business in dentistry, the MBA is not really a requirement. Usually you take some courses and seminars and use your own logic and skill (location, treatment presentation, office flow, etc.) to be a successful business person as well as practitioner. I don't know any practicing dentists around here who have an MBA (but maybe that's a regional thing?). The Greater New York Dental Meeting is coming up this weekend; I was glancing at the list of lecturers for the mtg and noticed only 1 had an MBA. And that one is Dr. Roger Levin who is the CEO of Levin Group; he is known for his business/practice management lectures.
Don't get too caught up in the extra degrees unless it's your absolute passion. A DDS is difficult enough and is a very respectable degree regardless of what other letters may follow it. The most common extra degree dentists have is probably an MS that many earn after doing a post-grad speciatly program. I would almost guess that more students pursue a PhD than the MBA in dentistry. Having an MBA doesn't neccesarily make you more "sought after" if you are looking to be an associate and eventually run your own practice. It may give you an edge if you enter into the world of dental products, but weigh your options carefully before signing up for extra courses.
Also, the army/navy/air force programs sound really good on paper, but I would try to talk to some students currently in the program or some recent graduates who are currently doing their payback. Sometimes the recruiters don't want to give out names of these students; you could try asking at the admissions/student affairs offices of the dental schools to see if they will give you the contact info of the students in the army program. If that doesn't work, try e-mailing/contacting class officers at the schools to see if they can put you in touch with the students/recent grads in their classes. The general feeling I get from my classmates about these programs is you have to be totally go-army and committed to the lifestyle; if you are in it for the money, you may find yourself miserable.
