Why is Dental so More expensive than Medical School?

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Why is Dental so More expensive than Medical School? I am just curious, and why are Dental School tuitions going up so fast while salaries seem to be steady?

 

[Lesley]

Why is Dental so More expensive than Medical School? I am just curious, and why are Dental School tuitions going up so fast while salaries seem to be steady?

Dental school has always been relatively more expensive than medical school. My brother started medical school one year after I did in 1979. His private school COA was less than my public in-state COA. The equipment/supplies dental students purchase play a large role. Dental students pay extra for summer sessions too. I'm not sure if medical students pay extra when they do summer rotations. As far as DS tutions going up fast while salaries seem to be steady, or in reality incomes not rising as fast as the cost of living, this has been a problem for many professionals for about 30 years now.

I recently found some statistics from the AMSA, American Medical Student Association:

In 1972 tuition at private med/dental schools was $2,500.

In 1982 tuition at private med/dental schools was $10,000

In 1992 tuition at private med/dental schools was $20,000

In 2007 tuiton at private med/dental schools is approaching $50,000

*I have assumed similiar dental school tuition for comparison sake and only slightly approximated figures.

From 1982 to the present medical/dental school costs have been increasing annually, on average, in the 6-7% range. From 1972-1982 costs were increasing annually at about 15%.

In 1978-1982 prime interest rates were in the high teens, doubling the effect of increases in the cost of education and housing. In parts of the country, the cost of housing doubled in less than five years between 1977-1982.

Increases in income for many doctors, dentists and other professions for the past 30 years have not been rising 6% annually, and never 15%.

In my opinion, anyone who obtained an education or purchased a home close or prior to the early to mid-seventies has an economic advantage. Many of those are 55 and over. A recent USAToday article, 5/21/07, confirms this. It effects every profession. Although there is truly a generational "economic" gap, we all have and can continue to deal with it, personally, the best we can. The future is not written in stone. Good Luck!

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-05-20-cover-generation-wealth_N.htm

 

[jaxx]

One reason DS is so expensive compared to Med School is:
The school has to build, supply and staff the Clinics. Then they have to charge less than average fees to get patients to come in. In Med Schools, They have to build the buildings for the first two years, then they can go into an already operating Hospital which charges full fees. Just mho.

 

[LAZYGUY]

well not just making a building, but supporting departmental research, projects, growth, faculty. Many of these hospitals are usually county hospitals that serve largely an uninsured population; in many situations they barely break even. Needless to say, most of our education is subsidized. In texas, $250,000 goes into educating each physician from what I'm told. I haven't seen a lick of that money. But I only pay about 10,000 in tuition and fees.

 

[Sprgrover]

Medical schools are usually heavily subsidized by their affiliated hospitals - which tend to be in or very close to urban centers, they draw in more federal grants for research, and they're able to charge full dollar for their services, all of which helps offset the tremendous cost of operating a healthcare instituion. Dental schools, as others have mentioned, don't charge top dollar for their services (and there's a reason for that, too - it's basically in favor of getting patients for students versus purely meeting the needs of the underserved), and if a school is private they are left to come up with the funds to pay for salaries, equipment and supplies, hazardous waste management, amongst other things. Basically, medical and dental schools have two different cost models that are affected by the way in which people seek care, what their care options are, and how care is delivered/managed. Unfortunately dental schools, especially private schools, are left with a model that isn't too kind to a dental student's wallet - it's not that dental schools are drastically more complicated or expensive to run than medical schools, it's that medical schools are able to shift a lot of expense onto the patient and their insurance providers and off of the student.

 

[Lesley]

Medical schools are usually heavily subsidized by their affiliated hospitals - which tend to be in or very close to urban centers, they draw in more federal grants for research, and they're able to charge full dollar for their services, all of which helps offset the tremendous cost of operating a healthcare instituion. Dental schools, as others have mentioned, don't charge top dollar for their services (and there's a reason for that, too - it's basically in favor of getting patients for students versus purely meeting the needs of the underserved), and if a school is private they are left to come up with the funds to pay for salaries, equipment and supplies, hazardous waste management, amongst other things. Basically, medical and dental schools have two different cost models that are affected by the way in which people seek care, what their care options are, and how care is delivered/managed. Unfortunately dental schools, especially private schools, are left with a model that isn't too kind to a dental student's wallet - it's not that dental schools are drastically more complicated or expensive to run than medical schools, it's that medical schools are able to shift a lot of expense onto the patient and their insurance providers and off of the student.

In some way, the dental student may be subsidizing their patient's dental work. Dental offices are more expensive to run than clinics where medical students often go for at least some rotations. Each dental operatory is a small dental surgical suite. Dentistry is expensive to perform in any setting, hence high fees are necessary to adequately compensate overhead in any setting. Without them, as in a dental school, making money or breaking even is often a losing proposition. Like you stated, hospitals are already serving the general public where the government, insurance companies and paying patients are primarly subsidizing costs for for the uninsured, not the medical school or it's students. Many dental school patients do have medicare or medicaid; however, these subsidy programs and the fees charged to cash patients often fall very short in meeting the cost of any dental treatment. The model you state has been the way dental services have been provided at dental school clinics from the beginning and continues today. As technology continues to accelerate and the commensurate cost of providing dental treatment potentially increases, the additional burden may continue to be primarily shifted to the dental student and institution as many dental school patients are already the underserved and poor. Therefore, if this model continues to remain the same, the cost of a dental education may well increase, comparatively, over time, for the dental student specifically.