Monday, September 7, 2015

STUDENT DEBT AND CORPORATE DENTISTRY---HOW THEY ARE AFFECTING THE DENTAL PROFESSION

The average dental student graduating in 2014 had $241,097 in student debt, and it was not unusual for students completing a residency program to graduate with close to $600,000 loan debt according to figures released by the ASDA (American Student Dental Association).  What a burden these young dentists carry when beginning practice!

Corporate dentistry is growing rapidly with the four largest dental management companies adding 902 practice locations in the past four years, an 85% growth rate.  With the offer of immediate remuneration, these companies are attracting, according to some experts, a majority of recent graduates 

Dental management companies typically pay a producer 25% of production, well under what an owner, partner, or associate in a busy private practice would earn.  In spite of such a limit to their income, many recent dental school graduates are choosing to go to work in corporate dentistry rather than in private practice or in academia.  Their choice is heavily influenced by the over-whelming loan debt they carry which prevents their securing another loan to buy into or buy out an established private practice.  Further, most newly-minted dentists feel an urgency to hit the ground running with a full patient load and no worries about managing a practice---that sounds good after years of “round-the-clock, 24/7” work getting through dental school and, perhaps, a residency program.  Simply eager to begin treating patients, these young dentists do not want to take time to research, negotiate, obtain financing, and decide on a private practice opportunity.  At that point in their careers, they do not realize how such a choice may well limit their future earnings and their pride in being an entrepreneurial health care provider.

Experts in dental practice management are emphasizing the importance of educating  dental students more intensely about the advantages of private practice, such as much greater lifetime earning power; independence to manage your practice as you choose, including such seemingly-minor points as taking your vacation or C.E. days or any time off when you wish rather than when the management company dictates you may be away from the office; and ownership of a very valuable asset to be sold at retirement.  


Through repeated emphasis in lectures and classes on practice management while in dental school and with mentoring by private practitioners, young dentists can be persuaded to go into private practice vs becoming an employee in a large corporation where they are simply a producer with little to no say over their own career and life work.  When hungry to begin practice, a new graduate may give little thought to the negatives of working an entire career under a corporation that is more interested in producing a profit for its stock holders than in care for its patients.  A challenge facing the profession---those of you who love the practice of dentistry in a private setting where the dentist manages her/his own destiny should consider ways to educate and recruit more graduating dentists to follow your example.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

That is a lot of debt to take care of if you really want to be a dentist. Almost all the dentists that I know are super willing to work hard all day long, for as long as it takes. It seems like the debt is a minor issue for them to really do what they love.
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