One major source of funding for dental students is the federal government's Stafford Loan program, which provides both subsidized and unsubsidized loans at low interest to borrowers. Although New Jersey Dental School students may now borrow up to the new maximum, they were unable to do so until last July, when the Department of Education changed its policy. In addition, future dentists are more attractive to private creditors, as salaries in the profession boomed in the 1990s. Then there is the notion that today's students are not as frugal as their predecessors. The problem with this kind of behavior is that it can lead to a dentist living the life of a student.
Dental degrees are still an excellent investment .
Maybe I made a mistake. Today, the students are saying we are a person first and a student second. I think that's healthier. Sooner or later, though, a day of reckoning arrives and the debt must be confronted. Rather than try to obtain yet more financing to start or purchase a practice, a new dentist could feel a pressing need for income and decide to work for somebody else.