What income sources did you use to finance your dental education?
Ninety percent of dentists who graduated in 1997 were carrying an average of $84,140 in educational debt, according to the ADA’s 1999 Survey of Dental Graduates.1 Between 1993 and 1997, the average educational debt increased by 31 percent.
More than two-thirds of respondents to JADA’s May Question of the Month said they financed their dental educations with personal or parental income (34 percent) or by taking out loans (35 percent).
Twelve percent said they paid for their educations through other means. Some cited using personal income and loans, while others said they worked their way through dental school or worked from a young age to save for dental school.
A number of readers said their educations were paid for by the U.S. military or the G.I. Bill of Rights. And a few borrowed against life insurance policies or used credit cards.
The remaining 19 percent of respondents said they paid for dental school with either scholarships or grants.
On June 7, President Bush signed into law a $1.35 billion, 10-year tax cut that, in part, expands student loan interest deductions and eliminates tax penalties on health service scholarships.
The additional tax relief will benefit dental and other professional students, residents, interns and new dentists by reducing student debt loads reaching $100,000 or more.
Specifically, the bill raises the income levels at which the annual $2,500 deduction for student loan interest phases out—from the current $40,000 to $55,000 for individual filers and $60,000 to $75,000 for joint filers to $50,000 to $65,000 and $100,000 to $130,000, respectively, for interest paid after Dec. 31. These ranges will be adjusted for inflation beginning in 2003, and the 60-month limit on deductions has been repealed.
The bill also eliminates the tax penalty on National Health Service Corps and Armed Forces Health Professions scholarships by making them eligible for tax-free treatment without regard to the recipient’s service obligation; this will be effective Dec. 31.
The ADA’s Committee on the New Dentist provides financial management information to first-year dental students in a program called "Getting Off to a Smart Start." "The Smart Start seminar is directed to first-year dental students with the hopes that students will keep their debt load as low as possible and to educate them regarding the ins and outs of credit," said Karen Burgess, director, ADA Membership Marketing. "They quickly learn how even a few errors can have a big effect on their practice options."
For more information about the Committee on the New Dentist and what it has to offer, call the toll-free number on the back of your membership card and ask for Ext. 2779, call 1-312-440-2779 or send an e-mail to "newdentist{at}ada.org".
Financial information also is available from the ADA’s Office of Student Affairs in its "Managing Finances" InfoPak. It can be found on ADA.org at: "www.ada.org/prof/ed/newdent/infopaks/finances.html#securing". To order a copy, call 1-312-440-2386 or 1-312-440-7470 or call the ADA’s toll-free number and ask for Ext. 2386 or 7470.
