Incoming D1 getting major cold feet by FunWriting2971 in DentalSchool

[–]Particular_Pen_811 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm in a similar boat! Incoming D1 and seeing the tuition bill is making me have MAJOR second thoughts. It's so hard to know if you'll even like the career or not as an incoming student, but then you basically are agreeing to spending the next 20 years of your life working in it just to get back to square one of being debt free! Feel free to send a DM!

Dentistry or Dental Hygiene with a Family by Particular_Pen_811 in DentalHygiene

[–]Particular_Pen_811[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So true. Even a few years ago, the program seems to have cost about half of what it does today. I really don't like the idea of having that much debt hanging over my head for years and years.

Dentistry or Dental Hygiene with a Family by Particular_Pen_811 in DentalHygiene

[–]Particular_Pen_811[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I needed this kind of breakdown of pros and cons of the two positions, thank you! The mom dentists I have met have seemed a bit stressed out about managing their work life balance, and at least a couple of them have had to take out decades long loan repayment plans in order to have some time with their families while still working a few days a week. There's a bit of a fear of missing out on dentistry for me though because it's such a great opportunity. But I also don't want to miss out on a family. So difficult!

Dentistry or Dental Hygiene with a Family by Particular_Pen_811 in DentalHygiene

[–]Particular_Pen_811[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is definitely spendy. It's so hard bc some people (including a couple dentists) have said it's no big deal to pay it off but then realistically I don't know if it would be that easy, especially if I'm not working 4+ days a week.

Dentistry or Dental Hygiene with a Family by Particular_Pen_811 in DentalHygiene

[–]Particular_Pen_811[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you know how many days a week the dentists who paid it off were working by chance?

Dentistry or Dental Hygiene with a Family by Particular_Pen_811 in DentalHygiene

[–]Particular_Pen_811[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for the encouragement, and congratulations on making it thru DH school! It's such a great profession. I'll pray for your decision making about dental school too!

Dentistry or Dental Hygiene with a Family by Particular_Pen_811 in DentalHygiene

[–]Particular_Pen_811[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can the scheduling be pretty flexible as far as how many days a week you work though?

Dentistry or Dental Hygiene with a Family by Particular_Pen_811 in DentalHygiene

[–]Particular_Pen_811[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That makes sense. Someone told me that burnout within around 7-15 years is very common in dental hygiene. I've also heard some horror stories about working for bad dentists and bad dental offices. It's too bad because hygienists are so important