Anesthesiologist vs Dentistry

Pre-Med & Medical School
#1

Good evening, everyone

I had a question in general.

anesthesiologist vs dentistry?

Many have told me not to pursue dentistry due to the high debt students get into once they are out of dental school.

Especially when insurance companies control the dentist’s pay rate of how much they should get paid for their work on a patient, due to insurance companies being picky and in control.

I still have anesthesiology and dentistry on my mind. I"m still thinking of what bachelor’s degree to pursue at the moment.

I’ve read anesthesiologists make a good amount of money but it’s very competitive and a long educational path.

Thanks

#2

You will have high debt after medical school as well.

#3

Thanks for the reply.

Wow there’s no way to out get out of that debt quickly. Med and Dental should not be debt heavily very harsh rules they have.

#4

No rules. It’s just that dental and medical schools are costly, and have precious little aid except loans. Just about every dental and medical school grad has loans, loans and more loans.

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#5

Not all dentists’ pay rate is determined by insurance companies. To my knowledge, that only happens if they join a network. A lot of dentists in our area aren’t in the DPPO or DHMO networks. I don’t know if that’s common in other areas of the country or if it’s a fluke of our state’s insurance regulations. Anesthesiologists are getting more scrutiny by state insurance and federal regulators because so many are out of network and patients get stuck with surprise balance billing and/or have to pay higher out of network cost sharing. Their pay may be “controlled” more in the near future. You can read more by searching for the “No Surprises Act.”

With that said, it appears to me that dentists and anesthesiologists make a very comfortable living. I know we have some local dentist offices that are only open 4 days/week. If they were struggling, I doubt they would be limiting their hours. Maybe you could do some research into the total costs incurred by both paths, starting salaries, how long it typically takes to pay off those loans, are there any alternative paths to having the loans paid off (e.g. if you work for one of those chain dentist offices, do they help with loan repayment? Do big physician groups help pay down med school debt?). Is the debt load manageable given the expected salary you would be earning? Just a few questions to consider.

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