What have your parents told you about how they expect you to cover the costs of your education? Start with that. If you won’t have the money for college plus dental school plus specialization, it could be that your best option is the Associates program with quick entry into the job market. Here are some very rough calculations. Run them again with your own best estimates:
Associates in two years, with a salary of 70k for say 30 years = 2100k
vs.
Orthodontist in ten years with a salary of 200k for 22 years = 4400k
However, that Ortho degree would include something along the line of 60k x 6 = 360k in debt which including interest is going to work out to be more like 3.6k each month for 10 long years, or something in the line of 5k more you will need to earn before taxes each month for those 10 years - roughly 60k of your income each year will just go to pay off your education. 10 years x 60k = 600k Which means that your debt knocks that guesstimate 22 year income down to 3800k. This also assumes no debt for the undergrad degree.
So the final figure for the orthodontist is indeed more than for the hygenist. But you also need to remember that this does not include any evaluation of the opportunity cost of the extra time spent in college and dental training. The hygenist will have money to buy a car, house, get married, start a family, travel, etc. long before the orthodontist. That person’s “real life” will be able to start a lot sooner. The hygenist, having chosen a shorter career-training program will also be all but guaranteed a decent-paying part-time job if they decide to switch careers and return to college later on in life.
You are smart to be evaluating all of this now before applying to college. Both of these paths get you into the dental industry, but have different pros and cons.
You haven’t given a clear indication as to why these are the only two careers that you are considering. If you have really good grades and decent test scores, there are likely to be a whole lot of other options for you out there. Take a step back, and think about all of the other careers you could have. Maybe you still will want to be in this particular industry, or maybe you will see other things that could be equally rewarding emotionally and financially that don’t call for such long and expensive career training.