Dental Hygienist VS Orthodontist

I am currently a senior in highschool and it’s time for me to start applying to colleges. My issue is that I don’t know if I want to talk the easy way out and go to a junior college and earn an Associate’s in Dental Hygiene or go the long way and attended a four year university along with 6 years of dental school and become an Orthodontist. It seems logical to go for the higher paying job (we’re talking $70,000 a year VS $200,000 a year) but I don’t want to spend the next 10 years of my life in school. I can’t afford to put myself and my wallet through that. If I decide to become an Orthodontist then how am I going to live and have a decent paying job while also going to dental school every day/night. I don’t want to be 25 years old working at McDonald’s and starting my career when I’m almost 30. I don’t want to be in student debt for a long time and I knew I will be if I put myself through 10 years of college and dental school then I will be. But if I choose to be a Dental Hygienist, what if I end up struggling to pay all my bills and take care of myself? I’m just so conflicted right now because I don’t think I can make myself go through all that schooling and stress and debt but I also don’t want to struggle to pay bills after my career has started. Not to mention that I have really good grades and everyone in my life expects me to go really far with my education to make a crap ton of money in my future.

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Have you seen a 60 year old dental hygienist? I have not. Aim high.

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.

Seems as though you have already made a decision to become a dental hygienist. Seems wise since you really do not want to do the required schooling to become an orthodontist.

Some colleges/universities offer a BS in Dental Hygiene. You can spend your first 2 years taking dental school requirements while making sure they align with the hygiene requirements. Almost all require you to “apply” to the hygiene program after the first year. That may help you decide if dental school is for you.

There are twice as many applicants to dental school as there are slots. That doesn’t include all the students that get weeded out in freshman chem and then orgo. Every year. Orthodontic programs are even more selective. Dental school is very expensive; most students cover the cost with loans as there are almost no merit awards. If you are choosing ortho because of the salary, it’s not for you. You have to enjoy dentistry or you will be miserable. This career is not forgiving.

Acceptance to a CC dental hygiene program is not a guarantee of acceptance. Your first year is spent taking the general ed requirements, then applying to the program. In my area, there is a minimum one year waiting list as this program is highly competitive.

Have you shadowed your local dentist? Spend a few hours there and also observe the hygienists. Then shadow an orthodontist. See what they do every day.

@WISdad23: I have one FT and 3 PT hygienists. They are 67, 58, 55, and 23. Another retired this spring at 59 due to arthritis issues. Older hygienists tend to age along with their employer dentist.

@dentmom4 that is good to know about the working lifespan of a dental hygienist. Would be interesting to know stats on that. In my experience, some allied health professions don’t age well - personal trainers, massage therapists, aesthetic technicians, dental hygienists, etc. where the market tends to value youth.

Or at age 40 the hygienist gets tired of cleaning teeth 40 hours a week and moves on.

I’m in the dental profession and I honestly can’t say that I recommend becoming an orthodontist. Dentistry has become extremely production focused. Unless you’re in a private practice, corporate dental is taking over many of the clinics and they are akin to the Walmart of dentistry. Every doctor has a minimum daily production goal which is very high, and doctors are expected to see more patients in less time and it can be very stressful. Owning a private practice is expensive and increasingly difficult to maintain due to competition from large corporate dental offices with greater buying power who can offer lower prices. If you’re considering dentistry as a career, I highly recommend you interview a few orthodontists and ask for honest feedback. Interview at least one who has been in practice for 20+ years.

A great option for you would be to become a dental hygienist first. I know dentists who were formally hygienists. I was an interviewer for a dental school admissions office for a time and we always looked very favorably at candidates with dental experience, particularly hygienists, because they know exactly what they are getting into. An added bonus to becoming a hygienist first is the ability to work part-time or during the summer for a high hourly rate which can help fund your dental education. Best of luck!

Here’s the cost for University of Pennsylvania dental school:

$120,300 Year 1
$117,893 Year 2
$121,354 Year 3
$112,828 Year 4

$472,375 Total

And here’s the cost for a state dental school (University of Washington) for a state resident:

$88,234 Year 1
$99,152 Year 2
$94,124 Year 3
$97,392 Year 4

$378,902 Total

And don’t forget the accumulating interest from day 1 of the dental school loan, at 6-7%.

My neighbor who is an orthodontist makes a whole lot more than 200K. Unbelievably lucrative but yes, as others hav pointed out, unbelievably expensive to get there. Become a NYS resident and go to SUNY Buffalo. That is a well regarded program and would be very cost effective.

Just to add something others haven’t mentioned maybe you need to think of something else. Something in the middle. Your two choices are so far apart. Cleaning teeth as a career or a doctor. There is nothing you are interested in the middle between these two carriers that might be a little more intellectually stimulating in the long run, provide a strong income but take less time and money to get there?

I will just add the 378K public institution tuition cost that the previous poster mentioned is what I would guess the orthodontist I know makes a year. He is in private practice and well established for nearly 30 years.

@sjp064301: One route you may not have considered is the military. It’s a way to get your schooling without plunging yourself in debt. Of course, there’s some trade offs, but it may be the right fit for you.

http://www.adea.org/GoDental/Dental_Blogs/Tips_From_Current_D_D_S__and_Dental_Hygiene_Students/Worried_About_Dental_School_Debt__A_Military_Scholarship_Could_Be_Your_Answer.aspx

I know someone that did this in Canada and it worked out great for him.

Best of luck on whatever you choose.

One of the things people don’t often bring up about Allied Health careers is how difficult it can be to find full-time employment with benefits. Dental Hygienist has a good salary, but you’ll see a lot of dental offices advertising part-time or PRN only. There are a lot of reasons for that, but you should be prepared if that doesn’t fit your situation.

It is an odd “choice”, how are your high school stats?

Choosing between community college and Dental school is pretty extreme.

I was going to say the same thing! Why do you have to decide now EXACTLY what you want to do for a living? You know that you have a vague interest in the dental field or some sort of direct-service health field. Why don’t you just apply to a four-year college to get an education? Apply to one that has a dental hygiene program so that can be an option. if you go to college for an education you just might discover other fields you are interested in.

This is not a reason not to pursue a career. Take the long view. I know that is hard for a high schooler. But look at it this way: You are going to be 30 anyway. You might as well be 30 and doing what you want.

By the way, an orthodontist makes AT LEAST double the income you named. In some areas it could be closer to $600k. But in any area it will be a lot more than $200k.

If you are interested in a direct-service health field, look into optometry school. It’s four years post college.

Now I’m curious about what orthodontist students do to make some money during their graduate studies. I assume they don’t work at McDonalds.

No different from medical students, law students, or any other grad students. They take out loans or are supported by spouses or parents.

It is not mutually exclusive to be a dental hygienist and orthodontist. You can start with an UG degree in dental hygienist and decide later whether you want to attend dental school, and after become a dentist, you can later on go back to orthodontist school to learn how become a orthodontist.

I once took my D to a very successful orthodontist office to get first evaluation, he has 10 chairs full of patients and about a dozen nurse running around, plus several doctors. I believe he makes more than 200K a year, more like a million+.