The ADA's Health Policy Institute (HPI) launched HPI Perspectives, a new series offering concise analyses of trends affecting the dental market, including workforce shortages and shifts in dental student demographics.
The inaugural article examines a new federal student loan cap taking effect July 1, 2026, which will limit professional students, including dental students, to borrowing $50,000 per year in federal loans -- an amount often well below dental school tuition costs. HPI noted the cap could reduce dental student diversity, limit access to care, and reshape the future dental workforce.
