Dear DrBicuspid Member,
The average U.S. dental school student graduates with about $200,000 in loan debt. In fact, these days many new grads leave school with such huge debt loads that their job options are significantly impacted.
As a result, the National Health Service Corps' (NHSC) loan repayment programs are becoming an increasingly attractive choice for many graduating dentists and hygienists. The NHSC offers up to $170,000 in exchange for two to five years of working in a public health clinic. And many practitioners find that the satisfaction of providing care for the underserved keeps them at the clinics long past their initial commitments. Read more.
Speaking of giving back, Dr. Albert Cheek Jr. always wanted to work in dentistry, but for many years it was a "dream deferred." Today he not only runs a private family practice but provides care to hundreds of inmates at correctional facilities in Maryland and to Medicaid patients at inner-city clinics in Washington, DC. Click here to read more in this Practice Management Community profile.
Finally, as part of its efforts to support the development and utilization of dental therapists, the American Association of Public Health Dentistry (AAPHD) has published a series of papers highlighting proposed curriculum guidelines for a two-year training program for dental therapists. Read more.