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Resident Report A resource for dentists in advanced dental education training programs
'Academics' From a Resident's Perspective College academics and a university environment have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My father spent 35 years in college academics, 15 of which were as a director of a graduate program. This fall I began my 12th (and hopefully final) year as a college student. Throughout this 12 year journey I have frequently contemplated the possibility of academics following my formal education. During my residency at Indiana University School of Dentistry (IUSD) I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching in the clinics, interacting with the dental students, and helping them apply their acquired knowledge when treating patients. Is academics even an option for me following my residency? In contemplating this question the first thing that comes to mind is my educational debt. Not only are academic qualifications important, but so are financial planning and education. Can I repay my accrued debt if I choose academics? Before I began dental school I took an informal poll of the dentists that I shadowed and it seemed that after five years of practicing dentistry their student loans were either paid off or significantly reduced and their last payment was not too far away. I have come to realize that while educational debt is relative and comes in many forms and sizes, the bottom line is that dentists entering the field today are borrowing more money and accruing more educational debt than in any time in history. Unfortunately, this trend appears to be rising with no end in sight. According to information made available by the American Dental Education Association (ADEA), the average debt among all graduating dental students in 2006 was $174,241. If these same individuals had loans from undergraduate education their total debt increased to almost $200,000. That is an increase of 300% over the same group that graduated in 1990. This trend shows that individuals that graduated five, 10, or 15 years ago had significantly less debt than those individuals graduating today. What about income potential for today's graduating dentist? While the average income in 2004 increased 117% from the average educational debt for the same time period increased almost 300%.1 I believe this increasing discrepancy between debt to income has forced graduating dentists out of academics and into the private sector where income potential is greater. Or is it? Of the nearly 400 available academic dental positions available today, ADEA estimates that only 8-10% are in the field of periodontics. That equates to 25-40 positions available today in academic periodontics. So what is the earning potential within these positions? According to ADEA, clinical faculty averaged nearly $161,000 in 2003 which included fringe benefits, faculty practice income, as well as incentives. This was just slightly lower than the average income of private practitioners for the same year. So what about compensation as a specialist? According to ADEA, the average income for a specialist in 2004 was 77% higher than that of a general dentist. The American Dental Association's (ADA) 2006 Survey of Dental Practice showed that in 2005 general practice dentists earned an average net income of $198,350, while specialists' average net income was $304,020 for that same year. This report shows an income discrepancy of nearly 54%. According to the ADA and ADEA the average discrepancy between the income of a general practitioner and a specialist is 66%. A general practitioner can earn nearly $50,000/year in a faculty practice. A 66% increase of $50,000 indicates that a specialist could make on the average $83,000/year in a faculty practice. This figure combined with the average base salary of nearly $113,000, indicates that a specialist in academics could make nearly $200,000. While on the average this is 30% less than what a specialist could potentially make in private practice, it is still above the average of a GP's compensation. Dental schools have often been cited for emphasizing academic qualifications while turning a blind eye towards financial and business planning. Nevertheless, through faculty practice, various scholarships and grants, an academic career following my periodontal residency is definitely an option. In the right situation anyone could get enough compensation to have a rewarding academic career and at the same time repay current student loan debt. References Life After Residency—What Are Your Options? You have graduated dental school, are nearing completion of your residency program and now have to decide what career option is best suited to you. Have you considered other paths besides private practice? Want to teach what you know to future dentists? Become an educator. Life in an academic dentistry career combines many aspects such as education, research and for many, a practice outside the classroom. For full-time appointments, many institutions offer a benefit plan that may include retirement plans, health insurance and tuition benefits for the faculty member and his/her family. One resource for dentists interested in seeking a faculty position is the Academic Dental Careers Network (ADCN) provided by the American Dental Education Association (ADEA). The ADCN matches individuals interested in dental and allied dental faculty positions with academic dental institutions seeking to fill vacant positions. You are able to search institutions for available positions, as well as, post your CV for viewing by dental institutions. For more information, please visit ADEA. Like searching for clues to the puzzle? Have the desire to find a better way of accomplishing a goal? A career in oral health research may be the solution for you. The National Institute of Health (NIH) has postings in scientific, research and clinical positions for all of the recruitment sites including The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). For more information, please visit the NIH. In exchange for a two-year commitment to your clinical research career, NIH will repay up to $35,000 per year of your qualified educational debt, pay an additional 39% of the repayments to cover your Federal taxes, and may reimburse state taxes that result from these payments. For further details, including the LRP Application Guide, visit the NIH. Want to experience the world of dentistry by helping individuals around the globe? Volunteer to help in underserved areas around the world. Many volunteers provide training to local health care providers, practice dental treatment in clinics or provide faculty support to universities. Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO) is one organization that provides these opportunities to interested individuals. They have more than 70 projects in 25 countries available. Each project is unique depending on the need of the country. For further information on becoming a volunteer, visit HVO. Interested in federal dentistry? Join the Air Force, Army, Navy, U.S. Public Health Service or Veterans Affairs. Eligible dentists may be eligible for a $30,000 signing bonus and all branches of the federal services offer some form of a loan repayment program. Contact the specific branch for more information regarding salary and other benefits. You can link to all the branches of service online by visiting ADA.org. Residents and Retirement—The Importance of Careful Planning Perhaps you're a resident struggling to make ends meet—not only trying to mesh resident responsibilities with everyday life, but also trying to live on your stipend while paying off your student loans. Saving for retirement is the last thing on your mind—you have bills to pay, a practice with which to invest, as well as a family for which to provide—if not now, certainly sooner than your retirement. So why feature retirement planning to residents? The fact is you have to at the very least start planning for it, if not start funding it. We all know that banking on social security is not being realistic. And the lifestyle you hope to live as a practicing dentist, not to mention a retired dentist, takes sound, long-term financial planning. According to the ADA's 2003 Survey of Dental Practice, the average planned retirement age for a dentist is 63.9-years-old. That may seem a long time off for most of you; however, every day you wait to contribute to retirement means you are losing the most valuable asset of your retirement plan—as the Rolling Stones have been crooning for years, "Time is on my side." Due to compounding, more time, not necessarily more money, is the most beneficial factor for your retirement. Let's take a look an example. Dr. A and Dr. B both started practicing at age 25. Dr. A contributed $2,000 a year for the first 10 years and never contributed another penny. Dr. B didn't contribute for the first 10 years, but put in $2,000 per year for the next 30 years. The difference in their retirement funds follows:
*Assumes growth at an annual rate of 6%. The example is hypothetical and is not intended to be a projection of future values. Retirement Planning Tips
Retirement Resources The ADA Members Retirement Program offers a profit sharing plan with a choice of four 401(k) options—a traditional 401(k), the SIMPLE 401(k), the Safe Harbor 401(k) and the Owners 401(k) for dentists who have no employees. You also have 12 options for investing your money including mutual funds offered by Alliance Capital, Fidelity, Templeton, Putnam, Strong and Western Asset and fixed income options offered by the AXA Equitable Life and Metropolitan Life Insurance Companies. The ADA-endorsed IRA Program offers traditional or Roth IRAs, rollover IRAs, and for business owners, SEP or SIMPLE IRAs. The ADA-endorsed IRA offers you a choice of 16 investment options. For information, call the plan administrator at AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company: 800-248-2138. Out and About... So You Want to Spend More Time with Family In this issue's "Out and About" section, we asked graduate students to share with their colleagues those things they miss most since they started their training programs. Well, your hearts are definitely in the right place. From the many responses we received, more than half said they wanted to spend more time with family. Others indicated they missed volunteering for the underserved, doing research, catching up with old friends, vacationing/travel, exercise, fishing, kite surfing, and other leisure activities, including golf and tennis. Finally, hit the "snooze" button for the one resident who said he'd just like to sleep in every now and then. Do you know a dentist who has gone above and beyond in providing professional guidance to you as you prepare for your career in dentistry? If so, take the time to recognize this person. Show them how much you appreciate their time and guidance by requesting your state or local dental society to nominate them for the Golden Apple Outstanding Leadership in Mentoring Award. This prestigious award is judged by the ADA Committee on the New Dentist and the award recipient will be recognized at the 23rd New Dentist Conference in Miami, FL, April 30–May 2, 2009. Entries must be postmarked by December 1, 2008. Take the time to show your mentor how much you appreciate their time and guidance—contact your state or local dental society today. Feel free to download the application form | PDF file/1.2 MB Giving Back: Plan Now to Give Kids A SmileŽ on February 6, 2009 Every year on the first Friday in February, thousands of dedicated dentists, dental students, hygienists assistants and office managers across the country participate in Give Kids A Smile (GKAS), a program that provides free dental services to underserved children. Most dental schools participate in GKAS Day annually, as do numerous state and local dental societies. This year, please consider pledging your time and expertise to Give Kids A Smile. While a single day of charitable care will never be enough to solve the crisis of access to oral health care for underserved children, GKAS helps to focus attention on the epidemic of untreated oral disease and deliver the message that dentists alone cannot solve the problem without a real commitment from government and society. GKAS provides an effective platform for advocating local and state solutions to help improve access to oral health care. Improving access to oral health care is an important priority of the American Dental Association. The ADA launched GKAS on a national scale in 2003 as an annual one-day volunteer initiative to provide preventive and restorative services to children from low-income families and shine a light on the important need to increase access to oral health care. Please check with the dental school or dental society closest to you (see links below) to connect with a GKAS coordinator, who will explain how you can assist with your community's GKAS plans on Friday, February 6, 2009. Contact your state or local dental association or your nearest dental school. GKAS Program sign-up runs through February 2009. Please note: Give Kids a Smile programs can request free products from GKAS' generous corporate sponsors to use at their GKAS events. Product requests can be accepted only between October 1 and November 14, 2008 this year. (you must register your GKAS program, then follow the prompts to request free products). To learn more, please visit Give Kids a Smile. Kindly direct inquiries to gkas@ada.org. Please help us to help Give Kids a Smile!
This publication of the American Dental Association is offered as information only and does not constitute practice, financial, accounting, legal or other professional advice. Persons need to consult with their own professional advisors for any such advice. |
to learn more about the eligibility and entry guidelines for his award.