According to the American Dental Education Association (ADEA), the average student loan debt for a graduating dentist was almost $300,000 ($296,500) in 2023. And many dentists graduating from specialty programs have debt of $500,000 or more. With interest rates on some of these loans as high as 9.5-10.5%, the debt load can seem unbearable.

This overwhelming debt level causes many young doctors to make poor economic decisions. One of those is to become so hyper-focused on paying off that debt that they neglect funding any retirement savings, even though that’s a better deal. For example, if a young doctor contributes a 4% of pay salary deferral to the practice’s 401(k) plan, they’ll usually qualify for a “free” matching contribution of up to 4% of pay. That’s a “slam dunk” guaranteed way to double your money risk-free, but most young doctors are missing out.