Loans continue to be the main source of debt for dental education, according to data from the American Dental Education Association.
The ADEA provided details on dental school debt in its "Trends in Dental Education" report for 2022-23. The organization received responses from 2,871 survey participants about how they paid for dental school in 2022.
Six ways dental students paid for dental education in 2017 vs. 2022:
2017
Loans: 66 percent
Financial support from parents, relatives or friends: 17 percent
Grants and/or scholarships: 9 percent
Savings from self and/or savings or earned income from spouse: 6 percent
Part-time employment: 1 percent
Other: 1 percent
2022
Loans: 65 percent
Financial support from parents, relatives or friends: 20 percent
Grants and/or scholarships: 10 percent
Savings from self and/or savings or earned income from spouse: 4 percent
Part-time employment: 1 percent
Other: 0.5 percent