Dental school cost

How much is dental school?

Dental school tuition and mandatory fees for the first year averaged $46,845 at public schools for residents, $79,168 at public schools for non-residents and $90,090 at private schools in 2025-26, across the 79 accredited U.S. dental schools.^{[ada_hpi_edu]} A DDS or DMD program lasts four years,^{[adea_curriculum]} so four times the first-year figure gives a rough estimate of tuition alone; living costs, instruments and exam fees come on top.

The “× 4” column is our arithmetic, not an ADA figure; ADEA notes that each school’s financial aid office sets its own full cost of attendance, which includes living expenses.^[adea_cost]

Dental school debt

The average graduate of the class of 2025 who borrowed left dental school owing $297,800, down from $312,700 for the class of 2024, and 82% of graduates had education debt.^[adea_debt] Dental school loans made up 94% of that total; the rest is undergraduate and other debt.

The rates are examples, not current federal loan rates; use the rate on your own loans. Income-driven repayment and loan forgiveness programs change these numbers and are not modeled here.

Is dental school worth it?

With the default inputs (four years at the public resident rate, $297,800 borrowed at 7% over 10 years, and a general dentist earning the BLS median of $170,950 with 28% taxes), dental school pays for itself in about 2.5 years of work.^[oews_dds] The loan payment, $3,458 a month, is 24.3% of that gross salary. The defaults leave out the bachelor’s degree before dental school and the income you could have earned during those years; add your own figures in the “earnings given up” field to include them.

• Pay range: employed general dentists earn $125,710 at the 25th percentile and $224,040 at the 75th; practice owners averaged $215,320 in net income in 2025.^{[ada_hpi_income]} See dentist salary.
• Specializing adds at least two more years of residency for orthodontics, often with its own tuition; see orthodontist salary.
• Exams: the INBDE costs $890; clinical licensure exams and state fees are extra.^{[jcnde_inbde]}

Dental school vs dental hygiene school

Dental school costs roughly eight times as much as an average associate degree in dental hygiene ($22,692 in total tuition and fees) for about 1.7 times the median pay.^{[adea_dh_cost][oews_hyg]} The hygienist path also starts earning four or more years sooner. If you are weighing the two, compare dental hygiene school cost and read how to become a dental hygienist.