Dentists have to make huge sacrifices to practice their trade. One of those sacrifices is the duration of education: surviving a bachelor's degree + dental school + specialized training and residencies takes a  long time. Another sacrifice is the amount of student loan debt. According to a recent article published by the American Dental Education Association, the average new dentist comes out with $304,824 in student loan debt, with private school graduates coming out even worse at $349,730!