Bleeding Money
The expense of being a dentist was unexpected.
We can all agree that the most hated activity on earth is…paying bills. So imagine my face when I called my malpractice insurance to update an address and instead was informed that I have a balance of $870 due tomorrow!
My heart folded inwards and I couldn’t even process how I was going to pay it. Not only that but I found out that I had to pay that $870 premium again in November, January and March. That’s every 2 months! How does one afford to give away almost $1,000 of hard earned dollars to a policy that only cost you $50 the first year. It seems so outrageous. And, it is!
Granted, in today’s society, we need malpractice insurance to remain active dentists (without it, any litigation will cost you more) but to pay $1k right out of school just doesn’t seem fair. It’s not like the income of a new dentist is very stable (probably more stable for those who are in DSOs) since most of us work on percentage of production or collection and as new dentists, it’s likely that we don’t have the experience to take on big cases that would normally boost our income.
It wasn’t till now that I realized all the associated costs of being a dentist. It’s not just a steep tuition. It’s malpractice insurance, it’s disability insurance, it’s continuing education, it’s lab costs, it’s new instruments and tools. Seems like it’s going to be awhile before I earn money to save money. In fact, it appears that the only way to succeed as a dentist is to be a practice owner. Thoughts?
Have you heard the latest?
Dr. Hamza Gaj is an Austin-based dentist and proud FIGs ambassador who shares his truth in one of our latest episodes. Here’s a clip from our talk:
To listen to the full episode, click here.
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