Practicing in the Sticks Has Many Benefits
From higher revenue potential to student loan repayment incentives, practicing dentistry in rural communities offers compelling financial and professional benefits while helping close critical gaps in access to care.
While many dental students dream of opening a high-tech, big-city private practice after finishing dental school, there is a more down-to-earth path. Working in rural areas not only improves health outcomes for residents of these regions but also offers financial and quality-of-life incentives.
According to 2024 data from the American Dental Association Health Policy Institute, there were 64.7 dentists per 100,000 residents in urban areas and only 32.7 in rural areas. This leaves patients in rural areas faced with long drives to the nearest provider or little to no access to professional dental care. Increasing the number of providers in rural areas provides myriad benefits including decreasing disease rates, lowering the number of dental emergencies, and improving oral and systemic health.
What dental students may not realize is that owning a rural practice can be more lucrative than practicing in an urban area, where competition for patients is often fierce. The ADA HPI found that dentists in rural areas saw a nearly 12% increase in revenue between 2016 and 2020 and 2021 and 2025 compared to urban practices that experienced a 0.1% decrease in revenue.
Additionally, by agreeing to work in designated dental health professional shortage areas, some student loans may be repaid through programs such as the National Health Service Corp, United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Veteran Affairs Student Loan Repayment Program, and Indian Health Services. These programs offer between $40,000 and $200,000 in loan repayment. Click here to read more.
