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Trust me when I say this, in the USA, its super competitive to find a good paying job. One thing about grad school in healthcare (med, dental) is that you dont really have to deal with that bs after. You get your degree, and you work.
There are more BS to come after medical and dental schools. My brother is a physician and if the state or insurance doesn't cover procedures, or if the patient exceeds the benefits allowed, you must eat the costs because you must still treat the patient.
For many dentists that accept insurance, we may do reasonable procedures to be later told they won't be paying (as you may know from being a DA). If you didn't commit to any schools (not paying any tuition yet) and can walk away but like the healthcare field, consider PT. Although I may be naive to that field, I only encounter happy Physical Therapists. If you're committed to dentistry, find some mentors to help you through school and afterwards. If you like making money more efficiently, consider being a CPA or a savvy, well connected MBA or both and have good fund raising skills for more lucrative investments like commercial properties or flipping broken companies...possibly more opportunities to do just that after this crisis.
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To the OP, What insurance pays does/does not pay does not mean that the doctor has to eat the cost and collect nothing. A rockstar insurance coordinator/front office staff/treatment coordinator will be able to explain what the patient responsibility is and patient consents to the treatment and
pays for treatment. (Insurance might pay 50% on crowns, if patient met their annual max at another office and then comes to yours and has crown done and insurance denies the claim, patient is responsible for the bill, not the doctor)
What was your dental insurance experience at your job? Did you verify insurance, file claims, appeal rejections, help patients understand their benefits (annual maximum, deductible)? For sure dental insurance companies are greedy (right now they are collecting premiums during pandemic and paying out on very little claims for the next few months, so that means pure profit), doesnt mean dentistry isnt a good field to go into.
Lots of jobs were deemed non-essential during this pandemic doesnt mean they arent good careers. Construction jobs were deemed essential like the crews that builds houses. I would still pick dentistry over construction. With HPSP, you will be in a great spot debt wise.
You will be a DS1 and so much of DS1 yr especially 1st semester is didactic. Instead of having to show up bright and early you could potentially get to be at home and skype into class. Im doing it now in dental schools. Its not that bad (I am a current dental student)
Gotta focus on the positive like that you got into school. I promise there are thousands of student that would jump at the chance to take your spot. Learning how to manage stress and control your emotions is vital to success in dental school. Stay thankful and dont let this time of uncertainty ruin the journey that you are about to start. Best of luck!
