Grad PLUS is gone. Here's what paying for dental school looks like now.

For twenty years, the answer to "how do I pay for dental school?" was simple: federal Grad PLUS loans covered your full cost of attendance, whatever your school charged. That ended on July 1, 2026.

Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Grad PLUS is closed to new borrowers. Professional students — dental students included — can now borrow up to $50,000 a year and $200,000 in total from the federal government. Everything above that has to come from somewhere else.

The gap, in real numbers

Dental school cost of attendance — tuition, fees, instruments, insurance and living costs — commonly runs $90,000 to $120,000 a year. Take a four-year program at $95,000 a year, rising 4% annually, which is a fairly ordinary private-school figure.

With interest accruing while you're in school, that becomes roughly $234,000 of federal debt and $246,000 of private debt by the time you enter repayment. Just under half your debt will sit outside the federal system.

If you were already borrowing, you have a window

Students who were already borrowing for their program before July 1, 2026 keep the old limits for up to three more academic years. If that's you — a current D2, D3 or D4 — you can still borrow up to your cost of attendance for the rest of your program. Take the federal money while it's available, even if you were planning to cover a year from savings. It's cheaper than private debt and it keeps your options open.

Six ways to close the gap

Ranked roughly by what they cost you, cheapest first.

• Scholarships and school aid. Every dental school has institutional aid, and most students never ask what they missed. Ask the financial aid office what's awarded after acceptance, not just before.
• Service programs. The Health Professions Scholarship Program (military), the National Health Service Corps, and state loan repayment programs pay tuition or repay loans in exchange for a service commitment. The commitment is real — several years, often somewhere rural — but the money is not a loan.
• Working and saving during school. Modest, but every $10,000 you don't borrow at 11% is about $17,000 you don't repay over ten years.
• Family loans. If a family member can lend at a low rate, put it in writing with a repayment schedule. It protects the relationship and it's genuinely cheaper.
• Private student loans. The default answer for most students. Shop at least four lenders, compare fixed and variable, and read the fine print on cosigner release and hardship deferment.
• A cheaper school. Unromantic, but the biggest lever of all. An in-state school $40,000 a year cheaper saves $160,000 before interest.

If you're taking private loans, compare these five things

Rate is the obvious one. These four matter almost as much:

• Interest while you're in school. Some lenders want interest-only payments during school. It's cheaper overall, but it's a real bill during four years with no income.
• Cosigner release. Whether, and after how many on-time payments, your cosigner comes off the loan.
• Hardship options. What happens if you're between jobs, or your residency pays $65,000.
• Prepayment. Federal loans never penalize early payoff. Confirm your private lender doesn't either.

Plan the repayment before you sign the loan

The mistake to avoid is borrowing first and thinking about repayment in D4. Your federal balance sets your RAP payment, which is based on income rather than balance, and your private balance sets a fixed payment that arrives no matter what you earn. Those two numbers land on top of each other in the same month.

A new associate earning $200,000 with $310,000 in federal loans pays about $1,400 a month on RAP. Add $246,000 of private debt at 11% over ten years and you're adding roughly $3,400 a month on top of it. That's the number that decides whether you can buy a house, or a practice, in your thirties.

What to do this month

• Ask your school's financial aid office for your full four-year cost of attendance, in writing.
• If you started before July 1, 2026, confirm how many years of legacy borrowing you have left.
• Check whether you qualify for HPSP, NHSC or a state program before you take private money.
• Run your numbers through the repayment guide so you know your monthly payment before you sign.

These are estimates based on the federal rules as implemented by the Department of Education, not financial advice. Confirm your own situation with your financial aid office and a CPA who works with dentists.