Financial Planning for Dentists & Dental Specialists
Dental school taught you to care for patients, not navigate student loan forgiveness, practice acquisition financing, or backdoor Roth strategies. SLP Wealth is a fiduciary financial planning firm built to help dentists and dental specialists make confident financial decisions from dental school through retirement.
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Fiduciary Advisors
Your best interest drives every recommendation
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Dental Specialists
Financial planning tailored to every stage of a dental career
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Student Loan Experts
Built on Student Loan Planner®, so loan strategy is in our DNA
Why Dentists Need a Specialized Financial Advisor
Dentists earn strong incomes, but the financial landscape they face looks nothing like most other professionals'. Between six-figure student debt, the possibility of buying or starting a practice, complex tax structures, and high liability exposure, the financial decisions dentists face require more than a generic plan.
Consider the math: the average dental school graduate finishes with over $290,000 in student loan debt. Many dental specialists carry well over $400,000 after completing residency programs in orthodontics, oral surgery, or periodontics. Meanwhile, the decision to become an associate, join a DSO, or buy a practice introduces a completely different set of financial variables — each with major long-term consequences.
Then there's the complexity. Dentists regularly deal with questions that don't come up in a standard financial planning engagement: Should I pursue PSLF at a community health center or refinance aggressively? How do I evaluate a practice acquisition offer? Should I form an S-corp for my practice income? How much disability insurance is enough when my hands are my livelihood?
The wrong answer to any of these can cost tens of thousands of dollars — or more. A financial advisor who works with dentists day in and day out already knows the landscape, the trade-offs, and the strategies that matter most at each stage of a dental career.
That's why working with a dental financial advisor isn't about getting generic advice with a dental spin. It's about partnering with someone who understands practice ownership economics, the associate-to-owner transition, dental-specific tax strategies, and how student loans interact with every other part of your financial plan.
What a Dental Financial Advisor Helps You With
Financial planning for dentists touches nearly every corner of personal finance, but a few areas require especially careful, dental-specific attention. Here's where a dedicated financial advisor for dentists adds the most value.
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Student Loan Strategy
With average dental school debt exceeding $290,000, the repayment path you choose can swing your total cost by six figures. We help you evaluate whether PSLF, income-driven repayment, or aggressive refinancing is the right play — and how it fits your broader financial plan. At SLP Wealth, student loan planning is woven into every engagement, not treated as an afterthought.
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Tax Planning
The gap between good and great tax planning can be worth tens of thousands per year — especially for practice owners. We help dentists take advantage of backdoor Roth IRA conversions, S-corp election, Section 179 deductions for equipment, HSA optimization, and retirement plan design that minimizes your tax burden.
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Retirement Planning
Whether you're contributing to an employer's 401(k) as an associate or designing a solo 401(k) or cash balance plan as a practice owner, dentists have access to powerful savings vehicles. We help you build a retirement plan that accounts for student debt, practice equity, and a career timeline that often starts later than your peers'.
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Practice Ownership & Transitions
Buying, starting, or selling a dental practice is one of the biggest financial decisions you'll make. We help you evaluate practice acquisition offers, model the economics of ownership vs. associateship, plan for partnership buy-ins, and think through whether a DSO affiliation makes sense for your goals.
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Asset Protection & Insurance
Your hands are your livelihood, and a disability could end your career. We address own-occupation disability insurance, term life, malpractice coverage, umbrella policies, and how your assets are titled — so your personal wealth is protected from practice-related risk.
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Cash Flow & Budgeting
Whether you're an associate earning a percentage of collections or an owner balancing practice expenses with personal income, managing cash flow is critical. We help you build a spending framework that lets you enjoy your income while keeping loan repayment, savings, and practice reinvestment on track.
Conor is the Chief Investment Officer and a partner at SLP Wealth. He graduated from the University of Arkansas after studying agricultural economics. He originally began a career as a commodity trader before realizing his passion lay in financial advice.
He enjoys helping those early in their careers find the right path to their goals through comprehensive financial planning. Seeing the confidence manifest in clients who know they are on track and making the right decisions is what drives him day in and day out. His prior work as a planner and investment adviser allowed him to help many families through countless different complex situations.
Outside of work, he can either be found spending time with his wife Isabella and their black lab Lucy or off skiing through trees somewhere.
Jake Courtney is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) Professional and a Certified Student Loan Professional (CSLP®). He is passionate about helping people put meaning behind their money decisions.
His passion for student loan planning stemmed from personal experience, helping his mother, who is an educator, qualify for public service loan forgiveness. He also realized how much stress, anxiety and confusion came along with discussing student loans with financial planning clients. He realized that developing a deep understanding of student loans could genuinely improve the lives of countless borrowers that are balancing so many other priorities for their families.
Jake joined Student Loan Planner in 2023 as a consultant, and later that year joined SLP Wealth as a Financial Planner.
When he’s not nerding out on financial planning topics, Jake enjoys working out, playing golf, watching football and spending as much time as possible with his wife, Melanie, and two labrador retrievers, Otis and Rosie.
Ben Lacomis is a Certified Student Loan Professional (CSLP®), consultant to Student Loan Planner since 2022, and financial planner at SLP Wealth since 2023. His niche specialty is working with physician-households to design student loan repayment and financial plans that align with their lives during career and family transitions. With a deep respect for the medical community and other impact careers like teaching, Ben found that student loan planning has been the best path to help people who help others! It’s his way of giving back.
When he isn’t working with someone to crush their student loan debt, Ben enjoys his time outdoors in Pittsburgh with his Australian shepherd Pippin and golden retriever, Piper.
Connor Pierce is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Student Loan Planner (CSLP®). He is a student loan consultant for Student Loan Planner, a financial planner for SLP Wealth, and also the founder of After the DPT, where he partners with Universities and Businesses to educate their students and employees on student loans.
Connor’s expertise in student loans began with figuring out his own situation when he married his wife, who is also a DPT. As married DPTs, they get to enjoy double the debt, which is not exactly double the fun. Connor has taught at physical therapy and occupational therapy graduate schools around the country on handling student debt after graduation.
Most of his spare time is spent enjoying life with his wife and two kids. He loves working out, reading (or listening on Audible), and playing pretty much any sport (in college he played NCAA Division III basketball and football).
Financial Planning for Dentists at Every Career Stage
Your financial priorities change as your career evolves. Here's how we approach planning for dentists at each stage.
Dental Students & Residents
During dental school and specialty residency, income is low but the decisions you make carry long-term weight. Choosing the right student loan repayment strategy — IDR vs. refinancing, PSLF-eligible employment vs. private practice — can save or cost you hundreds of thousands over the life of your loans.
We also help dental students and residents get the right disability insurance in place while rates are low and your health is typically at its best. For dentists especially, own-occupation coverage is critical since your ability to practice depends on fine motor skills.
Associate Dentists
Your first few years as an associate are all about building momentum. You're navigating compensation structures — daily rates, percentage of collections, or salary — while deciding how aggressively to pay down loans and when (or whether) to pursue practice ownership. This is also when tax planning starts to matter in a big way, especially if you have 1099 income from multiple practices. We help associates create a cash flow plan, prioritize competing financial goals, and make sure you're not leaving money on the table.
Practice Owners
Owning a practice changes everything. You're now managing business finances alongside personal finances — and the two are deeply intertwined. This is where conversations around entity structure (S-corp vs. LLC), retirement plan design (solo 401(k), SEP IRA, or cash balance plan), equipment depreciation, practice valuation, and expansion planning take center stage. Your net worth is growing, and the stakes of getting things right keep rising with it.
Pre-Retirement Dentists
As you approach the end of your clinical career, the focus shifts from accumulation to distribution — and for practice owners, there's the added complexity of a practice sale or transition. How will you draw down assets tax-efficiently? What does your healthcare coverage look like before Medicare kicks in? Should you do Roth conversions during lower-income bridge years? We help dentists nearing retirement stress-test their plan and make sure the transition from earning to living off your portfolio goes smoothly.
How SLP Wealth Is Different
There's no shortage of financial advisors who say they work with dentists. Here's what actually sets SLP Wealth apart.
✅ Fiduciary financial advisors.
We charge transparent fees for financial planning and investment management with no hidden costs. When we identify a need for insurance or other products, we refer you to vetted professionals, and that referral relationship is always fully disclosed.
🎓 Student loan expertise built in.
SLP Wealth grew out of Student Loan Planner®, the largest student loan advisory in the country. Student loan strategy isn't a side offering — it's part of our DNA and a core component of every dental financial plan.
🌐 Virtual and nationwide.
We work with dentists everywhere. No need to find a local office. Your advisor is a video call or message away, which means you get access to a specialist instead of settling for whoever happens to practice nearby.
🦷 Dental focus, not lip service.
Our team advises hundreds of dentists, dental specialists, and other high-income professionals. We know the nuances of practice ownership, associate compensation structures, and how to build a strategy that fits a dental career's unique financial timeline.
💲 Transparent pricing.
Our fees are published right here on this page. No hidden costs, no vague “depends on your situation” answers. You know exactly what you're paying before you commit.
Financial Planning
- First Month 50% Off ($99)
- Financial Planning
- Cash Flow Management
- Insurance Advice
- Retirement Savings Planning
- Student Loan Advice
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Add Additional Services:
We manage your portfolio so you don't have to. Tax-loss harvesting, diversified investments, and low fees, with your goals driving every decision. See our brochure for additional pricing info.
Tax planning, filing*, and services for:
- Individual W-2, K-1
- Single member LLC or Sole Proprietorship
- Amendments for student loan strategies
- Married filing separately included!
*Please visit slpwealth.com/tax-agreement for complete details
1For a limited time, just $199/month for financial planning and we’ll waive your set up fee ($0 instead of $1,000). Those fees are not locked in forever (thanks inflation), but once you sign up, we’ll keep you locked into that monthly rate as long as we can!
Testimonials / Endorsements
David
Dental Specialist“I like that it integrates tax, student loans, financial planning, planning for my kids college and investing all into one.”
Victoria
Dentist“Love connecting with fellow young badass go getters”
Keith
Dentist“I like that my advisor has student loan expertise in addition to financial planning. Loans are such a large part of my financial landscape so I am happy they are considered when planning what to do with my income and savings.”
Doris
Dentist“Specialized to my high income/high student debt situation”
Disclaimer:
These testimonial/endorsement statements were provided by current and former clients in response to client satisfaction surveys. Clients who completed surveys were eligible to participate in a drawing for a gift card awarded to a survey participant chosen at random, not based on survey responses. No compensation was given, and no conflict of interest exists between the client and SLP Wealth.
Financial Planning for Dentists — Frequently Asked Questions
Financial advisor fees vary widely. Commission-based advisors may appear “free” but earn money by selling products. Fiduciary advisors like SLP Wealth charge transparent fees. Our financial planning starts at $199/month with a $0 enrollment fee, investment management starts at 0.25% of assets under management, and we also offer personal tax services for an additional $199/month. When we refer you to an outside professional for insurance or other needs, we always disclose that relationship. You can see our full pricing above.
The earlier the better — but especially during major transitions. Graduating dental school, deciding between associateship and ownership, buying a practice, getting married, having children, or approaching retirement are all inflection points where the right guidance pays for itself many times over. Even during dental school, decisions around student loan repayment and disability insurance can have six-figure consequences.
A fiduciary is legally required to act in your best interest — not sell you products for a commission. Given the complexity of dental finances — practice ownership decisions, high student debt, and the number of financial product salespeople who target high-income dentists — working with a fiduciary provides important protection. At SLP Wealth, every advisor acts as a fiduciary, and when we do refer you to outside professionals for insurance or other needs, that relationship is always transparently disclosed.
The terms are often used interchangeably, but there's a meaningful distinction. A financial planner typically creates a comprehensive plan covering budgeting, taxes, insurance, retirement, and estate planning. A financial advisor may focus more narrowly on investment management. At SLP Wealth, we do both — comprehensive financial planning and investment management — under one roof, so your strategy is always coordinated.
Dentists face a unique set of financial challenges: high student loan balances, the decision of whether to buy or start a practice, complex business entity and tax structures for practice owners, elevated liability and disability risk, and compensation models that vary widely between associateship and ownership. A financial advisor who specializes in working with dentists understands these dynamics and builds plans around them — rather than using a generic template and hoping it fits.
Absolutely. SLP Wealth is a fully virtual firm serving dentists in all 50 states. Most of our client meetings happen over video, and our planning and investment management platforms are accessible from anywhere.
It depends on your financial situation, risk tolerance, and career goals. Practice ownership can significantly increase your income and build equity, but it also means taking on debt, managing staff, and handling the business side of dentistry. We help you model both paths — looking at cash flow, loan payments, tax implications, and long-term wealth building — so you can make the decision with a clear financial picture, not just gut instinct.
