Dental school tuition for in-state resident students averaged between $26,661 and $28,294 in the United States for the academic year ending in 2009. For these students, total tuition for the four-year program averaged $110,084. Tuition averaged between $41,423 and $42,929 per year for nonresident students during the same period. For the nonresidents, total tuition for the four-year program averaged $167,133.
According to the American Dental Association, from 1999 to 2009, the average total costs for in-state resident students at private schools increased an average of 5.7 percent per year. The costs increased from $126,954 to $208,597. At public schools, during the same period, the increases were an average of 8.7 percent per year and totaled $115,998 in 2009.
The most expensive U.S. dental schools ranked by the average cost to complete the dental program, as of 2009, were University of Southern California School of Dentistry: $282,647; University of Pennsylvania, School of Dental Medicine: $264,015; University of the Pacific School of Dentistry: $254,235; Tufts University School of Dental Medicine: $246,800; New York University College of Dentistry: $235,198. These figures represent the total cost, including tuition.
For the schools, the costs of their educational services can be broken down into basic science instruction and clinical instruction. Basic science instruction accounts for approximately 7.5 percent of total school expenditures. Physical plant and library costs represent 14.8 percent, on average. Clinical instruction, at more than 41 percent, comprises the largest share of total school expenditures. Services that students provide in school clinics help to offset some of the schools' expenditures.