Dental students graduate with an average of $312,000 in student debt. For many new dentists, student debt impacts where they choose to practice and if they want to pursue a residency. ASDA supports initiatives to reduce the burden of dental student debt to give young dentists more autonomy over their career.
Recent Changes
In July 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law, which will result in several student loan changes for current and future dental students. Student loans are critical to providing opportunities for prospective students to attend dental school.
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans
- Beginning in July 2026, the lifetime cap for Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans will be increased to $200,000 from $138,500 for professional degree programs.
Grad PLUS Loans
- Current borrowers, including those borrowing for the 2025-26 school year, will still have access to Grad PLUS loans to borrow up to the cost of attendance for dental school.
- New borrowers for the 2026-27 year will only have access to Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans for federal loans.
Repayment Plans
Current borrowers must enroll in one of these repayment programs by July 2028:
- Standard repayment plan
- Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan
- Repayment Assistance Program (RAP), scheduled to launch in 2026.
New borrowers will only have access to the standard repayment program or RAP.
What is RAP?
- RAP replaces the ICR, SAVE, PAYE and (for new borrowers) IBR plans, which all calculate monthly payments based on income.
- RAP includes an interest subsidy that prevents principal amounts from increasing if payments are not high enough to cover interest. The subsidy is limited to $50 per month.
- RAP has a 30-year repayment term to qualify for student loan forgiveness.
If you have questions pertaining to the recent changes to student loans, please email advocacydept@asdanet.org.
In the News
- On July 4, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill into law, which included sweeping changes to federal student loans. The OBBB:
- Eliminated Grad PLUS loans, which 76% of dental students use;
- Capped the lifetime federal borrowing limit for dental school programs at $200,000; and
- Reduced the number of federal loan repayment plans to two.
Read more in the July Advocacy Brief.
- On May 22, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s executive order to close the Department of Education. Read more in the June 2025 Advocacy Brief.
- In May, Congress introduced legislation that would significantly change federal student loans, including eliminating the Grad PLUS loan program, lowering borrowing amounts, and reducing loan repayment programs to only two options. The bill passed the House on May 22 and is being considered in the Senate. Read more in the June 2025 Advocacy Brief.
- On March 20, President Trump signed an executive order to take steps to close the Department of Education. Read more in the April 2025 Advocacy Brief.
- The Trump administration has announced its plans to abolish the U.S. Department of Education. Read more in the March 2025 Advocacy Brief about how this could impact your student loans.
- Linda McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Chair of the Center for the American Worker of the America First Policy Institute, was named Secretary of Education in the Trump administration. Read more in the November 2024 Advocacy Brief.