re: Thinking about a career switch from IT to Dentistry

If your wife is a dentist, in all honesty who gives a flip what you do? She clearly plans on working until you have enough money to retire, I mean you act like this is going to be a strain on your family financially and time wise and it's not. If it is a strain that's by choice, anyone should be able to survive and be more than fine with just one dental salary.

Have you considered just being her office manager? You could assist her and patients in a lot of ways and not have to do much actual schooling.