As of 2020, the School of Dentistry has accumulated a debt of $40 million to the university over the course of a decade.

Faculty have complained that the mounting debt has been attributed to poor decisions and mismanagement from the administration, as well as the lack of transparency regarding the budget.

However, the administration faults the state of Washington's low Medicaid reimbursement.

[4] As a result of the worsening debt, Gary Chiodo, previously the interim dean at Oregon Health & Science University's dental school who helped sort out the financial issues there, was hired to straighten out the finances.

However, the gaps in financial oversight, the antiquated financial systems and the lack of business training for department chairs identified in this audit show the University of Washington still has plenty of work to do.