I had a couple of questions on average salaries of an orthodontist vs. that of a plastic surgeon. I have looked at many websites that give possible salaries, but most of them give an average number of less that $200,000 for each of the professions, which does not seem accurate.

So could someone please list the average salary for both profession with the amount of hours per week?

Also on average do orthodontists earn more than most surgeons?

I am not sure if it matters but in city, state of Orlando Fl.

I was referring to cosmetic plastic surgery.

forget both and go for an MBA... you'll be happier

jakstat thanks for repling to a question that was never asked.

I think the above post was suggesting that if you are considering such disparate fields and also asked about money that you did not have much inherent interest. For that reason, an MBA was suggested. Although both may involve humans and procedures, they are a tad bit different.
Sorry if I did not echo what you really meant, Jakstat...

My wife is an orthodontist, and this is what I know:

- private practice average income = $420k, based on a survey by the American Assocation of Orthodontists
- average # days worked: 4
- average # hours worked per week: 32
- average malpractice insurance : <$5,000 per year
- average patient age: 8-16 (no crying babies and no sick old people)
- never on call (well, actually they are on call 24/7 but get about 2 calls per month, and these calls are never true emergencies)
- extremely low stress
- only 2-3 years of residency after dental school, no fellowships required or even available
- majority of orthodontists do not accept insurance

When you take into account the salary compared to the number of hours worked, orthodontists make way more than any other field in healthcare. When you take into account the lack of stress, lack of call, lack of administrative crap from insurance, along with the hours and salary, it might be the best job in healthcare. Of course, I think they don't feel as much glory or satisfaction as surgeons, but perhaps I am just rationalizing... =)

Just keep in mind that orthodontics and for that matter all of the dental specialites are EXTREMELY competitive to get into. If you aren't top 3-4 in your class then better get used to the idea of being a general dentist. IMHO it would be foolish to set out to be an orthodontist without a very inherent interest in dentistry. Chances are good you'd end up as a general dentist. As previously stated, don't make a career decision based strictly on money. You've gotta go with your heart.

Just keep in mind that orthodontics and for that matter all of the dental specialites are EXTREMELY competitive to get into. If you aren't top 3-4 in your class then better get used to the idea of being a general dentist. IMHO it would be foolish to set out to be an orthodontist without a very inherent interest in dentistry. Chances are good you'd end up as a general dentist. As previously stated, don't make a career decision based strictly on money. You've gotta go with your heart.

i don't mean to state the obvious as if it were profound, BUT-- you may make 4x more money than your neighbor who is a pediatrician, but also keep in mind that at the end of the day you're only an orthodontist while you're neighbor is a pediatrician. for some this may matter (adonis complex?), for others it may not... bottom line, if you're in it for the money you could probably make more in less time not going into either profession.

Just keep in mind that orthodontics and for that matter all of the dental specialites are EXTREMELY competitive to get into. If you aren't top 3-4 in your class then better get used to the idea of being a general dentist. IMHO it would be foolish to set out to be an orthodontist without a very inherent interest in dentistry. Chances are good you'd end up as a general dentist. As previously stated, don't make a career decision based strictly on money. You've gotta go with your heart.
Excellent post. :D