What do most general dentists make straight out of Dental School?

Started by hs2013
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hs2013

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What is usually the starting pay for a general practice dentist fresh out of DS or with one year general practice residency? Is the pay increase worth the two year for a orthodontist residency?
 
What is usually the starting pay for a general practice dentist fresh out of DS or with one year general practice residency? Is the pay increase worth the two year for a orthodontist residency?


depends on where you live

in california where there are way too many dentists not many fresh out of DS get full time jobs. Many will sit on their butts for months before finding part time jobs as hygienists and light dentistry.

fresh out of DS in california is lucky to make anywhere near 80k/yr


pay increase many times with orthodontics residency. they're very good at assigning dental assistants to do their work.
 
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pay increase many times with orthodontics residency. they're very good at assigning dental assistants to do their work.

There are almost NO ortho jobs in Cali right now, and the ones that pop up occasionally work you like a dog in a mill and pay mediocre...
 
depends on where you live

in california where there are way too many dentists not many fresh out of DS get full time jobs. Many will sit on their butts for months before finding part time jobs as hygienists and light dentistry.

fresh out of DS in california is lucky to make anywhere near 80k/yr


pay increase many times with orthodontics residency. they're very good at assigning dental assistants to do their work.
I told the associate general dentist who works at the same dental chain with me that I pay my ortho assistant $20 an hour. And he said to me: "Can I come work for you? Your assistants make more than what I make here as an associate dentist." He was, of course, joking but there are days that he makes less than an assistant because he gets paid the percentage of the production…and it's an HMO practice.

And this general dentist is not a new grad. He graduated in 85.
 
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There are almost NO ortho jobs in Cali right now, and the ones that pop up occasionally work you like a dog in a mill and pay mediocre...
Nope, there are not a lot of job opportunities for new grad orthos. However, CA is still a good place for setting your own ortho practices. New grad orthos are just too afraid to take risks of running a practice. 1-2 good referring general dentists is all you need. Ortho is a very profitable specialty. One doesn’t have to charge $5000 a case in order to survive.
 
A wide range would be $80-$120k, depending of course on a lot of tangible (location) and intangible (speed, confidence, charisma) factors.

Hup
 
I told the associate general dentist who works at the same dental chain with me that I pay my ortho assistant $20 an hour. And he said to me: “Can I come work for you? Your assistants make more than what I make here as an associate dentist.” He was, of course, joking but there are days that he makes less than an assistant because he gets paid the percentage of the production…and it’s an HMO practice.

And this general dentist is not a new grad. He graduated in 85.


one day I took home $6. yes I was there the whole day for 8 hours.
It wasn't even enough to pay for the gas, especially with California's high gas price.
 
Nope, there are not a lot of job opportunities for new grad orthos. However, CA is still a good place for setting your own ortho practices. New grad orthos are just too afraid to take risks of running a practice. 1-2 good referring general dentists is all you need. Ortho is a very profitable specialty. One doesn't have to charge $5000 a case in order to survive.

exactly!
 
Nope, there are not a lot of job opportunities for new grad orthos. However, CA is still a good place for setting your own ortho practices. New grad orthos are just too afraid to take risks of running a practice. 1-2 good referring general dentists is all you need. Ortho is a very profitable specialty. One doesn’t have to charge $5000 a case in order to survive.

what do you charge for a fairly straightforward case?