$1.8 million!!! Is this possible?

[eight143]

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Hello everyone!

One of my best friend's dad is a dentist and we were talking about dentistry last night. He told me that the orthodontist that they refer to grossed out at 1.8 million dollars. The reason he found out is that he's going through a divorce and he hears his parents talk about their situation a lot. My question is, how is this possible? He said this is before overhead, and taxes and all. But with your clinic making this much, assuming he's a decent businessman, how much is he taking home? I think that's just insane!!!

Well, I just thought I'd share that with anyone!!!

 

[ItsGavinC]

Totally possible, although to reach a number like that I'm sure he has a large overhead. The more employees you have working for you in the clinic the higher the $$ you earn. For example, adding one hygenist to your staff can easily cause your revenues to increase by 30-40%.

Taxes are going to take a HUGE chunk of that 1.8, and then you have to tack on the overhead.

My guess would be that after all is said and done he is bringing home around 800,000 -- although SO many factors are involved in this that it is nearly impossible to make a great guess.

 

[c132]

Gavin is correct! Ortho's make a lot of money, usually around 4-500k and its not too rare for them to bring home just shy of 1 mil/year. I have been doing some talking to the ortho guys and they say if you luck up and get in a place where the gp will not try and do any ortho and refer all to you, then you will make those numbers!

 

[aphistis]

We're fortunate enough at IUSD to have a full-spectrum ortho case built in to our clinical requirements. I understand that's not necessarily the case at all dental schools.

It's generally a simple one--the textbook example is an extraction w/ the distal tooth tilting forward, so you have to straighten it before you can place a bridge for a fixed prostho requirement--but it's still a chance to try it out in the school setting. I know I'm looking forward to doing as much "specialty" work in my GP office as possible; not so much for the money, but for the satisfaction of knowing I'm capable to perform it, and to keep a good mix of patients in my chairs (boredom sucks!). I'll get back to you in 10 years to let you know how it turns out ;-)

 

[dc-10]

On average, who makes more endo or ortho?

 

[OrthoFixation]

I would guess the orthodontist nets about 30-35% of the gross, before taxes ($500k - $650k).

I know a optometrist with similar numbers. He tells me that professional practices are pretty similar in this respect.

Cost of doing business is pretty high. He may employ one other orthodontist and may have multiple offices.

 

[mcataz]

I know several orthos who gross more than 1.8 million but Gavin is correct. After taxes and expenses, they take is far less than anywhere near 1.8 million. I would say about 800K is right with some maybe earning slighly more. It really depends upon your location and how long you have been in practice too. But I also know many general dentists who gross 100k per month(1.2 million) and one that grosses 160K per month (1.9 million). And it's not uncommon for general dentists to gross between 80K per month (960K).

Anyway, why do you think you have to be top 5 to get Ortho, there is a reason why everyone wants it.

I would say that Endo's on average earn more than Ortho because their overhead is really low and their procedures are all $1000 or more each. The reason why Ortho is more popular than endo is due to the nature of the work. I know a few endo's who earn a lot of money but they hate their job. They say it's boring doing root canals all day. And this is coming from a guy who grosses about 6 cases per day or 7 k per day.

 

[Apollyon]

Originally posted by mcataz
I know a few endo's who earn a lot of money but they hate their job. They say it's boring doing root canals all day. And this is coming from a guy who grosses about 6 cases per day or 7 k per day.

That's what a PG-Endo fellow that did my root canal said - it's a 'love/hate, zero/one, black/white, yes/no' thing, with no middle ground. Either it's all you, and it's glorious, or you hate every single day.

 

[ItsGavinC]

I'm hoping I enjoy every single day 🙂

Then again, I know there comes a day in dental school where just being a GP looks a whole lot better than you ever thought it would!

 

[PashaJ]

You know if earning 1.8 mil is your goal you can do it but not exclusively through dentistry. With the 500,000+ salary that you get you probably should invest in some form of real estate. I plan on buying some gas stations after a couple of years with my annual salary. After some years of having that you could get more gas stations or sell them and get a shopping center. Personally I'd diversify by buying a body shop or auto repair then a car dealership. Look at John Elway: with his NFL salary he made a chain of car dealerships.

 

[EyeCandy]

$1.8 million = $1.8 million stress....... mo money, mo problems. Man, I really miss mase.