Alaskan Dentists??

[monkeykey]

Hi I am curious how dentists do in Alaska regarding pay and if corporate chains have began to dominate this area? Would this be a good area for a newly graduated dentist to pay off as much debt as possible as well as enjoy the natural outdoors? Thanks!

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[DMDWANNABEE]

A buddy did this.
The pay can be better. Add 30%.
It won't erase 400k in debt.

 

[monkeykey]

A buddy did this.
The pay can be better. Add 30%.
It won't erase 400k in debt.

According to the BLS the average salary of a general dentist in Alaska is roughly 260K VS the US average of 175K. Are these estimates reliable?

 

[DMDWANNABEE]

Idk. I'm not an authority on that. The guy I know makes a bit less than that. He seems to think he's typical.

Idk if you are in actuality, but look at the median before the average.

 

[bsloane]

how is omfs in alaska?

 

[2TH MVR]

I'm from Alaska. As a matter of fact .... I'm going back there this summer. Cost of living is higher there, but you make more. Corporate chains are already there in the two main cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks. The rural areas are available. I know alot of the specialists and some GPs get their pilot licenses and fly to remote areas as satellite practices.

The economics of Alaska are wholly dependent on oil and tourism. Can be good and bad. Boom or bust. If you move to Alaska ... you better like outdoor stuff. It is beautiful, but there is a reason I live in North Scottsdale lol.

As for weather .... well ... I lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for two years. The weather there SUCKS. Anchorage has a better climate since it is located next to the ocean. You also feel ISOLATED when you live in Alaska. We used to refer to the states as the Lower 48.

 

[monkeykey]

I'm from Alaska. As a matter of fact .... I'm going back there this summer. Cost of living is higher there, but you make more. Corporate chains are already there in the two main cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks. The rural areas are available. I know alot of the specialists and some GPs get their pilot licenses and fly to remote areas as satellite practices.

The economics of Alaska are wholly dependent on oil and tourism. Can be good and bad. Boom or bust. If you move to Alaska ... you better like outdoor stuff. It is beautiful, but there is a reason I live in North Scottsdale lol.

As for weather .... well ... I lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for two years. The weather there SUCKS. Anchorage has a better climate since it is located next to the ocean. You also feel ISOLATED when you live in Alaska. We used to refer to the states as the Lower 48.

What makes the weather suck? Just too cold and dark year round? Do you get used to it or is it somewhat depressing?

 

[2TH MVR]

What makes the weather suck? Just too cold and dark year round? Do you get used to it or is it somewhat depressing?

Rains alot in the summer. Winters in Fairbanks .....extremely cold. Like - 60 degrees celsius. I lived in Anchorage. Temporate temps, but still got cold.
Dark in the winters. Essentially daylight for 23 hours during summer solstice.
Alaska is beautiful, but isolated. No pro sports teams. Anchorage has over 50% of the state's population.

If you are an outdoors type .... alaska is fine. If you require more culture .... then maybe not.

 

[japes94]

I'm from Alaska. As a matter of fact .... I'm going back there this summer. Cost of living is higher there, but you make more. Corporate chains are already there in the two main cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks. The rural areas are available. I know alot of the specialists and some GPs get their pilot licenses and fly to remote areas as satellite practices.

The economics of Alaska are wholly dependent on oil and tourism. Can be good and bad. Boom or bust. If you move to Alaska ... you better like outdoor stuff. It is beautiful, but there is a reason I live in North Scottsdale lol.

As for weather .... well ... I lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for two years. The weather there SUCKS. Anchorage has a better climate since it is located next to the ocean. You also feel ISOLATED when you live in Alaska. We used to refer to the states as the Lower 48.

If you don't mind me asking, hows your experience with insurance reimbursements in rural settings? Don't insurance companies like Delta reimburse you based on location? Rural areas less compared to urban areas? Does the lack of competition outweigh it? People say go rural but how do dentist deal with the economics and do the economics generally work (patient population, lower median household income, primarily medicaid, medicaid & other insurance reimbursements, staffing etc)? Isn't Alaska one of the states that provide the highest Medicaid reimbursements compared to the other states?

You mentioned plenty of dentists have satelite clinics in rural Alaska areas but can you elaborate more on it if you know? Like are they generally open 2 days out of the week and cram their schedules like crazy etc. ??

 

[2TH MVR]

If you don't mind me asking, hows your experience with insurance reimbursements in rural settings? Don't insurance companies like Delta reimburse you based on location? Rural areas less compared to urban areas? Does the lack of competition outweigh it? People say go rural but how do dentist deal with the economics and do the economics generally work (patient population, lower median household income, primarily medicaid, medicaid & other insurance reimbursements, staffing etc)? Isn't Alaska one of the states that provide the highest Medicaid reimbursements compared to the other states?

You mentioned plenty of dentists have satelite clinics in rural Alaska areas but can you elaborate more on it if you know? Like are they generally open 2 days out of the week and cram their schedules like crazy etc. ??

I've never worked as a dentist in Alaska. I'm from Alaska and am familiar with their routines. As for insurance reimbursements rural vs urban ... good question. I do not know. The whole point of going rural is to avoid Corps and saturation. But you give up other urban niceties.

I've done both as an ortho. Urban practice and a rural practice in a small town 3 hours from my residence. I loved the rural atmosphere, but HATED the drive. I saw patients there twice a month. I easily could have been there 1-2 day per week.

 

[monkeykey]

I've never worked as a dentist in Alaska. I'm from Alaska and am familiar with their routines. As for insurance reimbursements rural vs urban ... good question. I do not know. The whole point of going rural is to avoid Corps and saturation. But you give up other urban niceties.

I've done both as an ortho. Urban practice and a rural practice in a small town 3 hours from my residence. I loved the rural atmosphere, but HATED the drive. I saw patients there twice a month. I easily could have been there 1-2 day per week.

How is the night life in Anchorage and Fairbanks? Would these towns seem lonely for a newly graduated young professional?

 

[monkeykey]

Bump.

 

[2TH MVR]

How is the night life in Anchorage and Fairbanks? Would these towns seem lonely for a newly graduated young professional?

As I said previously .... I grew up in Anchorage and attended Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks for 2 yrs. I only did this since I had a full ride scholarship to attend UAF. In Alaska (probably the same now) the ratio of men to women was 3:1 or even 4-5:1. Good or bad depending on what side of that ratio you fall on. Worse in Fairbanks. The weather there really SUCKS. I've seen winter temps there in the MINUS 30's. It's ridiculous. Fairbanks has mostly an oil dirven economy. Fairbanks is the 2nd largest city in Alaska. Scenery is meh.

Anchorage is the PLACE to be. Approx half the state's population reside in Anchorage. I would choose Anchorage over Fairbanks. Anchorage has been described as a mini- Seattle. Similar look and feel, but on a much lower level. Anchorage sits in a bowl between the ocean and the mountains. That means it rains ALOT. But the winter temps are very manageable. Again .... Anchorage's economy is driven by oil and tourism. Neither is doing well thanks to covid.

Alaska tends to attract people trying to escape from something lol. Another real problem for Alaska is the rampant crime. Alaska is great if you like outdoors stuff (hunting, fishing, hiking, etc.). The scenary is unmatched. I used to tell people imagine a river or mountain in Colorado. That same river or mountain in Alaska will be 10 times more epic. All in all ... I enjoyed my childhood there.

You've probably heard about the perpetual sunlight in the summer. It is very cool. Literally the sun stays out almost 24 hours a day. Unfortunately the opposite is true for the winters. It can get very depressing in the winters. You also live on an isolated island. There are no easy road trips to other states. No professional sports teams.

Now nightlife. As I said .... the ratio of men to women is around 3:1 or worse. Probably much worse. As a comparison ..... when I moved to Phx, Arizona as a young person .... I saw more beautiful people (read: hot women) in one day than I would see in a year in Anchorage.

So to summarize. Plenty of nightlife, but ratio of women to men very low. Granola type people driving Subarus and pickup trucks (not that there is anything wrong with that lol). Epic outdoors. Not alot of quality culture. Rampant crime. If you are an adventurer, outdoors type .... then Alaska may work for you. The positives are that there are not alot of large Corp entities there. Still opportunities to start a dental practice.

Hope this helps.