Are dentists the highest paid health care professionals after MDs?

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PaulS

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true or false
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I'm inclined to say yes... but I think CRNA's would be in the running. You could do a 2 year ASN program, get your BSN while you are working as a nurse and finish CRNA school before you were 23 with minimal debt. You'd be a 23 yo making $~160,000 a year. You'd be able to invest and save large amounts of money very early. If it were about the money, this would be a smart route.
 
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Some dentists gross 90k while others 300k+. It depends on how efficient the dentist is, their business sense, and location of the practice. You get out what you put in.
 
schmoob said:
Too broad.
Endodontist to an FP? Plastic surgeon to a GP?
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Is the average salary of endodontists/orthodontists comparable to that of dermatologists/surgeons? And similarly, average salary of family practitioners (MDs) are comparable to general dentists?
 
I think it's more of a scale. I don't think you can compare them too accurately. I think it's more along the lines of comparing ortho/endo to a GP, and surg/derm to FP
 
htdt said:
Is the average salary of endodontists/orthodontists comparable to that of dermatologists/surgeons? And similarly, average salary of family practitioners (MDs) are comparable to general dentists?
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No. The average family MD gets about 200k versus 150k for dentists.

Endos and orthos make about 200k. However Derms make about 300k on average. The big shot surgeons like orthopedic surgeons average a whopping 450k.

Of course thats just the average median. Many endos and orthos make more than 200k. Same for whatever median salary I googled for derms and surgeons.

Simply put, medicine has higher salaries on average.
 
Likkriue said:
No. The average family MD gets about 200k versus 150k for dentists.

Endos and orthos make about 200k. However Derms make about 300k on average. The big shot surgeons like orthopedic surgeons average a whopping 450k.

Of course thats just the average median. Many endos and orthos make more than 200k. Same for whatever median salary I googled for derms and surgeons.

Simply put, medicine has higher salaries on average.
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That's true but it's easier for a dentist to outearn the MD counterparts because working more hours in dentistry does not cause as much stress as does working more hours in medicine due to the nature of the job. So if you really wanted to outearn the physicians, you can do it, having an easier time in dentistry. Whereas a physician counterpart that wanted to outearn a dentist would have a harder time since working more hours in medicine would probably increase your stress levels more than working more hours in dentistry would. Not saying it can't be done for medicine but only that you would have a harder time doing it in medicine.
 
fellowstudent92 said:
That's true but it's easier for a dentist to outearn the MD counterparts because working more hours in dentistry does not cause as much stress as does working more hours in medicine due to the nature of the job. So if you really wanted to outearn the physicians, you can do it, having an easier time in dentistry. Whereas a physician counterpart that wanted to outearn a dentist would have a harder time since working more hours in medicine would probably increase your stress levels more than working more hours in dentistry would. Not saying it can't be done for medicine but only that you would have a harder time doing it in medicine.
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Not just that but you also have to look at general lifestyle. Yeah, some medical specialties are pretty great lifestyle and pay-wise (dermatology), but physician burnout is a thing. Plenty of doctors have bad hours and are always on call. The great thing about dentistry is that you can have very distinct working and leisure lifestyles without the two blending together
 
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blablabla1 said:
Not just that but you also have to look at general lifestyle. Yeah, some medical specialties are pretty great lifestyle and pay-wise (dermatology), but physician burnout is a thing. Plenty of doctors have bad hours and are always on call. The great thing about dentistry is that you can have very distinct working and leisure lifestyles without the two blending together
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Although anecdotal, I can attest to this. I have a very close friend who is a fellowship trained physician in a specialty that is highly respected, but one I could personally never do. It really is one of those emotionally difficult jobs. Besides that, he works his butt off. No debt, always on call. Money is coming hand over fist.
Lots of mixed messages, right?
I would not want to be on his position. I envy his income, but I DO NOT envy the emotional and physical beating he is taking with his job.
He was actually one of my mentors when I was at the medical/Dental crossroad. I respect the man very much, but he was one of the main reasons I chose dentistry.
 
blablabla1 said:
Not just that but you also have to look at general lifestyle. Yeah, some medical specialties are pretty great lifestyle and pay-wise (dermatology), but physician burnout is a thing. Plenty of doctors have bad hours and are always on call. The great thing about dentistry is that you can have very distinct working and leisure lifestyles without the two blending together
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Yup or if you were still in the dick-size-contest mentality at that working age, you can always just amp up your hours in the dental field to outearn physicians with not much added stress. Whatever floats your boat 🙂
 
fellowstudent92 said:
hit the gym lol you should be going to the gym regardless. and do some finger exercises--not that big of a deal if you start early.
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They are saying it's easy to just get more hours in and boom we match a physicians salary.

Well first it's not easy getting more hours because there's a limited amount of patients and some patients particularly new one stems to cancel on you. Then add in all the extra physical stress and that's all I'm getting at lol.
 
ucsfbound2017 said:
You should never enter a profession for the money alone. That said, Avg for a gp is 174k avg for a specialist is 320k (2014 ADA reported salaries). They are about in line with family practice and medical specialist salaries. Take into account residency years and pay/hr and hands down dentistry IS a better paying gig & a HIGHER quality of life given that your did not bury yourself in debt. I will also mention that dentistry should not be looked at as an entirely different realm than physicians. They are both paralle in many ways with a few deveats. Pay and prestige are about identical. Some will say an oral surgeon/orthodontist is better paying and more prestigious than some medical doctor professions. Some will say an MD sounds more prestigious and pays better than a DDS. I personally think a doctor and dentist are just about equal in most respects, pay included.
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I agree. Furthermore, while most SDN folks claim that dentists are no where close to physicians in the prestige spectrum, I personally feel different. My culture (an Asian one) highly values prestige, and most people in my ethnicity look at dentists as being NEARLY as prestigious as physicians.
 
MDs have higher guaranteed income but dentists have higher potential income
 
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