Dental salary and debt. What is the average pay for dentists?

[GrillKing]

SDN Dental Community,
I'll be applying to dental school this up coming cycle and would like to know what is the average expected pay for dentists. I apologize if I come off superficial but I view my education as an investment. Dental school is extremely expensive and students such as myself most likely will have to take on loans to pay for it. The reason why I want to know how much dentist make on average is so I can get an idea of how long it will take me to pay off my loans and actually live life. On indeed.com I saw job listings willing to pay Dentist from $50,000 to $230,000 a year. The range in pay is on a grand level. I'm assuming the jobs paying around $50,000 are probably part time positions and the individuals making around $230,000 a year probably took on some sort of residency. Some of the job positions were listed as Associate General Dentist and General Dentist. What is the difference between the two? My final question is what can a fresh graduate from dental school expect to make within the United States? It would be great to hear back from retired, residents and practicing dentists.

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[jen dean]

It depends on where you practice. My first year out of school I worked in Utah as an associate and made $170K. Three years later I had my own practice and made $400K. But the real benefit of practice ownership is the equity.
No need to apologize about this question, you must do the math when you make decisions like this. I had several classmates who join the armed services because they were promised they would receive $50,000 toward their student loans each year. Really? I'd rather make twice as much and pay my own loans!

 

[GrillKing]

It depends on where you practice. My first year out of school I worked in Utah as an associate and made $170K. Three years later I had my own practice and made $400K. But the real benefit of practice ownership is the equity.
No need to apologize about this question, you must do the math when you make decisions like this. I had several classmates who join the armed services because they were promised they would receive $50,000 toward their student loans each year. Really? I'd rather make twice as much and pay my own loans!

That sounds great that dentist are able to generate a good income that can enable them to pay their loans off and live properly. Did your other classmates average around the same coming out of dental school? In addition do you feel that it maybe necessary for dental students to take on residencies in the near future to obtain a similar income?

 

[longhornpride]

a residency isn't going to increase your pay bump. do it if you need another year to learn or want more help with molar endo or placing implants. if you're confident and can find a mentor, go out and practice. it's a sink or swim situation but you'll learn so much. i have friends in residencies that are doing some really cool stuff and some friends that are basically doing cleaning and more fillings in residency. in the end, you'll still get paid what a first year associate gets paid.

as far as range.... i know plenty of people doing 250k out of school. however they are working 6 days a week and working in high volume practices. i also know dentists doing 80k after school. it really depends on the situation, your speed, and how busy your office is. if you want to work in a high end practice in the nicest area of the city... you'll have a tough time finding that gig fresh out of school and you'll quickly realize how much you have to learn as far as dealing with high end patients and catering to them. i luckily ended up at a private practice in the suburbs which has taught me so much.

my advice... find a busy office (private or corporate) with a good mentor and work your tail off on increasing your speed, getting comfortable with 3rd molars (impacted and erupted), doing more endo, and learning how the insurance game works. do that and you'll find more leverage as far as negotiating pay.

 

[Newyokie]

Not a superficial question at all. I honestly believe your pay will depend on your skill, efficiency level, where you practice, and life style you want. I graduated from NY with $250k loan 10 yrs ago. Did residency (highly recommend) and learned how to do molar endo, 3rd molars, and implants. In my first job in NY private office, the base pay was $500/day ($125k/yr) guaranteed salary. But my monthly loan payment was $1500/mo and it didn't make sense economically. After 3 mo, I asked to be paid on percentage of collections. I think it was 35%. My first yr salary was $220k at the end of the yr. Then I decided to have my own practice after 1 yr of working as an associate. It's been 10 yrs and I now have a practice in LA with annual revenue of $1.1 mil. Each yr, I try my best so that take home pay is 40% to 45% of annual revenue.

My colleagues tell me there are places where I can make a lot more money and work half the amount (ie Texas or anywhere but NYC/LA). But I love living in smog filled, draught suffering southern california. Oh, yeah.... student loan is paid off in 10th yr and I think it was a great investment for me.

 

[johnho771]

Not a superficial question at all. I honestly believe your pay will depend on your skill, efficiency level, where you practice, and life style you want. I graduated from NY with $250k loan 10 yrs ago. Did residency (highly recommend) and learned how to do molar endo, 3rd molars, and implants. In my first job in NY private office, the base pay was $500/day ($125k/yr) guaranteed salary. But my monthly loan payment was $1500/mo and it didn't make sense economically. After 3 mo, I asked to be paid on percentage of collections. I think it was 35%. My first yr salary was $220k at the end of the yr. Then I decided to have my own practice after 1 yr of working as an associate. It's been 10 yrs and I now have a practice in LA with annual revenue of $1.1 mil. Each yr, I try my best so that take home pay is 40% to 45% of annual revenue.

My colleagues tell me there are places where I can make a lot more money and work half the amount (ie Texas or anywhere but NYC/LA). But I love living in smog filled, draught suffering southern california. Oh, yeah.... student loan is paid off in 10th yr and I think it was a great investment for me.

Newyokie, sounds like you had a good residency experience. Do you mind sharing where you did your residency? Thanks.

 

[Newyokie]

Unfortunately the hospital was forced to close recently after being taken over by fraudulent business group a few years ago. In my opinion, it had the best implant program at that time.
I place high value in residency as I only consider applicants with residency history when hiring an associate. But not all residency programs are equal. So do an extensive research on each program that you would consider.