Dental school faculty vs private practice compensation disparity

[dent_wannabe]

Being on a dental school faculty is something I would really like to do, but word is the disparity in salary is huge. They say the average amount that a new dentist makes ends up being between $120k and $150k, with those who pursue a full time faculty position starting at possibly as low as $60k. Being a dental school faculty member would be ideal for me because not only do I enjoy teaching (and I'm actually pretty decent at it), but the idea of managing a business doesn't really appeal to me. I don't enjoy accounting, marketing, hiring and firing people, etc. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I worry about the possibility of not having patients (since I feel like everybody, including myself, would prefer somebody with more experience do a procedure). Even if I were to be an associate at a group practice where I can focus on solely dentistry, I know that my pay will still depend on my individual production.

Is it really true that dental school faculty pay is really that low? Am I missing something, or does going for such a position really just make no economical sense (given how much a dental education costs these days)?

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[TanMan]

Being on a dental school faculty is something I would really like to do, but word is the disparity in salary is huge. They say the average amount that a new dentist makes ends up being between $120k and $150k, with those who pursue a full time faculty position starting at possibly as low as $60k. Being a dental school faculty member would be ideal for me because not only do I enjoy teaching (and I'm actually pretty decent at it), but the idea of managing a business doesn't really appeal to me. I don't enjoy accounting, marketing, hiring and firing people, etc. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I worry about the possibility of not having patients (since I feel like everybody, including myself, would prefer somebody with more experience do a procedure). Even if I were to be an associate at a group practice where I can focus on solely dentistry, I know that my pay will still depend on my individual production.

Is it really true that dental school faculty pay is really that low? Am I missing something, or does going for such a position really just make no economical sense (given how much a dental education costs these days)?

I think it really depends on whether it's tenure track or not, research position or lecturing only, CE driven, company sponsorships, NIH grants, etc... If you're talking about a non-tenure track basic GP instructor, they are either there because they have a passion with no regards for the money, they are disabled/recovering addicts, or they don't have enough patients that they want to put that they are "faculty" at ________ institution thinking it's gonna be good for marketing. It's a crazy mix, but the ones that care about their students are the ones that I hope inspire future dentists.

 

[laundry]

Depends on school and tenure track. When I was a faculty at UC, my base pay was about 100k (Assistant Prof, step 3). I was a 50% faculty, so in reality I got paid half of that. In addition, UC gives you great benefits (Which is something you have to pay yourself, unless you have a specific corporate gig): retirement, medical, etc, etc. For someone with, say, 3 dependents, that’s pretty significant, considering a decent PPO medical plan costs $1000+ per person. Finally, full time faculty can augment their salary w faculty practice and grants. So I’d say it depends on who you are, as well.

Scenario 1 (single male, mid 20s, non researcher): base pay 100k + benefits 20k + faculty practice 1.5 days/week 75k = $195k total comp

Scenario 2 (married w kids, mid 30s, researcher): base pay 100k + benefits 100k + faculty practice 75k + R03 grant 50k = $325k total comp

 

[AONLINE]

Depends on school and tenure track. When I was a faculty at UC, my base pay was about 100k (Assistant Prof, step 3). I was a 50% faculty, so in reality I got paid half of that. In addition, UC gives you great benefits (Which is something you have to pay yourself, unless you have a specific corporate gig): retirement, medical, etc, etc. For someone with, say, 3 dependents, that’s pretty significant, considering a decent PPO medical plan costs $1000+ per person. Finally, full time faculty can augment their salary w faculty practice and grants. So I’d say it depends on who you are, as well.

Scenario 1 (single male, mid 20s, non researcher): base pay 100k + benefits 20k + faculty practice 1.5 days/week 75k = $195k total comp

Scenario 2 (married w kids, mid 30s, researcher): base pay 100k + benefits 100k + faculty practice 75k + R03 grant 50k = $325k total comp

Does the base pay of $100k apply to GP faculty on clinic floor? Is it possible to become a faculty with just a DDS and no advanced degree?

 

[laundry]

Base pay is the same for everyone, whether you are a researcher or a clinician (95% of clinicians at UCSF predoc are DDS only).

 

[TanMan]

Do lecturers get the same base pay, or is this only for assistant-associate-full professor?

 

[laundry]

There really isn’t such a title at UC, as far as I know. We have faculty that are 10% or 20% (meaning 0.5-2 days/week). They just make that percentage of base pay w no benefits.

I am probably the closest to what would be considered a “lecturer”, as I teach a few courses through the CE department. But that’s an IC gig w variable honoraria.

 

[dent_wannabe]

There really isn’t such a title at UC, as far as I know. We have faculty that are 10% or 20% (meaning 0.5-2 days/week). They just make that percentage of base pay w no benefits.

I am probably the closest to what would be considered a “lecturer”, as I teach a few courses through the CE department. But that’s an IC gig w variable honoraria.

So then if somebody has a less than 100% appointment, are they making the rest of their income through a private practice they also run, or something like that?

 

[laundry]

So then if somebody has a less than 100% appointment, are they making the rest of their income through a private practice they also run, or something like that?

In most of the cases, yes. That was my case to a certain extent. Or they are retired and want to teach.

 

[P7898]

Depends on school and tenure track. When I was a faculty at UC, my base pay was about 100k (Assistant Prof, step 3). I was a 50% faculty, so in reality I got paid half of that. In addition, UC gives you great benefits (Which is something you have to pay yourself, unless you have a specific corporate gig): retirement, medical, etc, etc. For someone with, say, 3 dependents, that’s pretty significant, considering a decent PPO medical plan costs $1000+ per person. Finally, full time faculty can augment their salary w faculty practice and grants. So I’d say it depends on who you are, as well.

Scenario 1 (single male, mid 20s, non researcher): base pay 100k + benefits 20k + faculty practice 1.5 days/week 75k = $195k total comp

Scenario 2 (married w kids, mid 30s, researcher): base pay 100k + benefits 100k + faculty practice 75k + R03 grant 50k = $325k total comp

How'd you get $325k? That a research grant? How much of the grants do you get to keep for research?

 

[laundry]

How'd you get $325k? That a research grant? How much of the grants do you get to keep for research?

I donn’t understand the question. I literally arithmetically broke down how you get to 325...

 

[P7898]

I was asking how much do researchers get to keep for their grants. For example, if you got a $1 million dollar grant for research how much can you keep for personal income? So if you get $50k research grant, what can you keep as person income that you quoted with your beautiful math 😉?

 

[laundry]

I was asking how much do researchers get to keep for their grants. For example, if you got a $1 million dollar grant for research how much can you keep for personal income? So if you get $50k research grant, what can you keep as person income?

Anywhere from 0 to about 75k. It depends on the grant and the amount that the school allows extra vs offset from salary 🙂

 

[setdoc7]

Dental school salaries vary school to school, and within departments. Compensation is very often based on experience and special skills faculty bring to the school. With that said, no school will pay as much as private practice ownership, with perhaps the exception of top administration or department chairs. Since there are so few of these positions relative to the number of dentists, I would not count on this route for financial gain. There are certainly some perks with the benefit package and perhaps a pension, but a solid private practice will pay for this and much more. Navigatiing the political pathways of any large organization can have many pitfalls, so all is not a bowl of cherries in the academic world.

 

[mostlyghostly]

With that said, no school will pay as much as private practice ownership, with perhaps the exception of top administration or department chairs.

I work at a university for a professional program and I completely agree with this statement.

 

[dent_wannabe]

Dental school salaries vary school to school, and within departments. Compensation is very often based on experience and special skills faculty bring to the school. With that said, no school will pay as much as private practice ownership, with perhaps the exception of top administration or department chairs. Since there are so few of these positions relative to the number of dentists, I would not count on this route for financial gain. There are certainly some perks with the benefit package and perhaps a pension, but a solid private practice will pay for this and much more. Navigatiing the political pathways of any large organization can have many pitfalls, so all is not a bowl of cherries in the academic world.

Yeah of course, I know you essentially may be taking a pay cut if you choose to work full time at a dental school instead of at a private practice. You are spared the labor required to manage the overhead of running a practice. As a practice owner, you could make a ton of profit if you excel in terms of production, but there is also very well the possibility that you could have a net loss after the overhead if you aren't getting enough patients.

 

[TanMan]

There is another way that some faculty/researchers make money off universities. One used his position/university association to sell bench test prep/training. In a high demand specialty, some program directors get paid to get their child into OS/Ortho. Another one was corporate sponsorships and corporate funded "research" to ensure favorable endorsements and product results.

If you're crooked and/or tenacious enough to exploit these or move up the ladder, you could probably make a ton of money as faculty.

 

[Humbl3Pye]

There is another way that some faculty/researchers make money off universities. One used his position/university association to sell bench test prep/training. In a high demand specialty, some program directors get paid to get their child into OS/Ortho. Another one was corporate sponsorships and corporate funded "research" to ensure favorable endorsements and product results.

If you're crooked and/or tenacious enough to exploit these or move up the ladder, you could probably make a ton of money as faculty.

I would love to live in a world where a lot of this isn’t true, but clearly it is. It really seems like the big money in education right now is in administration. Not even necessarily the day to day administration like vice deans or other support roles, but university president, CEO, CFO etc. I imagine anyone from the Deans position upward is where the real money is with the exception of maybe a few department chairs.

 

[setdoc7]

The possibility of losing money in private practice exists. You must also keep in mind that without tenure, all academic positions are in risk of being terminated for almost any reason. So risk exists everywhere.