Dentist Income Survey: ADA 2002

[frogger33]

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Ok, I think MOST people would agree that doctors \ARE underpaid, and we (as dentists and future dentists) hope that the same thing will not happen to us. HOWEVER... It is useless to compare a pediatrician to a pediatric dentist. Maybe it would be MORE feasible to compare a pediatric dentist to a pediatric surgeon. However, then I am sure people will bring up the fact that pediatric surgeons have a longer residency (4 years surgery + specific fellowship, etc..). See, besides working with kids you just can't compare the two directly. BOTH professions are very admirable and should be paid accordingly. Just my two cents! 😀

 

[luder98]

Some PhDs do not get a stipend and go to school because they are interested in a particular field and want to get the highest academic degree possible. The PhD is the most prestigious degree that can be obtained. Some people have to borrow money to obtain a PhD and come out with huge loans, only to learn that PhDs for the most part do not make anywhere near $100,000 and never will. It is very difficult to pay back $100,000 in debt when you make $50,000. And this may be a shock to many on this site but $50,000 is more money than most people make.
$100,000, $150,000, $200,000
99% of the population the the US will NEVER make anywhere near this type of money in their life. Is there really noone on this site who has worked before and understands the real world just a little bit. These are all large sums of money and persons making this kind of money can live very nice lives even with student loans.

Sure, I agree that some get PhDs bc they are interested in the feilds. But I don't believe that there are that many PhDs make in the range of $50G. Maybe you need to be a little bit more specific about the areas they are in. A fresh engineer with a BS can start above 50 easily, many start in 60s and 70s. If you can prove yourself in the first few years, you can get real close to the 6-digit income. With a master, you add another 10G or so to that. With a PhD, another 10G or so to that.
One professor at my school told me he started out in the 80s and had three months off a year. Don't get me wrong. I'm not after the money, but your statement is not very convincing.

 

[adamlc18]

One thing that should be remembered is when someone says that they are "making" $100-200k, they are 99% of the time talking about what they earn before they pay their taxes. In a high income tax bracket with state taxes, SS, and FICA, that $100-200k is cut by 50%. It is still good money but not near as much as it sounds like it is.

 

[USAF_Dentman]

I think there is a misconception of importance being directly related to income. Obviously teachers should be paid near the highest but it just isn't so
RRB

I disagree..Tell me how much education and intelligence does it take to teach a 1st grade class. Hell, i could teach just about any class up through high school. I feel they are financially compensated for the work they do..

 

[tx oms]

Not for nothing (I happen to think that based on the above #'s, dentists are paid what they're worth, whereas MD's are not by a longshot), but it's a joke that a pediatric dentist makes more than twice what a pediatrician makes. This country's values are all screwed up.

Dentists and surgeons cure people rather than staving off death. I think that's worth something.

Edit: Vote for libertarian-leaning candidates, get rid of social entitlements and government involvement in healthcare, and then you can see how much a truely free market values its doctors. A doctor that votes liberal cannot complain about his paycheck.

 

[zidanereal2003]

I disagree..Tell me how much education and intelligence does it take to teach a 1st grade class. Hell, i could teach just about any class up through high school. I feel they are financially compensated for the work they do..

I personally think teaching is the hardest job you could ever had...
Have you ever asked yourself why high school kids in Japan for example do better than high school kids in the US..
One of the reasons is that teaching is one of the highest paid jobs in Japan..
Another reason is that people respect this profession not like most people in our country disrespect this profession..

 

[luder98]

I personally think teaching is the hardest job you could ever had...

Another reason is that people respect this profession not like most people in our country disrespect this profession..

I agree with you. Transfering the knowledge may be easy, but teaching someone to become a person is the most difficult task to do. I think it's a cultural thing. In the US, most teachers only teach while in other coutries, in addition to teaching, they guide their students.

 

[aphistis]

One thing that should be remembered is when someone says that they are "making" $100-200k, they are 99% of the time talking about what they earn before they pay their taxes. In a high income tax bracket with state taxes, SS, and FICA, that $100-200k is cut by 50%. It is still good money but not near as much as it sounds like it is.

Show me someone earning $200,000 a year who pays anywhere near half his income in taxes, and I'll show you someone who has a hamster doing his accounting.

 

[TucsonDDS]

Show me someone earning $200,000 a year who pays anywhere near half his income in taxes, and I'll show you someone who has a hamster doing his accounting.

I know an attending pediatrician who works soley at a hospital who was probably making around 150 who finally decided to buy a condo for the write off. No overhead, no kids, renting for the past 7 years that I have known him and finally got around to buying a $120,000 dollar condo. I think he would have been lucky to have a hamster. I hate to think what he has spent in the past few years in taxes.

 

[frogger33]

Yes. I too agree with many others on here that SOME teachers are VERY underpaid!! HOWEVER, an elementary teacher making $36,000 (which some friends of mine make) is not that bad considering it does NOT require a masters (and the debt that goes with), and that they get all holidays and summers off. Also, do not forget to factor in that many elementary schools only go from 8:00-2:30. So when you look at what many other professions of the same calibre make it is not THAT bad. But still, well trained EXCELLENT teachers/professors (of higher education level) should make more!

Just think about your college and dental school professors.... They are teaching you/us what we need to know and I believe they should be paid well for that.

We can just add them to the underpaid list with the doctors and others... 😀

 

[aphistis]

I disagree..Tell me how much education and intelligence does it take to teach a 1st grade class. Hell, i could teach just about any class up through high school. I feel they are financially compensated for the work they do..

Clearly a great deal more than you appreciate.

For that matter, why should dentists be paid more than minimum wage? How much education and intelligence does it take to grab a tooth with pliers and pull?

Ours isn't the only demanding profession.

 

[USAF_Dentman]

Clearly a great deal more than you appreciate.

For that matter, why should dentists be paid more than minimum wage? How much education and intelligence does it take to grab a tooth with pliers and pull?

Ours isn't the only demanding profession.

Wow, now you're just degrading your own profession!

Get real, seriously 8-10 years of school + debt should be paid higher...

I could teach first grade..Its about personality becuase you should know the info...

However, professors and some higher level high school teachers SHOULD BE PAID more, i totally agree, but ones like kindergarten teachers are like full-time babysitters, no offense to anyone..

 

[Yah-E]

A side note:

Do you guys notice that students (ladies and guys) in dental schools are much better looking than medical students? Interesting, isn't it? 😉 If you have a dental and a medical school at your University, look at both student bodies, you'll notice dental students are simply better looking crowds in general.

This holds true at University of Minnesota and at Nova Southeastern University. Alright, back to beckering y'all.

 

[USAF_Dentman]

A side note:

Do you guys notice that students (ladies and guys) in dental schools are much better looking than medical students? Interesting, isn't it? 😉 If you have a dental and a medical school at your University, look at both student bodies, you'll notice dental students are simply better looking crowds in general.

This holds true at University of Minnesota and at Nova Southeastern University. Alright, back to beckering y'all.

Maybe its because dent is a little easier to get into, hence the better looking people.

Its the same thing i see in college classes. I was told that you could tell if a class was easy based on how many women and athletes are in the class. zSo far its been true

 

[toofache32]

Do you guys notice that students (ladies and guys) in dental schools are much better looking than medical students?

Amen to that. My med school classmates, in general, were a bunch of "brown-baggers."

 

[blankguy]

A side note:

Do you guys notice that students (ladies and guys) in dental schools are much better looking than medical students? Interesting, isn't it? 😉 If you have a dental and a medical school at your University, look at both student bodies, you'll notice dental students are simply better looking crowds in general.

This holds true at University of Minnesota and at Nova Southeastern University. Alright, back to beckering y'all.

Which reminds me of....where did the picture thread go? 😕

 

[Dr. Pedo]

Actually they do. They lance cysts, do lumbar punctures, pack bleeding noses, start lines, debride tissue, do bone marrow aspirates and many other things, it just depends on the setting in which they are working.

Fair enough----- but a nurse and a PA does 80% of the above as well----What ItGavinC is simply stating is Pediatric MD is not a surgical specialty----and as I've stated before we (dentist) must use "surgery" and "surgeon" loosely unless we are referring to specific procedures in dentistry: ie--soft tissue graft, aveoloplasty, crown lengthening, bone grafts, tuberosity reductions, frenectomy, etc... The connotation one has of surgery is general anesth. and the operating room. Yes, what dentists do (especially periodontists and oral surgeons) a lot of the time constitutes surgery but its difficult to fit cutting on teeth (yes it's tissue, yes it's irreversible ) as surgery.

 

[Yah-E]

Maybe its because dent is a little easier to get into, hence the better looking people.

Its the same thing i see in college classes. I was told that you could tell if a class was easy based on how many women and athletes are in the class. zSo far its been true

Hey, we're better looking, make more money....I really don't mind that dental schools are "easier" to get into than medical schools. By the way, Wisconsin will be spanked by Illinois tonight (college BB)!!

Go Illinois!! 👍

 

[TucsonDDS]

Fair enough----- but a nurse and a PA does 80% of the above as well----What ItGavinC is simply stating is Pediatric MD is not a surgical specialty----and as I've stated before we (dentist) must use "surgery" and "surgeon" loosely unless we are referring to specific procedures in dentistry: ie--soft tissue graft, aveoloplasty, crown lengthening, bone grafts, tuberosity reductions, frenectomy, etc... The connotation one has of surgery is general anesth. and the operating room. Yes, what dentists do (especially periodontists and oral surgeons) a lot of the time constitutes surgery but its difficult to fit cutting on teeth (yes it's tissue, yes it's irreversible ) as surgery.

True, I don't think that the general public views filling cavities as surgery.

 

[KY2007]

Fair enough----- but a nurse and a PA does 80% of the above as well----What ItGavinC is simply stating is Pediatric MD is not a surgical specialty----and as I've stated before we (dentist) must use "surgery" and "surgeon" loosely unless we are referring to specific procedures in dentistry: ie--soft tissue graft, aveoloplasty, crown lengthening, bone grafts, tuberosity reductions, frenectomy, etc... The connotation one has of surgery is general anesth. and the operating room. Yes, what dentists do (especially periodontists and oral surgeons) a lot of the time constitutes surgery but its difficult to fit cutting on teeth (yes it's tissue, yes it's irreversible ) as surgery.

Oral surgeons do much more than cut on teeth. Lafort 1 procedures (orthonathic), tumor resection, trama surgeries just to name a few.

 

[aphistis]

Wow, now you're just degrading your own profession!

Get real, seriously 8-10 years of school + debt should be paid higher...

I could teach first grade..Its about personality becuase you should know the info...

However, professors and some higher level high school teachers SHOULD BE PAID more, i totally agree, but ones like kindergarten teachers are like full-time babysitters, no offense to anyone..

No, I was reversing your poor logic to demonstrate that simplistic stereotypes don't usually make for accurate descriptions. Next time I'll try to use an example that relies less on your interpretive skill.

Further, I never said teachers warrant salaries that match ours--but there's a whole lotta room to raise teacher salaries before they even reach the same order of magnitude as ours.

 

[AUG2UAG]

Wow, now you're just degrading your own profession!

Get real, seriously 8-10 years of school + debt should be paid higher...

I could teach first grade..Its about personality becuase you should know the info...

However, professors and some higher level high school teachers SHOULD BE PAID more, i totally agree, but ones like kindergarten teachers are like full-time babysitters, no offense to anyone..

i don't think you'd be able to teach 1st graders.... they'd be scared of you