Dentist salary

[DDSY]

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Hi everyone, this is my first post.

My question is when I was looking at the salary calculator from monster.com and yahoo hotjobs, they posted the average salary of a dentist to $124K. I looked under orthodontist and found the salary to be $114K!

First, I thought that dentists, according to what I've read (from ADA) make more than a general/family practitioner (according to monster, they make about 150K).

Secondly, if you specialize and take more years of education, why do you earn less to become an orthodontist, considering its very competitive to get into orthodontics program?

 

[ItsGavinC]

The figures from those salary calculators aren't even close to being correct.

Orthodontists will make ~$300k, while general dentists will on average make $125-175k.

 

[Lidopaine82]

dont trust those website

 

[DDSY]

By the way these are the links

Ortho: http://salary.monster.com/salarywiz...tn_psr&p=MNSTR42X&geocode=&jobcode=HC07000078

Dentist:
http://salary.monster.com/salarywiz...tn_psr&p=MNSTR42X&geocode=&jobcode=HC07000220

Physician-Family Practitioner/Generalist:
http://salary.monster.com/salarywiz...tn_psr&p=MNSTR42X&geocode=&jobcode=HC07000025

 

[DDSY]

Here's ADA's approximation for income:

http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/dbguide/newdent/income.asp

 

[ItsGavinC]

Here's ADA's approximation for income:

http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/dbguide/newdent/income.asp

That data is also 5-6 years old.

 

[Smooth Operater]

hello, when you say general dentists on average make $125-175k. Does that mean the take home salary? also, is it reasonable for an associate to reach that range? Thanks!

 

[dentaldentist]

hello, when you say general dentists on average make $125-175k. Does that mean the take home salary? also, is it reasonable for an associate to reach that range? Thanks!

The $125 - $175 is before taxes, but after business expenses. Also, I believe the average dentist makes more towards the upper end of that range. As for associates, yes they may reach that range, but I would expect the average associate to be more in the $90 - $115k range. Of course there are associates that make $200k and general dentists who make $300 - $400k, but they are exceptions.

 

[ItsGavinC]

hello, when you say general dentists on average make $125-175k. Does that mean the take home salary? also, is it reasonable for an associate to reach that range? Thanks!

Yes, that is take home income. Associates will typically start at $85-110k, depending on the contract and the market.

 

[DDSY]

So the net income for the average general dentist is around the ballpark based on figures from salary.com (monster.com or yahoo hotjobs) although a bit on the low end, taking into account expenses from a practice.

However, I'm still a bit confused with regards to income from a typical orthodontist. Why would a reputable site like salary.com, who updates their site regularly (saw a slightly lower figure a few months ago for ortho as well as dentistry), post salary of an ortho to be as low as $117K (according to their lastest stats for the national average, which changes periodically)?. Even if you look at local incomes (ie a certain county in the united states), the income is still ~115K.

Could it be because the "salary" figures imply that they are working for somebody else? 😕 😕

 

[DDSY]

By the way, also puzzling is the reported median salary for an oral surgeon is $180K. . . compare this to the reported salary for a general surgeon, which is $250K, of course specializations in surgery (cardiac, pediatric, orthopedic) earn significantly more, many of them about half a million.

Just wondering, i know that some oral surgeons do not have an MD (which is optional is some institutions), do they lower the earning stats a bit (assuming salary.com is correct)?

general surgeon:
http://hotjobs.salary.com/salarywiz...obcode=HC07000026&altername=Enter+search+term

heart surgeon:
http://hotjobs.salary.com/salarywiz...obcode=HC07000310&altername=Enter+search+term

oral surgeon:
http://hotjobs.salary.com/salarywiz...obcode=HC07000352&altername=Enter+search+term

 

[DDSY]

Here is an article from the Wall Street Journal supporting the fact that general dentists are currently making more than primary care practitioners but dentist specialists are not earning as much as MD specialists (data used for net income was derived from ADA). Clearly the data presented by ADA conflicts with salary.com's estimates (yahoo and monster also use salary.com, which uses reported income nationwide), and this discrepancy is especially noticeable with the earnings of specialists.: ADA states that dental specialists earn about 300K . .

http://wsjclassroom.com/archive/05apr/care_dentist.htm