dentist starting salary

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gotit

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After someone receives their licence, what is the usual path or the variety of paths that follow afterwards? What is the starting salary for most dentist?
How long will they have to work before they start earning 6 digits?
 
go on salary.com or just search for your question on google, some sites even have specific zipcode average salaries.
 
psiyung said:
Check the ADA website for better statistics. The PR website you posted has loads of bad information that the unsuspecting public deems as "good"

Believe me, if a dentist made only 50K starting out, more and more people would just get their BS
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You are absolutely correct.
Reguardless of whether money is a priority for per-dental students, anyone can see the data on the PR is incorrect. First, as a professional and someone who has gone through at the least four more years of schooling, one is certainly compensated or else they would stick with the BS like what psiyung said. Second, if 50K were a true figure, we can guess that those dentists who reported those figure to PR are pocketing alot of cash from their private practices 😀 .

Third, good luck everyone!
 
gotit said:
people who think they'll make near the 6 digits is in for a surprise
http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/profiles/facts.asp?CareerID=50
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The Princeton Review as a divine source of information? - I don't think so. And what is this Dent-U-Center they profess as one of the largest employers of dentists? :scared: Their figures seem a bit off and I agree with the other posters that recommend checking out the ADA for a better assesment of the dental field and the figures involved.
 
Sprgrover said:
The Princeton Review as a divine source of information? - I don't think so. And what is this Dent-U-Center they profess as one of the largest employers of dentists? :scared: Their figures seem a bit off and I agree with the other posters that recommend checking out the ADA for a better assesment of the dental field and the figures involved.
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I think they post things like that to discourage students form going into dentistry, as they seem to cater to pre-meds..
 
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dude who in thier right mind would take out a 300000 dollar loan if they believe they will make 50000 a year? HAHAHAHAHA
 
qaztake82 said:
dude who in thier right mind would take out a 300000 dollar loan if they believe they will make 50000 a year? HAHAHAHAHA
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Teachers have to go through a lot of education to for very little pay. It is unfortunate that one of the most important professions is also one with the lowest amount of compensation.
 
edkNARF said:
Teachers have to go through a lot of education to for very little pay. It is unfortunate that one of the most important professions is also one with the lowest amount of compensation.
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Not entirely true, I don't think any of my grade school, middle school, or high school teachers took out over $10,000 in loans to go to school. Although I do agree that it is one of the most important and underpaid professions, I just don't think many teachers go into serious debt to become such. If you're talking university level professors with PhD's then your point falls apart because they are very well paid comparatively. When I look for dental statistics I look to the American Dental Association, something just tells me that they might be right.
 
edkNARF said:
Teachers have to go through a lot of education to for very little pay. It is unfortunate that one of the most important professions is also one with the lowest amount of compensation.
Click to expand...

If you consider they work only 9 mths of the year and have a two week vacation at Christmas and a week vacation at Easter not to mention the many teacher work days, teachers make very good money. It is the way the job is structured that makes those in the profession feel that they are not paid well.
 
Although it might look like people in New York are making more than people in say, Nonameville, Arkansas...you have to also take into consideration the cost of living. So although some local might cause you to think you'll be making buukos of money, that's not always the case...
 
gotit said:
After someone receives their licence, what is the usual path or the variety of paths that follow afterwards? What is the starting salary for most dentist?
How long will they have to work before they start earning 6 digits?
Click to expand...


I interviewed at Case this fall and the lady told us that their new graduates are signing on in associate positions between 80-110K per year. I have read some really riduculas things here.
If you are a competent new dentist upon graduating and you take a job for less you are a fool!. Hygienists are making $30/per hour. If you are hired on at $50/per hour, 40 hrs per week equals roughly 100k/per yr. That is the going rate for new graduates, possibly more in expensive places like NYC. This income should also be increased in 6 months or so once you gain some speed and confidence in private practice.
 
ItsGavinC said:
Average starting salary of $50,000? LOL, yeah, in the 70s.
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That's right about where many of my classmates started back in the middle of the 1990's. Until you've "been there, done that" , I'd be careful what I say-- but hey, I'm not the person whose going to have to pay back all that money plus interest for student loans.
 
AZ2thDOC said:
That's right about where many of my classmates started back in the middle of the 1990's. Until you've "been there, done that" , I'd be careful what I say-- but hey, I'm not the person whose going to have to pay back all that money plus interest for student loans.
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LoL, this is too funny when people start flamming the moderator of SDN...Gavin was trying to joke around, and just because you had some friends that started at $50K doesn't mean that that's what the average was.
 
From the Princeton Review:

Facts and Figures

# of people in profession: 164,000
Average hours per week: 50
Average starting salary: $50,000
Average salary after 5 years: $80,000
Average salary after 10 to 15 years: $122,000


Professionals Read:
Dental Lab Entrepreneur
Journal of American Dantal Association
General Dentistry


Books, Films, and TV Shows Featuring the Profession:
House Guest
Marathon Man
Little Shop of Horrors
The Counterlife

Major Employers:
Dent-U-Center

Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas

$50,000/yr. and 50 hrs/week. Yup that sounds about right to me. 😉

Major employers are Dent-U-Center and Dallas Presbyterian??? 😕 I guess if they were basing salary figures on a denture mill and hospital full of residents this is what they'd get.
 
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I am sure that where you practice, and of course under what conditions you enter the workforce, has a bearing on your income, among other things. I'm not counting on making a six figure income in my first years, but 50K seems a bit low to me.

This is pulled directly from the ADA website, which I tend to trust a lot more than the Princeton Review.


Anticipating Your Income
As a student, you are not making much money, if any at all. But once you begin to practice, your earnings will increase. According to the 2002 Survey of New Dentist Financial Issues, average income for new dentists is promising:

Anticipating Your Income
Private Practice Owner Dentist $162,579
Non-Owner Dentist (associate) $103,718
Dental School Faculty/Staff (with practice income) $ 96,762
Federal Dental Service (with practice income) $ 84,366
Federal Dental Service (without practice income) $ 66,875
Public Health (with practice income) $ 95,505
Public Health (without practice income) $ 84,030
Graduate Student Stipend (with practice income) $ 41,883
Graduate Student Stipend (without practice income) $ 25,598

Income noted is average income for new dentists (less than ten years out of school) in that occupation....
 
Sprgrover said:
Graduate Student Stipend (with practice income) $ 41,883
Graduate Student Stipend (without practice income) $ 25,598
Click to expand...
what exactly is this referring to?
 
datu said:
Yeah, EARLY '70s.
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I personally surveyed 12 dentists. The avg annual income that i got for a starting dentist is 83,500. After 3 years in practice around 115,000 dollars.
One dentist made 80,000 and another made 190,000.
It's a huge bussiness, you have to be a salesman and streetsmart to make around 200,000 easy.
 
Uhhh. 50k and 50 hours a week = 20 dollars an hour Why would anyone take out 200k in loans to make 20 an hour. I can make 14 an hour working in a lab with just my BS in bio right now. I have a few friends that actually do. If they move up to supervisor positions they get around 20. I would say the starting salary for a dentist right out of school is around 90k.
 
Sprgrover said:
Federal Dental Service (with practice income) $ 84,366
Federal Dental Service (without practice income) $ 66,875 Public Health (with practice income) $ 95,505
Public Health (without practice income) $ 84,030
Click to expand...

whats FEDeral Dental service>>??
 
Ash said:
I personally surveyed 12 dentists. The avg annual income that i got for a starting dentist is 83,500. After 3 years in practice around 115,000 dollars.
One dentist made 80,000 and another made 190,000.
It's a huge bussiness, you have to be a salesman and streetsmart to make around 200,000 easy.
Click to expand...

Then I should be able to make around $400K, easy. OTOH, most of my classmates are the farthest thing from shrewd and they'd probably have difficulty making their first buck.
 
Money is not the only reason why I decided to switch to dentistry, but it is one of the reasons. I do not expect to make 6-digit income when I get out, but I do not expect to make too far off from where I stand now either. I posted the below pic in October (from salary.com). Based on my conversation with several dentists, I think it's reasonable to expect to make 6-digit income a few years after graduation. In my circle of friends and family, there have been three new dentists graduated in the last 6 months. One started $350/day, one started $450/day, the other one makes roughly 10K a month. Some may say that this is too much to expect. IMO, it's reasonable.
dentist.jpg
 
datu said:
Then I should be able to make around $400K, easy. OTOH, most of my classmates are the farthest thing from shrewd and they'd probably have difficulty making their first buck.
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Don't forget I have an MBA 😉
 
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A Dentist with MBA = Top $$$$? - versus - a Dentist with no MBA.

I would like to know where does making the top money matter, besides location.

Can a Dentist with poor clinical skills make more bucks than a one with good clinical skills?
 
Mo007 said:
Can a Dentist with poor clinical skills make more bucks than a one with good clinical skills?
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IMO, I think that is possible. Open some more offices and hire some good dentists with no-business minds. I'm sure there are great dentists that don't want to open their own offices. You just have to find them! Think about it as a hair/nail salon ( :laugh: ) Most owners don't do the work! Maybe it's not a good comparison, but you get the idea.
 
Mo007 said:
Can a Dentist with poor clinical skills make more bucks than a one with good clinical skills?
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My friend has a cousin in TX that became a dentist, buys up old practices, renovates and equips them, and then sells them to other dentists planning to start their own practice. He's basically a broker and only works at his own practice maybe 2 days/week.
 
Ha! $50,000. Thats a good one! :laugh:

Here is the story of the ADEA website:

Average Net Income: Among the factors contributing to increasing interest in dentistry as a career is the average net income of full-time dentists. The average net income of solo, full-time, dentists in private practice has increased over 89% since 1990, from $94,200 to $177,980 in 2000 (Survey of Dental Practice, American Dental Association, 2001). The net hourly income of dentists now exceeds that of family physicians, general internists, and pediatricians. Reported average incomes depend on length of time in practice, the number of hours spent treating patients, and the use of allied dental personnel. Reported incomes also depend on type of practice. The average net income of solo, full-time, private general practitioners was $159,550 in 2000. It was $270,790 for dental specialists. For new dentists the average net income of new dentists graduating from U.S. dental schools between 1999-2001 it was $142,461; for graduates from 1996-1998 it was $153,174; and for graduates of 1992-1995 it was $174,565 (Survey of New Dentist Financial Issues , American Dental Association, 2002). Additionally, incomes vary by region of the U.S.


To sum up: Graduates from 2001: already making $142,000
Average private GD: $160,000
Average Specialist: $270,000 😱
 
crazy_sherm said:
My friend has a cousin in TX that became a dentist, buys up old practices, renovates and equips them, and then sells them to other dentists planning to start their own practice. He's basically a broker and only works at his own practice maybe 2 days/week.
Click to expand...

I know of a dentist that does the same thing and has made a killing.
 
Mo007 said:
Can a Dentist with poor clinical skills make more bucks than a one with good clinical skills?
Click to expand...

That is possible. A more common scenario would be a dentist with fair clinical skills making more bucks than one with good clinical skills--that is entirely possible and happens on a daily basis.

Patient communication and personality account for a LOT in the patient's mind, so if the work is fair and of good standard, then they will be happy with you.

The converse is the dentist with exceptional clinical skills. The guy produces works of art, but talks down to his patients or doesn't even do that, he just doesn't communicate effictively. That guy can have trouble making the income he would like to, simply because his personality doesn't lend itself to patients.
 
luder98 said:
Money is not the only reason why I decided to switch to dentistry, but it is one of the reasons. I do not expect to make 6-digit income when I get out, but I do not expect to make too far off from where I stand now either. I posted the below pic in October (from salary.com). Based on my conversation with several dentists, I think it's reasonable to expect to make 6-digit income a few years after graduation. In my circle of friends and family, there have been three new dentists graduated in the last 6 months. One started $350/day, one started $450/day, the other one makes roughly 10K a month. Some may say that this is too much to expect. IMO, it's reasonable.
Click to expand...


Those numbers are perfectly plausible and very common in today's marketplace. Most associates will be offered $300-500/day or ~26-28% of production or ~30% of collection. Some will be offered $500/day for the first month and then switch over to a collection or production-driven salary after the first month.

It isn't at all far-fetched to earn a six-figure income after a couple of years (2-3 years), and some associates will be earning that fresh out of school.
 
The average dentist fresh out of dental school earns $15 million a year. Plus, you can typically negotiate a signing bonus worth another few million. All you pre-dents reading this, don't let people quoting realistic salary numbers get in your way--don't take any job offer that doesn't meet this threshold.
 
aphistis said:
The average dentist fresh out of dental school earns $15 million a year. Plus, you can typically negotiate a signing bonus worth another few million. All you pre-dents reading this, don't let people quoting realistic salary numbers get in your way--don't take any job offer that doesn't meet this threshold.
Click to expand...

Right. Thus all recent graduates will have unreasonably high expectations about starting salaries and turn down many top-paying jobs, leaving the spots open for.... you?!?!

lol. I WISH it were $15 bill; then I wouldn't worry so much about paying back those loans...
 
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aphistis said:
The average dentist fresh out of dental school earns $15 million a year. Plus, you can typically negotiate a signing bonus worth another few million. All you pre-dents reading this, don't let people quoting realistic salary numbers get in your way--don't take any job offer that doesn't meet this threshold.
Click to expand...
:laugh: 👍
 
gotit said:
After someone receives their licence, what is the usual path or the variety of paths that follow afterwards? What is the starting salary for most dentist?
How long will they have to work before they start earning 6 digits?
Click to expand...



maybe in China
 
bump in 2011 how much would a starting dentist make if they worked in a private practice
 
FutureDentalSt1 said:
bump in 2011 how much would a starting dentist make if they worked in a private practice
Click to expand...

depends on city. also depends on what you mean by "private practice"... you mean owning your own practice? or working as an associate?

As an associate tho (and I am generalizing big time here), you could make between 100-120k. Higher and lower figures can be obtained in some cities. This also depends on how well you can negotiate your contract, 25%? 30%? 35%? 40%(very rare)? of production...

Everytime I look at these various reports on dentist salaries, I always see figures between 170k to like 230k+ (just GP, no specialist). But these figures aren't very helpful for me.... because I want to know how much the average starting salary of a dentist is, and unfortunately, there aren't that many resources out there for such.
 
edkNARF said:
Your income is also highly dependant on where you live. A dentist in New York City is going to make a lot more than a dentist in Fayettville, Arkansas.
Click to expand...

I disagree with the second sentence here.

Rural areas can be goldmines.

I like bringing up two old posts on salary threads, although they don't directly relate.
_______________________________________
Armorshell, on a long-dead thread, posted some great stuff. I'll repost it here:
Someone a few years back did their due diligence and looked at the AMA and ADA salary surveys from 2003 and calculated the hourly wages. You'll find Derm nestled snugly below 6 dental specialties and slightly above general dentistry:

Salary/Hours
1. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon 336/36 = $179.5/hr
2. Endodontist 303.9/36 = $162.4/hr
3. Pedodontiac Dentist 294.4/36 = $157.1/hr
4. Orthodontist 279.4/36 = $149.0/hr
5. Orthopedic Surgeon 335.8/54.1 = $119.4/hr

6. Periodontist 216.4/36 = $115.4/hr
7. Pathologist 246.5/41.6 = $114.0/hr
8. Rad (Diag)/Rad Onc 327.7/58.5 = $107.7/hr
9. Prosthodontist 190.9/36 = $102.0/hr
10. Opthalomologist 229.2/43.7 = $100.9/hr

11. Dermatologist 219.5/42 = $100.5/hr
12. EM 220/45 = $94.0/hr
13. General Dentist 173.1/36 = $92.4/hr
14. Neurosurgery / Plastic Surgery 275.2/59.6 = $88.8/hr
15. Urologist 264.5/57.4 = $88.6/hr

16. Surgeon (gen) 263.7/58.2 = $87.1/hr
17. Anesthesiologist 244.7/58.7 = $80.2/hr
18. ENT 214.5/52.1 = $79.2/hr
19. OB/GYN 227/55.7 = $78.4/hr
20. Neurologist 183.1/53.7 = $65.6/hr

21. Psychiatrist 145.7/44 = $63.7/hr
22. IM 164.1/55.6 = $56.8/hr
23. FP 146.5/50.7 = $55.6/hr
24. Pediatrician 137.8/49.4 = $53.6/hr

http://www.ada.org/ada/prod/survey/p...rts.asp#income
Survey of Dental Practice. c. 2003 Edition, American Dental Association

http://medicine.wustl.edu/~residenc...pec/byspec.html
Physician Socioeconomic Statistics. c. 2003 Edition, American Medical Association
_______________________________________

Gary Ruska, in the same ancient thread, posted the more current stuff here:
Here are some more recent numbers, (c) ADA 2006 (income survey from 2005), for full-time practitioners (1600 hours or more/year)

1. OMFS: $408,570 for 1920 hours/year
2. Endo: $362,700 for 1824 hours/year
3. Pedo: $337,800 for 1728 hours/year
4. Ortho: $309,970 for 1728 hours/year
5. Perio: $295,630 for 1824 hours/year
6. Prosth: $232,310 for 1920 hours/year
7. General: $210,280 for 1728 hours/year

Hourly income (estimated):
1. OMFS: $213
2. Endo: $199
3. Pedo: $195
4. Ortho: $179
5. Perio: $162
6. Prosth: $121
7. General: $122
 
I woulda never guessed endo would be so near the top... Good lord, they average $150+ an hour....

Is it naturally low overhead?
 
dentalWorks said:
I woulda never guessed endo would be so near the top... Good lord, they average $150+ an hour....

Is it naturally low overhead?
Click to expand...

Yes, plus the fact that when all you're doing all day are root canals you get to be pretty fast at them. High volume + Higher fees - Low overhead = Bank.
 
how many years after Dental School does it take to be an Endo
 
mfoti1 said:
how many years after Dental School does it take to be an Endo
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lmao... now all pre-dents want endo...Its 2-3 years I believe (depending on program)....

Are endo programs competetive as same level as ortho / omfs?
 
dentalWorks said:
lmao... now all pre-dents want endo...Its 2-3 years I believe (depending on program)....

Are endo programs competetive as same level as ortho / omfs?
Click to expand...

Many endo programs won't accept folks straight out of dental school, FYI. All specialties are competitive. I'd be bored out of my mind if I were an endodontist.
 
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