I come from a family of health professions and have about 3 dentists in my immediate family once removed, and notice there's a lot of misinfo in here.
Firstly, that chart is straight up wrong. Physician's don't only make 200k-250k. The lowest paid specialty is probably pediatrics and they will still clear 200k easily unless they're in a super saturated area working in some sort of community health center getting paid peanuts by the dollar. Most physicians would be making closer to 250k-350k on average, with the higher paid specialties being paid 350k+ and these numbers are being generously inclusive.
Secondly, I won't even touch the dental specialties salary on the chart as that's obviously wrong but I will add that perhaps the most accurate thing in that chart would be general dentists making around 155k, that is if we're just talking about part-time associateship. I understand that a med student with no actual knowledge in the field could get something like this wrong, but I have no idea why actual dentists would perpetuate this myth that the average range includes 130k. Literally every metric, including testimonials as well as the recruiter pages, says otherwise. As an associate, you should be making closer to 160k-220k. If you're really curious and still don't trust all those metrics, then maybe pay an accountant for their data.
On the other hand, the stories of practices paying a starting salary of $400-$500 per day equating 100k-130k are true. But something that SDN never talks about is that this is the starting rate. This does not include negotiations for collections or productions after a year of practice. In fact, a good practice would give you one a few months of practice. As an average full time associate, if you're making 130k by the second year, then you're being underpaid. If you're making 130k, after that, then you're working part time.
And this notion about dentists needing to sell the procedure is overblown. Do you non dental professionals really think dentists need to sell their procedures? Patient comes in with sharp pain or swelling and you think we need to sell a root canal? No good dentist needs to sell their procedures. Make the diagnosis, create treatment options and alternatives, and let them understand the consequences, then let the patient decide. If anything, patients would actually start distrusting you if you start "selling" procedures.