future outlook

[vikings022000]

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hey guys,

i'm new here, so i'm sorry if something like this has been posted before. i was wondering if any of you had insight/opinions about a few trends in the dental profession. one of them would be a take over by managed care. how far do you think managed care will be able to penetrate into the dental profession? my other major concern is the future outlook of dentistry. will it always be as profitable as it is right now? don't get me wrong...i'm not all about the money. i do like the business/medical aspect of dentistry, but being able to live an extremely comfortable life is very important to me as well. do you guys have any insights as to whether dentists/specialists will continue to make at least what they do now in the near future?

thanks for any help guys, and i hope to contribute to this board more as i apply and go along dental school

 

[lnn2]

hey guys,

i'm new here, so i'm sorry if something like this has been posted before. i was wondering if any of you had insight/opinions about a few trends in the dental profession. one of them would be a take over by managed care. how far do you think managed care will be able to penetrate into the dental profession? my other major concern is the future outlook of dentistry. will it always be as profitable as it is right now? don't get me wrong...i'm not all about the money. i do like the business/medical aspect of dentistry, but being able to live an extremely comfortable life is very important to me as well. do you guys have any insights as to whether dentists/specialists will continue to make at least what they do now in the near future?

thanks for any help guys, and i hope to contribute to this board more as i apply and go along dental school

Managed care will never be able to take over dentistry like they've done with medicine. Dentistry is like comestic surgery in medicine, patients have to pay most of the money out of their pockets.

my other major concern is the future outlook of dentistry. will it always be as profitable as it is right now? don't get me wrong...i'm not all about the money.

There's nothing wrong with that, granted you do enjoy what you're doing. I woudn't say profitable but it's a very rewarding career. If there's anyone out there who's willing to pay for my student loans and providing me comfortable life then I'd do dentistry pro-bono!

So to answer your question, there's no PENETRATION in dentistry!

 

[USAF_Dentman]

So to answer your question, there's no PENETRATION in dentistry!

Unless you have a perverted dentist who does stuff to you when you are under sedation.. 😉

 

[ItsGavinC]

I woudn't say profitable but it's a very rewarding career.

You don't think dentists make a handsome profit? Technically, making any profit at all would be profitable.

 

[vikings022000]

lol, ok, so would you guys think dentists have large profit margins?

 

[LestatZinnie]

profit margin is not that high if you look at it in terms of percentage of gross. profit is usually 35-40% of gross. however if you're fast and do big ticket procedures then you'll still make good money. say a crown is usually about 800 bucks, and takes you 2h. you still pull about 300 or 150/h which is pretty good to me. same thing with fillings or veneers. experienced dentists can probably do a direct composite veneer in half an hour (i can do it in that time prep n restore on a mannequin...but it'll take a bit longer on real px because of setting up, which will not be an issue if you have an assistant, as well as admin. anaesthetics) and it's 100-150, take away cost and you're still doing pretty well.

 

[Rezdawg]

Dentistry is THE profession to get into now.

All the young dentists and current/future dental students are in a very fortunate position. 👍

 

[lnn2]

You don't think dentists make a handsome profit? Technically, making any profit at all would be profitable.

Very profitable. My cousin's making a killing as a GP for 7yrs. She doesn't even have her own practice. Man, I wish I was in her shoes.

 

[Rezdawg]

Dentistry is THE profession to get into now.

All the young dentists and current/future dental students are in a very fortunate position. 👍

 

[ackbar]

dentists, though they make more money than the average bear... are pretty damn poor and have little hope of leaving such a station compared to those with REAL money.

I highly recommend you becoming an heir instead.... less work for your buck.

 

[vikings022000]

so in essense what im trying to ask by do they make good money is this: can you easily net 150k as a dentist these days?

 

[vikings022000]

so in essense what im trying to ask by do they make good money is this: can you easily net 150k as a dentist these days? 😕

 

[LestatZinnie]

so in essense what im trying to ask by do they make good money is this: can you easily net 150k as a dentist these days? 😕

you know, when i applied to dental school i had no idea how much dentists made. i just knew i will almost likely always have a job and like it. any profession that nets 150k will require a lot of hard work. if you're looking for 'easy money' sorry dentistry doesn't really suit the bill.

to answer your question, as an associate probably not many make that much. as an owner it's easier but require lots of hard work. if you can excel in any field you can make good money whether you're a chef, IT guy, lawyer, scientist, accountant, etc. if you go into dentistry thinking you will make 150k, there's no guarantee, so you might as well choose something you like.

 

[Rezdawg]

if you go into dentistry thinking you will make 150k, there's no guarantee, so you might as well choose something you like.

I think it would be pretty difficult to find an established dentist (5+ years of experience) that makes less than 150k a year. There are exceptions, such as those that work in rural areas or those that are primarily doing research or those that work 20 hours a week. For the most part, I think making 150k a year as a dentist is a very safe bet.

 

[LestatZinnie]

I think it would be pretty difficult to find an established dentist (5+ years of experience) that makes less than 150k a year. There are exceptions, such as those that work in rural areas or those that are primarily doing research or those that work 20 hours a week. For the most part, I think making 150k a year as a dentist is a very safe bet.

actually, dentists who work in rural areas usually make MORE than saturated urban centers. neighborhood of 150k is the average for established dentists, but remember when it's an average, there are quite a proportion of earners that's below the average or above. we were shown some salary data in class and the standard deviation around those averages were pretty high so you could be earning significantly more or less than the avg.