How much do dental school faculty members make?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
I

ISU_Steve

Cranky old man
10+ Year Member
7+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Messages
931
Reaction score
1
Does anyone know how much dental school faculty members make (or know where I could find out, short of calling and asking)? I have an interest in academics (more so than general practice) but it is quelled to a certain degree by the uncertainty of what the payscale is like. Anyone who could provide any assistance, it would be greatly appreciated.
Members don't see this ad.
 
ISU_Steve said:
Does anyone know how much dental school faculty members make (or know where I could find out, short of calling and asking)? I have an interest in academics (more so than general practice) but it is quelled to a certain degree by the uncertainty of what the payscale is like. Anyone who could provide any assistance, it would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

I'd guess 70 - 100 K for junior faculty, 100-130 K for senior faculty, 200+ for deans.
 
This is just an estimate, but I am gathering somewhere in the neighborhood of 1/2 the salary of a practicing dentist. This number may be higher depending on the dental school. Most dentists I have encountered in academia try to subsidize their lower incomes with a combination of teaching and private practice. Those that teach full-time have sometimes admitted that it was a real sacrifice in academia, which can probably be likened to dental professionals in the military as far as salary, but they do get other perqs.

This link may help in answering this question in more detail

https://www2.adea.org/adcn/

Take care and GOD bless.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Thank you Shifty.

As always Grant, your assistance is always appreciated.
 
I'd agree with the numbers posted above. It's going to vary from institution to institution, and also vary based on practice experience.

For example, the guy that invented flowable composites is full-time faculty at my school, and I'm sure he's probably making more than some of his academic peers.

I've thought about doing some adjunct work when I graduate. It would be nice to stay in touch with the academic side of things and get to keep in contact with students as well.
 
ItsGavinC said:
It would be nice to stay in touch with the academic side of things and get to keep in contact with students as well.
Click to expand...
Not to mention the steady paycheck!
 
Thanks for the info Gavin.

I've always enjoyed teaching- as a clinical instructor for RT and EMS students- so I think I would enjoy it as a dentist and it would seem to be a much better fit for my interests and desires in case I don't get into a residency than just becoming a general practitioner.
 
There's a good reason why we have a drastic shortage of dental school faculty across the nation. It's probably money. Otherwise, who wouldn't want to have the relaxation of being a big man (or woman) on campus as opposed to running a dental office? I think the estimate of half a dentist's income is a good guess. However, I don't think part time faculty at my school get paid anything.
 
LIke I said, I'd rather be a full time faculty member than be a general dentist. Actually I'd rather go teach undergraduate biology than have to do the daily grind of general dentistry for the next 20+ years. I'm not in it for the money, so a 50% reduction wouldn't be too bad. It's still more money than I am making now.
 
i just got a package from ADA
"managing finances" infopak
2005
here is the breakdown
2002 survey: (yes only a survey)
private practice 162K
associate 103K
dent sch faculty/staff with practice income(p.i.) ~97K
fed dental service with practice income 84K
fed dent service w/o p.i. 67K
public health w/p.i. ~100K
publich health w/o p.i. 84K
grad student stipend with p.i. 42K
grad student stipend w/o p.i. 26K

i think faculty survey is more accurate than private practice.
do keep in mind that some dental sch have more money to pay their faculty than some others.
 
ISU_Steve said:
LIke I said, I'd rather be a full time faculty member than be a general dentist. Actually I'd rather go teach undergraduate biology than have to do the daily grind of general dentistry for the next 20+ years. I'm not in it for the money, so a 50% reduction wouldn't be too bad. It's still more money than I am making now.
Click to expand...

...so, er...you say you're not in it for the money, but from this it sounds like you're as heck not in it for the dentistry either. If that's the case, what *are* you in it for?
 
I could live quite well off of 97K a year. Thanks for the info.
 
ISU_Steve said:
I could live quite well off of 97K a year. Thanks for the info.
Click to expand...


97k/year is nice for now, but who knows what kind of car/house/luxaries you will desire in 20-30-40 years. If you really prefer to teach at an undergrad school, i suggest you get your PhD instead of DDS. you can teach undergrad as well as grad biology, do research, be in school all the time and you may get promoted to teach at the dental/med school (you dont have to be a dentist to teach anatomy/physiology/histology/ microbio/biochem/immuno/ etc to dental students).

my 2 cents.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
What am I in it for?

Specialization.

I'm in it for the dentistry, just not the same kind of dentistry as some of you. Just like someone who goes to med school with no intention of becoming a family practice or internal medicine physician. Is there something so wrong with that? OMS, perio, ortho, or endo are still dentistry at least the last time I checked- of course the truth might not be revealed to those of us who aren't dental students yet. 😉 :meanie:

As for luxuries, so? I don't need a BMW and Lexus and a Porsche to be happy. I guess I just look at things a little differently. Seems that you're more concerned with living the "doctor" lifestyle than I am. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I respect people who are open about their motives.

BTW I don't want to be a professor for a living as a first choice (otherwise I would just be going for my Ph.D and I would have never thought about dental school), but it seems to be more in keeping with my interests as a backup in case I don't get into a residency.
 
You can't compare dentistry to medicine like that. Family practice medicine is completely different from psychiatry which is completely different from orthopedic surgery etc... But dentistry is dentistry; with the exception of complex oral surgery specialists do pretty much the same dentistry as GPs -- just within a smaller scope.

So, I'm curious... why is it specialize or bust? Is it the prestige? There are people in my class who think the same way... I'm just wondering. 🙂
 
dont know about other schools, but at a few canadian universities, you need to have a Ph.D to be a full professor in faculty of dentistry, and you'll also need to conduct research on the side.

as for specialization, if you're into the research side then it'll still probably be good. However, i've had 3 profs (1 general, 2 specialists) tell me that unless it's ortho or OMS, the other areas are not worth going into (as private practice). One reason is because by those fields are in their prime right now and by the time we're done (another 5-6 years) and considering we'll have to do it for another 30 years, the demand might not be there as very severe oral diseases requiring perio, dentures, endo, etc are declining (amazing how about 1/2 of the people in our class never had one single cavity). Second reason is that more and more general dentists are getting into these areas because of better technology.
 
It's the challenge. I want to do the really complex cases, because that's what interests me. I could personally give a rats ass about supposed prestige- if I was wouldn't I be more geared towards medicine? MD's certainly get much more respect than do dentists irregardless of specialty.
 
Regardless of the fact that irregardless is not a word, I have the following to say to that: 😛 :laugh: :laugh:
 
ISU_Steve said:
It's the challenge. I want to do the really complex cases, because that's what interests me. I could personally give a rats ass about supposed prestige- if I was wouldn't I be more geared towards medicine? MD's certainly get much more respect than do dentists irregardless of specialty.
Click to expand...


IMO, general dentistry is more challenging than a given specialty. You have to master multiple different areas, not one. It doesn't matter how hard a certain specialty is, over time it becomes routine just like anything else. Molars w/ 4 canals, twisting, w/ multiple accesories is only hard for so long, and then it gets routine. In GP you have to master many different aspects. With general, at least you have the flexibility to change the focus of your practice. I too am going to specialize for different reasons, but i think the challenging reasoning falls a little short.

No need to get so defensive. From the tone of your posts it seemed that you were teaching or bust. I too had the same question...why. You failed to mention the specialize thing until later.
 
The reason I didn't mention it outright was because I wanted help finding an answer and I felt that if I came right out and said it that a lot of people would flame me for the heretical view I take of general practice.

I guess all of the general dentists I've shadowed with, and that's six or seven so far, are limiting themselves a great deal. It just seems to be rather redundant. I've seen nothing more complicated than an extraction done by any of the generalists. Seems like all the interesting cases get referred out, especially the things that seem like I would be enthused about doing. Yes, general dentists can do anything that they set their mind upon and if they so chose then who am I to say that they shouldn't? I just find an interest in specific aspects of dentistry and if I can't get into those, then I need to find a suitable alternative.
 
ISU_Steve said:
The reason I didn't mention it outright was because I wanted help finding an answer and I felt that if I came right out and said it that a lot of people would flame me for the heretical view I take of general practice.

I guess all of the general dentists I've shadowed with, and that's six or seven so far, are limiting themselves a great deal. It just seems to be rather redundant. I've seen nothing more complicated than an extraction done by any of the generalists. Seems like all the interesting cases get referred out, especially the things that seem like I would be enthused about doing. Yes, general dentists can do anything that they set their mind upon and if they so chose then who am I to say that they shouldn't? I just find an interest in specific aspects of dentistry and if I can't get into those, then I need to find a suitable alternative.
Click to expand...

Save yourself the expense that you will incur from dental school and go teach biology at the community college...you will be doing yourself and the profession a favor (I mean the profession of community college professors of course) 😉 .

Ben
 
What if you want to own a private practice and work there full time as a dentist, but also want to teach/do research part-time at a university? Would it be hard to get a job, and would you be then an adjunct professor? Do adjunct professors have their own labs, or they only read lectures? And would it be possible to teach something undergrad/grad, like computational bio, or you would have to teach dental clinical oriented courses?
 
bor0000 said:
What if you want to own a private practice and work there full time as a dentist, but also want to teach/do research part-time at a university? Would it be hard to get a job, and would you be then an adjunct professor? Do adjunct professors have their own labs, or they only read lectures? And would it be possible to teach something undergrad/grad, like computational bio, or you would have to teach dental clinical oriented courses?
Click to expand...

a) Yes, you can teach part-time. Research, not so much.
b) Lab space at most universities is at a premium, so part-time or "adjunct" faculty rarely get dedicated lab space.
c) If you want to be a dental school faculty member, you should be interested in teaching dentistry.
 
ISU_Steve said:
What am I in it for?

Specialization.

I'm in it for the dentistry, just not the same kind of dentistry as some of you. Just like someone who goes to med school with no intention of becoming a family practice or internal medicine physician. Is there something so wrong with that? OMS, perio, ortho, or endo are still dentistry at least the last time I checked- of course the truth might not be revealed to those of us who aren't dental students yet. 😉 :meanie:

As for luxuries, so? I don't need a BMW and Lexus and a Porsche to be happy. I guess I just look at things a little differently. Seems that you're more concerned with living the "doctor" lifestyle than I am. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I respect people who are open about their motives.

BTW I don't want to be a professor for a living as a first choice (otherwise I would just be going for my Ph.D and I would have never thought about dental school), but it seems to be more in keeping with my interests as a backup in case I don't get into a residency.
Click to expand...


Can anyone add to this thread? IS there some sort of offer for people with DDS degrees to teach and have their loans paid for? (its only fair since dentist working in underserved areas get their loans paid for...why not professors too??)
ANYONE know of such a thing? please share. thanks!
 
SHC1984 said:
Can anyone add to this thread? IS there some sort of offer for people with DDS degrees to teach and have their loans paid for? (its only fair since dentist working in underserved areas get their loans paid for...why not professors too??)
ANYONE know of such a thing? please share. thanks!
Click to expand...

Only repayment programs I've heard of are state funded or if you work at an Indian reservation. Usually the clinic will be in the middle of the woods somewhere.

Professor positions are too "cushy" and dental schools are break-even businesses as they are so I doubt they have money to pay off even one person's dental school loans which nowadays breaks $300-350k easily.

- NU 2000
 
Last edited:
SHC1984 said:
Can anyone add to this thread? IS there some sort of offer for people with DDS degrees to teach and have their loans paid for? (its only fair since dentist working in underserved areas get their loans paid for...why not professors too??)
ANYONE know of such a thing? please share. thanks!
Click to expand...

You should contact schools you are interested in. I am pretty sure there were loan repayment options where I went to school - the salary is low though even compared to public health or indian health services.
 
If you go to a state school (as opposed to private) usually the salaries are public record. I know this because this summer I accidentally found the 2008-2009 salaries of every person who works at my school while trying to find where one of my prof's office was located... Amazing what Google will do sometimes...
 
I'm pretty sure that Oklahoma has loan repayment, but I believe it is limited to $20k per year for four years. However, you also get commission for each crossword puzzle you complete during clinic. 🙂
 
I'm actually the wife of a dental student, and I do research at the dental school he attends...and I'm friends with the department secretary so I find out this kind of stuff!

The salary varies quite a bit, and is primarily dependent on the kinds of grants (i.e. big multimillion vs. smaller) you are able to get. Our department chair, who is in charge of a big grant that is very community-visible, makes $150K. He's been there a while. The ex-dean, who doesn't really do anything but wander around, makes $100K. He's been there for about 30 years. There is an assistant professor who makes $125K, but she is the PI on 3 big grants that she coordinates with other dental schools for.

However, these are the exception. Most assistant/associate professors are making about $70K/yr. Frankly, the hardest working are actually paid less (one works about 12 hr days and comes in on weekends)...whereas the people lucky enough to get a sweet committee head job might make more and not work nearly as hard. Like I said though, most of the grunts that have been there less than 20 years are making 70K for 5-6 days a week, 12 hour days, expected 5-6 publications a year, and teaching responsibilities.

I know of one assistant professor who is on a loan repayment. However, it is a minimal amount, and he only had about 100K in loans. Plus, his loan repayment status got revoked because he wasn't publishing enough.

There you have it! At least where I work, (working with the people I work with), I can't imagine wanting to work in academic dentistry. No one is ever happy, everyone is always super stressed (especially in this bad funding environment), and they make crap pay for having gone to such an expensive dental school. Two have privately told me they went into academic dentistry b/c after clinic work they realized they hated dentistry but were too far into it.

Anyway - that's been my experience. Feel free to PM or whatever if you have more questions, or more specific questions.
 
i'd estimate that faculty of schools i know (northeast) make in the range of $70-90k on teaching alone. most, if not all, participate in the faculty practice, supplementing income w/ another $20-30k. lets be honest, you go through all that training, why not use it to pay the bills and then some?
 
StL_to_Boston said:
If you go to a state school (as opposed to private) usually the salaries are public record. I know this because this summer I accidentally found the 2008-2009 salaries of every person who works at my school while trying to find where one of my prof's office was located... Amazing what Google will do sometimes...
Click to expand...

That's a pretty lucky hit. State employee salaries are public record but its very difficult to find via the internet.
 
drben said:
Save yourself the expense that you will incur from dental school and go teach biology at the community college...you will be doing yourself and the profession a favor (I mean the profession of community college professors of course) 😉 .

Ben
Click to expand...

Hear hear. Don't limit yourself to a CC, but go get your PhD and be a kickass professor! Or make a difference in the lives of high school students.

ISU_Steve, I'm not picking on you, but listen to what you've said: you've pretty much contradicted yourself several times in this thread and your main thesis seems to be that you think dentistry is interesting, but you aren't pleased with what you see in general practice, aren't in it for finances, didn't mention wanting a particular specialty, and have a dream of teaching biology.

The ONLY way that people do well in school and as a dentist is for a genuine passion for the oral cavity, the procedures that go on in dentistry, manipulating oral tissues, and educating patients. Don't put yourself through it otherwise.
 
As a 15 year dental professor [I also went the private practice route, but the practice was not a good fit] at two schools, one at a Big 10 college in the Midwest and one on the East Coast, I can tell you a bit about the academic lifestyle.

First, I love dentistry! AND I love taking care of patients! And I really like teaching [when students want to learn]. I think these help to make me a good teacher. That said, I have definitely given up some $$$ because of my choice of an academic career but no regrets.

Also, it is hard to make an across the board statement about where you will be the most financially successful. In order to make the most from either route you follow, you must be willing to work very hard. It takes a lot of dentistry to command a $150,000 to $200,000 net income. In private practice, you must be also very business oriented and be patient. A busy and successful practice does not happen overnight....especially in today's ecomony. As for teaching, it really depends on the school where you teach.
Success in academia often is linked to one's ability and willingness to move in order to be promoted to another level or position.

Most schools allow their fulltime faculty to practice one full day per week. I have known faculty to make only about $15K extra for that day and have know some to make about $100K....that adds quite a bit to a $115K salary! Gets it closer to some private practitioners.

I think what you need to do is think about lifestyle, what you love to do and do that. If you're thinking about an academic career, that's great because there are many jobs from which to choose. You will need some advanced, postdoc education if you want to move ahead in academica, at least an AEGD/GPR. There are special niches for the PhD trained dentists at some schools like Iowa and at places like Mayo.

Best of luck with your plans.🙂
 
SHC1984 said:
Can anyone add to this thread? IS there some sort of offer for people with DDS degrees to teach and have their loans paid for? (its only fair since dentist working in underserved areas get their loans paid for...why not professors too??)
ANYONE know of such a thing? please share. thanks!
Click to expand...

https://www2.adea.org/adcn/
 
cookand said:
That's a pretty lucky hit. State employee salaries are public record but its very difficult to find via the internet.
Click to expand...

Not really... All I typed in to Google was "Professor X" and the name of my school and it was like the 2nd one on the list... didn't even mean to find it.. was kind of interesting to read though...
 
DrReo said:
http://staffweb.legis.state.ia.us/lfb/salbook/

One can search their favorite U of Iowa professor.
Click to expand...

I looked up what the OMFS attendings are making, and I have to admit I was surprised. I try not to let myself get caught up in salary, and stay focused on being a resident, but they do well at Iowa. Most make almost 300K, add in great benefits, likely a pension of some sort, and residents to do all your crap work, and you still get to do cool procedures, sounds like a great deal to me.
 
Do they get a fraction of their grant money?
 
It varies, but somewhere in the ballpark of tree fiddy to tree fiddy fi' for tenured professors
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
How does your dental school operate their clinic? Do students have to wait in long lines for clinical faculty to approve throughout appointment?
Replies
1
Views
2K
frentist
frentist
CaptainRyanYT Gaming
  • Question Question
Rutgers Dental Students. - How do you like the school? How difficult do you find it to maintain your class ranking and hows your life? PM me too!
Replies
1
Views
828
futureOrtho2027
F
X
Financing Dental School
Replies
14
Views
2K
New_Vegas
New_Vegas
U
NEW DENTAL SCHOOl
Replies
1
Views
2K
D1Bound
D1Bound
Studentofdeen
Issue by classmates and faculty
Replies
4
Views
2K
TanMan
T
Top