Periodontics

[XxdtxX]

just wondering if anyone can supply me with any info. pertaining to the occupational aspects of Periodontics, i.e Salary, hours worked per week, everyday procedured performed

thank you

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[flat4]

I'm assisting at a Periodontics clinic right now and I think you should do the same before you commit yourself. It's pretty much the microsurgery of dentistry and it gets pretty messy. One volunteer actually passed out on his first day and I haven't seen him since. It's usually a three or four year program after dental school. Some of the more common procedure's I've seen are pocket reductions, gingival grafts, soft/hard tissue grafts, implant placements/exposures, etc...basically anything to do with the gums and bone underneath. I'm not exactly sure about salary but I like many specialties, you're probably looking at over $200K once you get established...don't quote me on that. If you are worried about salary, look up some job classifieds on the internet around your area and you'll probably get some more accurate numbers. I do highly suggest volunteering at a clinic before you commit yourself though to make sure that's what you want to do for the rest of your life. Good luck.

 

[XxdtxX]

First off, thanks alot GOLAKERS for your response. Just wanted to know why that person passed out(too much blood). Also, if you or anyone else has any more info about the practice of Periodontics(i.e. hours worked and salary) I would love for you to share. Thank you!!

 

[yosemitesam]

One of my friends has an uncle who is a periodontist in Salt Lake City. This is unsubstantiated, but my friend claims the uncle (who's prolly been practicing around 15-20 years) makes around $300,000 a year. By the way, perio is NOT for everybody, you are gonna see the smelliest, rottenest, most disgusting mouths on the planet on a daily basis. There is a MAJOR gross out factor associated with this specialty.

Look up some perio journals on the internet and read a dozen articles or so each month and spend some serious time with a practicing periodontist before you decide how much you love it.

But, obviously, some people dig it.

 

[XxdtxX]

bp

 

[adam11]

As a periodontist your salary can range from 200K to way over 500K depending on where you work, amount of hours a week and the procedures you do. My father is a periodontist and works a four day work week and brings home a very nice salary. Periodontists today perform traditional flap and osseous suregery, bone and tissue grafts, implants and crown lengthening procedures. Many of these procedures are not covered by insurance. Any questions just ask. Hope this info was helpful.

 

[XxdtxX]

Thanks alot for your comments adam11..... I had no idea a periodontist could command such a high salary. Another queston I have is...do you need to be great with your hands to be a periodontist or can most people learn the skill...

 

[adam11]

Most successful periodontists posess excellent hand eye coordination. I believe that this quality can be improved through practice through dental school with experience.

Those periodontists who command such high salarys often deal strictly with privvate patients(fee for service) not insurance. Therefore it is necessary to be surronded by affluent patients.

 

[johndental]

Periodontists also have great school debt as its three years after you dental degree to specialize.

I think its a great speciality. Much more interesting than Orthodontics but yet its not nearly as competitive in terms of class rank to obtain a residency ( perhaps its the extra of year of training involved ).

Affluent people are the only ones who can afford to save their teeth. Most hand eye coordination can be taught. Practice Practice Practice. Dental school teaches this. Dentistry is a learned skill.

 

[XxdtxX]

Does anyone know about the future of Periodontics........advancements in regeneration surgery, new techniques and procedures, the role of pharmocology in treating gum disease, ect.

-thanks

 

[yosemitesam]

It seems to me that perio is gonna be in high demand with the aging of the baby boomers; periodontists generally see a lot of older patients. And if perio is successful in its bid to assume authority in the field of implantology it would be an even more exciting and lucrative place to be. (This is still very much up in the air - it seems more logical to me that it will fall to the oral surgeons, but who knows?)

 

[ehop24]

i think that perio is preparing to become a more important field in dentistry.

recent research studies regarding periodontics continue to show periodontal disease as a major link/precursor to heart problems, low birth weight babies, etc.

the evidence is very conclusive...unhealthy gums lead to serious health problems...problems that are much worse than losing a tooth or having some jaw bone detioration.

one way that the public underplays the importance of dentistry is by thinking, "hey, bad teeth won't kill me." perio research contradicts that.

as this evidence continues to pile up, i can imagine that periodontics might soon be viewed as the most important facet of dentistry.

 

[yosemitesam]

one way that the public underplays the importance of dentistry is by thinking, "hey, bad teeth won't kill me." perio research contradicts that.

Actually I was reading some every interesting stuff about the development of dentistry the other day. And it is estimated that ~10% of all non-plague related deaths in medieval London were caused by dental problems.


P.S. London's still not the place to go looking for a girl with that million dollar smile.

 

[ehop24]

"And it is estimated that ~10% of all non-plague related deaths in medieval London were caused by dental problems."

Imagine if the same were true today!

Sounds like bad teeth in the medieval times were like car accidents in modern day.

Dentists back then sure could have had some good business. And it pre-dates the DAT! What could be better?

 

[XxdtxX]

Why isn't periodontics as competetive as say ortho or endo????

 

[ehop24]

Likely because, on average, it is not AS lucrative as ortho or endo. Not to say that perio isnt lucrative. I'm certain there are more than a fair share of perios making 500k+, and I believe that most make atleast 200k+. but ortho and endo tend to average a bit higher.

Also, just because it isnt AS competitive, doesnt mean it's an easy match. I'm sure you'll still need great boards and gpa's, plus some research.

One reason ortho is so competitive is the lifestyle, or rather, the nature of the work. It's very noninvasive. You put braces on a kid once (maybe twice), and just look at him/her once a month for the next 3 years.

Endo is just plain lucrative. From what I understand, they do not have much trouble pulling in 400K+, and I hear quite often of endo's pulliing 700K+.

 

[yosemitesam]

And remember that the level of competition tends to vary with each new application cycle. Endo hasn't always been the most lucrative or competitive specialty, and something else may quite possibly surpass it in the next few years; by the time we all get around to thinking about matches it might be like getting into prosthodontics now - unlikely, but possible.

 

[dudelove]

Salary as a general dentist or specialist depends on 1)how good you are 2)how good you are with the patients and 3)how good you are with your colleagues. If you are deficient in personality, believe me you will not be very successful. I work with a periodontist regularly sending all of my implant placements and a lot of perio surgery to him. He is booked 4 months out. The reason for this is because his work is excellent, he is great with the patients and he has great rapport with the dentists who refer out to him. He makes well over 500k a year. I also know of some periodontists who aren't good communicators and who do reasonably ok work who struggle to make 100k a year. Remember, most of the stuff the periodontist sees is elective, so it is important for the periodontist to instill a value in the procedures he is doing and also practice in the right area

 

[periohub]

Ran across this webite while bored at in-laws. Am a 35 y.o. board certified periodontist practicing for 5 years now in mid-sized city. Work approx 30 hours/week and posted approx $500k on personal tax returns last year.

But I have GP friends who are same age making about the same.

The key is not to take short cuts. Don't cheat in school - will only catch up to you in private practice. Provide excellent communication to patients and referrals - people like straight talk. Use high quality materials - skimping on products increases failure rate of procedures. If you take your time and strive to complete each dental procedure proficiently, your practice will grow organically (e.g. without having to market a lot), your reputation in the dental community will rise, and you will have more money than you know what to do with.

Oh, one more thing - I was the only person in my class to go for perio and was made fun of. But I found the specialty interesting. Now I'm in a city that could accomodate more periodontists, but limited supply of periodontists in the region (unlike ortho and endo - very saturated)! So do what aspect or specialty of dentistry you enjoy and don't follow the herd.

 

[xhamburgersamx]

Ran across this webite while bored at in-laws. Am a 35 y.o. board certified periodontist practicing for 5 years now in mid-sized city. Work approx 30 hours/week and posted approx $500k on personal tax returns last year.

But I have GP friends who are same age making about the same.

The key is not to take short cuts. Don't cheat in school - will only catch up to you in private practice. Provide excellent communication to patients and referrals - people like straight talk. Use high quality materials - skimping on products increases failure rate of procedures. If you take your time and strive to complete each dental procedure proficiently, your practice will grow organically (e.g. without having to market a lot), your reputation in the dental community will rise, and you will have more money than you know what to do with.

Oh, one more thing - I was the only person in my class to go for perio and was made fun of. But I found the specialty interesting. Now I'm in a city that could accomodate more periodontists, but limited supply of periodontists in the region (unlike ortho and endo - very saturated)! So do what aspect or specialty of dentistry you enjoy and don't follow the herd.

The potential earning is really based on your skill, location, etc. etc. Just compare a fast food restaurant. In Wyoming, a Mcdonalds might bring in 1 million per year while California, the same Mcdonalds can bring in 3 million per year. It's really not that un heard of perio or any other specialists earning 500k + per year. The norm would be around 200k for an associate specialists in any field and 200k+ for a sole owner/practitioner.

 

[cryptozoologist]

Thanks alot for your comments adam11..... I had no idea a periodontist could command such a high salary. Another queston I have is...do you need to be great with your hands to be a periodontist or can most people learn the skill...

it's not a salary...it's whatever is leftover after overhead...and is totally based on your own production...which is totally tied to your referring relationships, your skill level, and how hard you want to work.

 

[BiomajorPreDent]

it's not a salary...it's whatever is leftover after overhead...and is totally based on your own production...which is totally tied to your referring relationships, your skill level, and how hard you want to work.

Exactly,

According to the ADA 2006 Survey of Dental Practice in Perio:

$275,760 was the mean, with the lower quarter being $144,000 and the top 75th being $400,000

There was a standard deviation of $158,090, so as you can see, just like with any other dental specialty, income depends on your production.

Gross billings were a mean of $693,830 with 1st 25% of $360,000 to 75th of $908,000

(This information was from un-incorporated practices)

 

[Perio1234]

Just found this forum when web surfing. Thought I'd add my 2C. I've been in practice a little over a decade. I've made $350k or more for the last few years. I live in a rural area, participate with few insurance companies and really like what I do. Perio is a great specialty filled with a variety of procedures. I love what I do. It beats oral surgery hands down IMHO due to a better lifestyle- no call, no hospital duty.

 

[In2Infinity]

I've shadowed a periodontist, this is in a smaller city in Canada.

He said he usually pulls in $400 000 per yer and he takes 1 day off each week. I don't think he takes a day off in the winter tho.

 

[dentalWorks]

Perio is amazing... its very "messy" like someone else said.

Perio (if your market yourself right and do a boat-load of implants) can be EXTREMELY rewarding. Another thing about it is, its got naturally low over-head, so if your a busy doc with good paying patients, you'll clear some serious cash....

Overall, IMO, wheather you go into ortho, omfs, period, peds, or endo, you'll make more money than the average GP EVEN if you decide to just stay as an associate at multiple offices.

You should see the associate starting salary of a newly graduate peds doc lol... its like 250k+

 

[jdinners92]

So out of curiosity. Did any of you end up becoming periodontist? And if so can you tell me what your first couple years out of residency are like?

But my real question. I have family who are GPs. Could I work with them if I specialized in perio? How would that work? Like do you think I would lose all of my referrals?

I mean I'm not even in dental school yet.(Starting next year) i'm just curious

 

[Bis-GMA111]

meth. mouth.

the scope of perio will always be great. you still have GPs doing implants and what not, but perios are really the implant docs. they do a lot of grafts, sinus lifts, etc etc. it's a 3 year residency (for the most part, although i have seen a couple of 2 year ones), and as many other people posted...it's really not for everyone. yeah they see a lot of interesting cases, and they do a lot of surgeries..but they see the gnarly stuff that GPs refer out.

 

[SXCoronado]

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