Salary surveys in general never seem to be accurate but for dentists this is especially true. I think general dentists earn far more than family practice phyisicians and other "general practioners." You have to understand that dentists are solo practioners in general. Thus they own their own business. And many dentists underreport their net income to avoid paying high taxes. Also, they file their practice as a corporation so their annual salary isn't the net profits earned by their corporation. Their salary is what they pay themselves. For example, Bob, a general dentist, grossed 60,000 in revenue one month. 35,000 of that 60,000 are expenses. That leaves 25,000 left over. Of that 25,000, Bob will pay himself a salary of 5,000. The 20,000 that is remaining is profit earned by the corporation or Bob. (Of course, Bob pays taxes on that 20,000 in addition to his 5,000 in salary.) However, Bob also includes many items in those expenses that he utilizes for his personal use such as vacations, car leases, electronic equipment for his "practice" etc. It may not be ethical but it is a legal loophole that many professionals (docs, dentists, lawyers etc. use). For example, if a dentist attends a conference in Hawaii, that is a business trip that he or she can write off while in reality it's a vacation. But going back to the original question, the salary Bob pays himself is $5,000 per month which is about 80,000 per year. It doesn't seem like much but as you can see Bob is "earning" a lot more than 80,000 per year. And 60,000 gross is average for many dentists in solo practice. Many gross close 100,000 so you can imagine that there are dentists who are doing quite well.
One more thing to consider is that dentists rarely spend their entire careers as associates. Associateship in dentistry is comparable to that of a residency for physicians. Once dentists become familiar with running a practice as an associate, they start their own practice. A dental associate earns anywhere from 75,000 to 120,000. A resident physician earns between 30,000 and 40,000 per year. The difference is the 30k - 40k that resident physicians earn is not considered a salary but a stipend. Resident physicians are still considered trainees as residents so that 30K income isn't reported as a salary. If these salary surveys included the income that physicians earn as residents, the average physician salary would be much lower in those surveys. However, dental associates are not considered trainees. Their 75K they earn is considered a salary and not a stipend. Thus associate pay is included in these salary surveys which lowers the salary of general dentists in many of these surveys.
Physicians get hit hard because of a couple of factors.
1.) we pay higher in malpractice insurance
2.) our rate of reimbursement is very low. Most patients lack dental insurance so they usually pay cash for their treatments either by credit card or some payment plan. Most medical patients have some type of medical insurance or DHS that compensates very little what the physician originally charges. And dental insurance generally offers far higher rates of reimbursment than medical insurance so even the insured dental patient will yield more payment than a medical patient. A physician may bill the same as a dentist but he or she won't collect or get reimbursed nearly at the same level as a dentist. Also, the physician will pay more in malpractice insurance...a lot more. I heard that dentists pay anywhere from 1,000 to 5000 for malpractice. Physicians pay anywhere from 8,000 to 200,000 in malpractice.
I'm sorry for offerring such a long and detailed response. I know this question gets asked on several occassions and it's usually responded to in a very flippant or p.c. manner. But these should be the answers to your questions. Yes, in general, dentists who own their practice will earn more money than primary care physicians and other physicians who rely upon procedures that are not reimbursed well by insurance. I think dentistry offers a better financial future outlook than medicine, but everyone has to do what he or she enjoys. Like Gavin said, you are still going to earn more than 90% of the population so you should choose what you enjoy.
