Starting Salary Poll for prospect and dental students.

[2thDoc11]

I saw this under the podiatry forum and thought it would be interesting to see. Considering there are a lot of threads about dental debt and loans, I thought it would be intriguing to hear from those practicing or will be practicing, to see what their starting salary was/is and what to expect in todays market. I'll try to make it so it'll work for specialties as well. I looked up some info for a general idea of salary ranges for those just starting their career. I'm hoping to only have practicing dentists answer this poll based on their starting salary. If you would like, I can create another for other specialties but these are the ones that I find the most interesting atm. and seem to be the most popular.

I've heard from some dentists that starting salary may be higher than I noted. For instance, a couple omfs said that they think starting salary will be around 300k+ within the next 5 years or so. If you have anything to add, feel free to comment if it hasn't been listed.

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[free99]

Should add Peds and Prosth on there if it doesn't limit the # of choices in the poll. I also think the lowest salaries for the specialties is too low across the board. No endo/ortho/oms is going to start at <$150k unless P/T

 

[2thDoc11]

Should add Peds and Prosth on there if it doesn't limit the # of choices in the poll. I also think the starting salaries for the specialties is low across the board.

I wanted to but unfortunately I used up all the spots available. I can add that to another in a future though! You think what I listed is low? What would you advise them to be? I can't edit but I can delete and create one that is more accurate.

 

[free99]

I wanted to but unfortunately I used up all the spots available. I can add that to another in a future though! You think what I listed is low? What would you advise them to be? I can't edit but I can delete and create one that is more accurate.

I'd just leave it as is for now, but I think for all 3 of those specialties, assuming it's FT work, I'd have made it <$200k, $200-249k, $250-299k, $300-349k, $350+

 

[dentistrydmd]

You can create an outside poll (ie. an online web-based poll) to include many options?

 

[ToothJockey]

I'm curious why these dentists think starting salaries will go up in the next 5 years?

If anything, it seems that salaries have been declining (adjusted for inflation) for the last 10-15 years according to ADA. Why the shift?

 

[dentistrydmd]

Are you asking me to do this or?

Yeah I was suggesting if you wanted to do it with all the specialties involved.
Also maybe making the intervals 50k instead of 25k would be a better idea...

 

[dentistrydmd]

Also this is only really useful if it is coming from actively practicing dentists, so we do not receive responses from people with expectations of salary that are not rooted in reality.

 

[2thDoc11]

Also this is only really useful if it is coming from actively practicing dentists, so we do not receive responses from people with expectations of salary that are not rooted in reality.

Correct, I was hoping that was the case here.. And I can look into another poll..

 

[Cold Front]

Starting salary in any speciality of dentistry or general dentistry is largely based on:

1. The area you practice in (rural v urban)
2. The fee schedule (white collar versus blue collar demographics)
3. The type of insurances (medicaid vs ppo)
4. The facility you practice in (private office vs corporate or government)
5. The type of procedures (i.e. doing more molar rcts than restorative dentistry)
6. Volume of patients (20 v 50 a day)
7. Your speed (are you by the book or just get to the point dentist)
8. Your assistants (weak/revolving door type dental assistants vs highly experienced/until my last day with you type assistants)
9. Your work schedule (3 days a week vs 6 days a week)
10. Ambition (some dentists are just full throttle type due to personal goals or by nature, and some like to check their phone a lot at work and take their time talking to patients about trivial stuff all day)

The more boxes you check on the good side of the list, the higher your income will be.

 

[Umar3842]

Hello ,

I graduate from dental school in about 9 months. I’ll roughly have 350k worth of student debt. I was wondering what the new grad dentist salary is like working for a DSO. I’m from the Northern Virginia (Arlington) , DC, Potomac Maryland area. I don’t mind working 7 days a week if I have to. I worked during dental school on weekdays and weekends, I have that hustle immigrant mentality.

I’m planning on working for corporate for a year and living in the basement with my parents . My parents are pretty well off financially and aren’t asking for anything in return. They’ve said they don’t expect me to pay them any rent, food or anything, they want me to pretty much pay off my student loans and buy a practice ASAP. They’re also planning to buy me a new car for my graduation, so I really don’t see my self spending any money on my self in terms of car payments or other nice things (let’s just say I’m really cheap) I’m really thankful for the position I am in.

I’m planning on saving every penny I’m making because I won’t really have any expenses other than gas money and my monthly student loan which I’ve already calculated. I plan to pay off my student loan in 15 years because I’d like to have some liquidity in my bank account (For banks to see) to buy a practice after a year of working at a DSO .(I also make some passive income from my Instagram account)

I plan to save roughly $50k~ my first year out and buy a practice in that area.
What do you guys think?

 

[dentistrydmd]

Hello ,

I graduate from dental school in about 9 months. I’ll roughly have 350k worth of student debt. I was wondering what the new grad dentist salary is like working for a DSO. I’m from the Northern Virginia (Arlington) , DC, Potomac Maryland area. I don’t mind working 7 days a week if I have to. I worked during dental school on weekdays and weekends, I have that hustle immigrant mentality.

I’m planning on working for corporate for a year and living in the basement with my parents . My parents are pretty well off financially and aren’t asking for anything in return. They’ve said they don’t expect me to pay them any rent, food or anything, they want me to pretty much pay off my student loans and buy a practice ASAP. They’re also planning to buy me a new car for my graduation, so I really don’t see my self spending any money on my self in terms of car payments or other nice things (let’s just say I’m really cheap) I’m really thankful for the position I am in.

I’m planning on saving every penny I’m making because I won’t really have any expenses other than gas money and my monthly student loan which I’ve already calculated. I plan to pay off my student loan in 15 years because I’d like to have some liquidity in my bank account (For banks to see) to buy a practice after a year of working at a DSO .(I also make some passive income from my Instagram account)

I plan to save roughly $50k~ my first year out and buy a practice in that area.
What do you guys think?

Living frugally to pay off your debts sounds like a great move! Just make sure the practice you buy is the right one for you and I'm sure you'll kill it