Dentist Salaries: General vs. Specialist Earnings

Dentists consistently appear at the top of occupational wage rankings in BLS OEWS data. Like physicians, oral and maxillofacial surgeons and orthodontists frequently hit the top-code suppression threshold — meaning BLS reports "$100+/hr" rather than the true median, which is higher.

General Dentistry

General dentists provide preventive care, fillings, extractions, and basic restorative work. They represent the majority of dentist employment and show the broadest wage distribution — from associates at group practices earning starting wages to practice owners in affluent markets earning well above the published median.

Specialist Premium

Dental specialists — orthodontists, oral surgeons, periodontists, and endodontists — consistently earn more than general dentists. The additional residency training (2–3 years beyond dental school) and the lower volume, higher fee-per-procedure nature of specialty work drives this premium. Browse wages in the Healthcare Practitioners group for full specialty data.

Practice Ownership vs. Employment

BLS OEWS captures wages for employees — not business income from practice ownership. Most dentists eventually own their practice; practice owner income typically exceeds employed associate wages substantially, but this shows up in BLS data as "self-employed" and is excluded.

Geographic Variation

Delaware, Rhode Island, and Alaska sometimes rank among the highest-paying states for dentists, driven by combination of market demand and limited supply in those states.