What would be a reasonable salary range to expect in this field?

Hi Thalia,

The salary range for a dentist can vary widely. It depends on where you live, if you own your own practice, are an associate for another owner, or work for a corporation. A common number I hear around California is ~$500-600/day at corporate jobs for new grads (~$130K/yr), which would increase as you gain experience. You can expect higher pay in states like Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico (pretty much anywhere besides California).

Owning your own practice greatly increases your salary. I believe that if you own your own practice, the sky is the limit for income depending on what your professional goals are, how many practices you want to own, how much you want to work, etc. The average salaries that you see on Google are much lower than reality partly due to the tax benefits of owning your own practice. Expect less pay for any associate jobs (working for a private owner).

If you choose to specialize in Pediatrics, Orthodontics, Endodontics, and Periodontics, the salary increases significantly, but would require doing a 2-3 year residency after dental school. I believe pediatric dentists and orthodontists right out of school can easily make over $1000/day working at a corporate job and as a private practice owner, an orthodontists can average over $500K.

Dentistry is a wonderful field, but is becoming more competitive as we speak. Especially in states like California, it is much harder to "hang a shingle" and become successful as was possible in the past. Not only is it more competitive, but many new grads are coming out of school loaded with student debt (I graduated with over $400K), which greatly diminishes your freedom right out of school. My biggest advice to you and anyone interested in dentistry is to go to as cheap of a school as you can or apply for a scholarship like the military HPSP where your entire schooling is paid for in addition to a monthly stipend in exchange for work in the military after you graduate. In the military, you have all your benefits covered (malpractice, medical/dental, retirement, etc.) for 4 years of service, and when you come out of the military, you are debt-free and have the freedom to choose your options as you please.

I hope this answered your question!