How much money do dentists ACTUALLY make?

Summary

In this video, Joel, a recently graduated dentist, breaks down the earning potential for dentists at various stages of their careers, from new graduates to practice owners. He discusses the wide range of incomes, emphasizing that earnings can significantly increase depending on factors like work hours, location, and practice ownership. Joel highlights the potential for high earnings as a dental associate or practice owner, while also noting the challenges and complexities involved in running multiple practices. Ultimately, he encourages viewers to consider financial aspects when choosing a dental career.

Takeaways

• 🤑 Dentists' earnings can vary significantly based on their stage of career, from new graduate to established associate or practice owner.
• 💰 New dentists typically earn between $125,000 to $200,000, but some may earn more by working harder or in more remote areas.
• 📊 The American Dental Association (ADA) reports a median income of $130,000 for recent graduates, with a range of $120,000 to $180,000 for 45% of them.
• 🏆 Exceptional new graduates can earn more than the average by taking on more work or moving to areas with higher demand and fewer dentists.
• 🔝 As dentists become more established, they can earn more due to increased skill and efficiency, with the potential to earn between $150,000 to over $400,000.
• 🌟 The 'super GP' concept highlights general practitioners who have mastered advanced procedures and can earn at the high end of the scale for associates.
• 💼 Practice ownership is considered the 'holy grail' for earning potential, allowing dentists to earn income even when not actively working in the chair.
• 📈 Overhead costs for a dental practice can range from 50% to 70%, with an average of around 60%, affecting the net income of practice owners.
• 🏆 The average billings for a dental practice owner reported by the ADA is $742,000, with potential net earnings of around $300,000 after overhead.
• 🌱 Owning multiple practices can exponentially increase earnings, with some owners taking home nearly half of total practice billings.
• 🚀 Dentists have the opportunity to diversify their income through alternative investments and the potential to sell their practice as an appreciating asset.

Q & A

Why is it considered taboo to discuss income in the healthcare field?

It's considered taboo because there is a lot of virtue signaling that occurs when people discuss careers, especially in healthcare, where the narrative often emphasizes noble reasons for the profession over financial incentives.

What is the general range of income for a new graduate dentist?

The income for a new graduate dentist typically ranges from $125,000 to $200,000, but it can vary widely depending on factors such as location, hours worked, and the dentist's willingness to take on additional responsibilities.

What is the reported median income for new grads according to the American Dental Association (ADA)?

According to the ADA, the median income for new grads is around $130,000, with 45% of recent grads earning between $120,000 and $180,000.

Why might a new dentist's income be higher than the typical range?

A new dentist's income might be higher than the typical range if they choose to work more hours, take on additional responsibilities, or work in a location where there is a higher demand for dental services.

What is the potential income for a dentist who moves to a remote area?

A dentist who moves to a remote area can potentially earn significantly more due to supply and demand, as the speaker in the script was able to earn just over $300,000 in their first year by moving to a remote location.

What is the role of a 'super GP' in dentistry and how does it affect their income?

A 'super GP' is a general practitioner who has advanced skills and performs a wide range of dental procedures, including complex treatments like root canals, wisdom tooth extractions, and implant placements. This specialization allows them to bill more and earn at the upper extreme of what a dental associate can earn.

What is the typical income range for an established dental associate?

An established dental associate can expect to earn anywhere from $150,000 to over $400,000, with the potential to earn even more depending on their skills, the number of procedures they perform, and their efficiency.

How does becoming a practice owner affect a dentist's income?

Becoming a practice owner can significantly increase a dentist's income as they can earn money not only from their own work but also from the work of other dentists and hygienists in their practice. Additionally, they have more control over the practice's operations and billing.

What is the average overhead for a dental practice and how does it impact the dentist's income?

The average overhead for a dental practice is around 60%, which includes expenses such as wages, materials, and rent. This overhead is subtracted from the practice's billings to determine the dentist's take-home income.

How does owning multiple dental practices affect a dentist's income and lifestyle?

Owning multiple dental practices can greatly increase a dentist's income, potentially allowing them to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars annually without having to work in the chair. It also requires significant management and organizational skills, which can be challenging but also rewarding.

What is the potential retirement benefit of owning a dental practice?

Owning a dental practice can act as a retirement fund because it is an income-producing asset that can be sold. If the practice has been successfully run and grown, it can be an appreciating asset with significant value when it comes time to sell.

Outlines

00:00

💰 Dental Earnings: From New Grad to Practice Owner

This paragraph discusses the taboo nature of discussing money in healthcare careers, particularly dentistry. The speaker aims to provide clarity on the earnings of dentists at various stages of their careers, from recent graduates to established associates and practice owners. It emphasizes the variability in income based on factors such as work hours, location, and specialization. The speaker shares personal anecdotes, including their own experience of earning over $300,000 in a remote area due to high demand and a busy practice.

05:01

📊 Earnings Breakdown for New and Established Dentists

The second paragraph delves into the specifics of dental earnings, starting with new graduates who typically earn between $125,000 to $200,000, although this can vary widely. The American Dental Association's data is referenced, showing a median income of $130,000 for recent graduates. The speaker also introduces the concept of a 'super GP', a general practitioner who has advanced skills and can earn significantly more. The established associate's income is discussed next, with earnings ranging from $150,000 to over $400,000, highlighting the potential for high earnings through increased productivity and skill.

10:02

🏆 The Pinnacle of Dental Earnings: Practice Ownership

The final paragraph focuses on the highest level of dental earnings potential: practice ownership. It explains the benefits and challenges of owning a dental practice, including the ability to earn passive income and the increased control over one's work. The speaker provides an overview of practice overhead and how it affects earnings, using the 2019 ADA report to estimate that a typical practice owner could take home around $300,000 after accounting for overhead. The potential for even higher earnings through owning multiple practices is also discussed, illustrating the unlimited earning potential for enterprising dentists.

Keywords

💡Dentist

A dentist is a licensed oral health professional who specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of conditions affecting the oral cavity. In the video, the term 'dentist' is central to the discussion about various stages of a dental career and the income associated with them. The script mentions new graduates, established associates, and practice owners, all of which are roles within the dental profession.

💡New Grad

A 'new grad' refers to a dental professional who has recently graduated from dental school. The video script discusses the income range for new graduates, which is typically between $125,000 to $200,000, and how some may earn more by working in remote areas or taking on additional responsibilities.

💡Established Associate

An 'established associate' is a dentist who has been practicing for a longer period and has developed a higher level of skill and efficiency. The script explains that as an associate's experience grows, so does their income, with the potential to earn between $150,000 to over $400,000, depending on their specialization and work volume.

💡Practice Owner

A 'practice owner' is a dentist who owns their dental practice, which can include managing staff, setting treatment protocols, and handling the business aspects of the practice. The video emphasizes that practice ownership can significantly increase a dentist's income, with potential earnings ranging from $300,000 to over $1 million, depending on the practice's success and the number of practices owned.

💡Income Range

The 'income range' refers to the potential earnings a dentist can expect at different stages of their career. The video provides specific income ranges for new graduates, established associates, and practice owners, illustrating the financial progression and variability in the dental profession.

💡Super GP

A 'Super GP' or 'Super General Practitioner' is a term used in the script to describe a highly skilled and experienced general dentist who has advanced training in various dental procedures, such as root canals, wisdom tooth extractions, and implant placements. These individuals can earn at the higher end of the income scale for dental associates due to their extensive skill set and the volume of work they can perform.

💡Overhead

In the context of the video, 'overhead' refers to the operational expenses of a dental practice, including wages, materials, rent, and other costs necessary to run the business. The script explains that understanding and managing overhead is crucial for practice owners to maximize their profits.

💡Billings

Billings in the dental context refer to the total amount charged by a dental practice for the services provided. The video uses 'billings' to discuss the financial performance of dental practices, with the American Dental Association reporting an average of $742,000 in billings for practices.

💡Supply and Demand

The concept of 'supply and demand' is mentioned in the script to explain how the scarcity of dental services in certain remote areas can lead to higher earnings for dentists who are willing to work in those locations. The video suggests that being in high-demand areas can significantly influence a dentist's income.

💡Burnout

The term 'burnout' is used in the script to describe the potential negative effect of working excessively long hours on a dentist's well-being. The video acknowledges that while working more can increase earnings, it's important to balance workload to avoid burnout.

💡Dental Career

A 'dental career' encompasses the professional journey of a dentist, from education and entry-level positions to advanced roles such as practice ownership. The video script provides insights into the financial aspects of a dental career, highlighting the various stages and the associated income potential.

Highlights

Dentists' earnings vary significantly from the new graduate stage to established associates and practice owners.

It's a taboo subject to discuss earnings in healthcare, but understanding potential income is important when choosing a career.

The speaker gathered data on dentists' earnings by calling in favors, promising anonymity, to get accurate information.

New graduates in dentistry typically earn between $125,000 to $200,000, but it can vary greatly.

The American Dental Association (ADA) reports a median income of $130,000 for new graduates.

Some new grads can earn more by working harder or choosing to work in underserved areas.

The speaker personally earned over $300,000 in their first year by moving to a remote area and working hard.

Established associates can earn more as they become faster and more efficient with experience.

The concept of a 'super GP' in dentistry refers to those who have mastered advanced procedures and can earn significantly more.

Dental associates can earn anywhere from $150,000 to over $400,000, with some even earning over $700,000.

Practice ownership is considered the 'holy grail' for earning potential in dentistry.

Practice owners can earn a percentage of the overall practice's billings, not just their own work.

Overhead costs for a dental practice can range from 50% to 70%, with 60% being an average.

The ADA reports that the average billings for a dental practice is $742,000, with owners potentially taking home around $300,000.

Owning multiple practices can significantly increase earnings, with some owners taking home nearly $500,000 annually.

Dentistry offers a wide range of earning potential, from part-time associates to those owning multiple practices.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of not only focusing on income but also considering other aspects of the career.

Transcripts

i called in all my favors with my

dentist friends with the promise of

anonymity to find out exactly how much

money

dentists are making at each stage of

their career from newgrad

to established associate so it's not

like double the hours double the pay

it's like

even quadruple to practice owner

including practice owners that have

multiple practices

in this video i'm going to break down

exactly how much money they're making

and what you can expect to earn in your

dental career it's taboo to talk about

money it's an uncomfortable subject

there's a lot of virtue signaling that

goes on when people talk about careers

and how especially in health care that

money isn't important to them that

they're doing it for these other noble

reasons

and that's super important you shouldn't

go into a career in health care

just to make money as i've talked about

in another video i think there are

probably easier ways to make money than

to be a dentist

but a big part of choosing a career is

figuring out how much money you can

expect to make but when i was a

pre-dental student and i would ask this

question people will either tell me it

varies or it depends

or give me some bs reported statistic

which for the most part

under represent what you can actually

make as a dentist because they factor in

all these dentists that are working

part-time

not what i was planning on doing and so

i want to make a video that i think is

going to give that answer to you

i'm going to talk about what a typical

range is at each of these different life

stages

and what you can reasonably expect to

take home as a dentist

hey team if you're new here i'm joel i'm

a recently graduated dentist and i also

work at det boot camp and i make videos

to help you along your dental journey if

that sounds interesting to you consider

subscribing

so let's first talk about the new grad

so the new grad is someone who graduated

recently from dental school within the

last year or two

so tell me a little bit about your

working situation because i know that

you're working hard

i got hired at the start wherever they

offered me work i would take it

i made like a vow that i would never

turn down a job offer

so talking to my friends when we were

recent dental grads or

talking to my fiance danny who just

graduated from dental school and her

friends

most people are in the 125 to 200 000

range but definitely can be more and

definitely can be less now if we look at

the reported data from the american

dental association the ada

you can see that there's a semi-skewed

bell curve with a median of 130 000

and 45 of new grads or recent grads

earning between 120 to 180 000 but with

a bell curve there are some that earn

more and some that earn less

and i was working six sometimes seven

days a week to start

so i'm probably working around 60 hours

so while this new grad friend of mine

is definitely an outlier and he's

hustling hard i want to make the point

that

you can decide to work a lot harder than

what most people do

and so if you have big aspirations for

what you want to make right out of

dental school

there's the possibility of doing what

other people aren't willing to do so i'm

a bit uncomfortable talking about my own

income but i'm gonna do it for the sake

of this video

when i graduated i did what other people

weren't willing to do and i moved up to

the middle of nowhere

and in that year i was able to earn just

over 300 000 which is a lot more than

what the typical

new graduate dentist can do mind you i

was earning a much higher percentage of

my billions because i was in the middle

of nowhere

supply and demand and i had a very busy

practice but

the point i'm making is that whether you

decide to work more hours than the

typical person and

hope that you don't burn out or you're

willing to go somewhere that other

people aren't willing to go to

there are a lot of opportunities to earn

a lot more than the typical new grad

if you're willing to do things

differently dentistry isn't standardized

you can be at a super busy practice or

you can be at a slower one

you might be a new dentist and be a lot

more confident and be a lot quicker

while others might be slower you might

choose to work two days a week or you

might be working 60 hours

but i think overall if you want to as a

new grad make 150

000 or more 100 that is within your

capability

and as you get your speed up you can

then move into that next tier the

established associate

so the established associate has been

working for longer than the new grad

and as you're working longer your skills

are getting faster you're able to do

more

procedures and that means that your

income is going to go up now

interestingly

as you become a more established

associate you paradoxically might find

that your income goes down

for example i am working less hours

today

being a very established associate than

i was three years ago

because for me i've decided that working

every day in the dental chair isn't what

drives me

and i'd rather do other varied things

even if that means sacrificing some of

my dental income

but for the most part if you're working

just as much as you were as a new grad

as an established associate your income

is going to be higher than it was

there's even this type of dentist that's

sometimes referred to as the super gp

the super general practitioner and the

super general practitioner is someone

that has learned it all

they've done continuing education

courses on doing advanced root canals

wisdom tooth extractions they do iv

sedations they do all their own implant

placement

and so the super gp is going to be at

the upper extreme of what you can earn

as a dental associate

because they're going to be billing so

much more and they're gonna be doing so

much more work

per amount of time that they're working

so the typical full-time established

dental associate

can earn anywhere from the median

hundred and thirty thousand dollars that

we saw for

the recent grads and uh there isn't a

lot of great data out there by the ada

about what non-practice owner dentists

are earning

they say that the average general

practitioner earned about 204

000 but that would include practice

owners as well but from my own knowledge

and having talked to a lot of other

dental associates you can expect to earn

anywhere from 150

000 to 400 000 plus as an associate

and one person at my dental practice

group has earned over seven hundred

thousand dollars just as a dental

associate

being a super gp in the united states

it's typical for a dental associate to

be paid 35

of the amount of procedures that they

bill and that is paid for

and so that means that a dental

associate would need to build about 570

000

through the year to make about two

hundred thousand dollars net themselves

and if you do the math working about 250

days in a year that means that you'd

have to be producing about twenty three

hundred dollars a day

as an associate to make two hundred

grand and frankly that actually isn't

that difficult to do

if you're at a relatively busy practice

so what can you expect to earn as an

established associate

i'd say 200 000 plus is a conservative

number that i think you can hit

and the ceiling is much higher than that

and now finally we're gonna get into

practice ownership

if you wanna make money practice

ownership is the holy grail

now practice ownership isn't for

everyone and it comes with a lot of

headaches

but the idea behind practice ownership

is finally you can start making money

when you're not just sitting in the

dental chair

the most obvious way to do this is by

having hygienists who are working for

you

additionally as a practice owner you get

to set all the parameters of what you

want to treat how you want to treat it

you get a lot more latitude in the

day-to-day decisions as a dentist

then sometimes you can have as a dental

associate so let's go through some

numbers

overhead is the amount of expenses that

a dental practice has

so if you subtract out the amount that

you're paying in wages

what you're paying in material the rent

this is all money that's leaving your

pocket as a practice owner

and contributes to the cost to run into

practice that's your overhead

now overhead will vary depending on

where your practice is and how you're

running it

typical numbers anywhere from 50 to 70

but 60

is a relatively good average for what a

dental practice will have is overhead

now in the 2019 ada report they said

that the typical owner dentist billings

was 742 000 now i actually can't tell

from looking at the report

whether that's just the dentist billings

or that's the billing for the entire

practice

but i'm going to go ahead and assume

it's the billings for the entire

practice

not just specifically what the dentist

is billing so if we assume a 60

overhead on the 742 000 of practice

billions

that would mean that the dentist is

taking home about 300 000 themselves

which is already getting into really

good income

now with the 742 thousand dollars that

they're reporting remember this is an

average so you have a dentist who's 86

and is working three days a week

and heads to the golf course at 2 p.m

every day they're not going to be

billing very high

and that's gonna bring the average down

i know firsthand of practices that build

two million dollars plus and many of the

bill over a million dollars

so you can see how as a practice owner

you could be taking home

400 000 plus and this is if you only own

one practice now some of the real magic

comes

when you own multiple practices so for

example i'm a dental associate

the person that owns the practice that i

work at doesn't work there

and he in fact owns 11 practices in

total

a rough estimate for what a dentist can

take home

when they are absent it's an associate

run practice the owner dentist isn't

there

is about 20 of overall billings so if

you own

three practices that produce eight

hundred thousand dollars

then the twenty percent would mean that

you're taking home a little under five

hundred thousand dollars a year

without actually needing to be in the

chair now it is a lot of work to run a

dental practice that's a lot of stress

and headache

so it's not without its effort but you

can see how only multiple practices

whether it be two or three or gain up to

11 it can quickly become

very profitable and that's why dentistry

is so

interesting and ultimately why people do

say the income really varies

because as a dentist you could be a

associate that chooses to work two days

a week

and only for six hours and the rest of

the time

you spend being an artiste or you get

into practice ownership where you own 11

practices or even more

and there essentially is no ceiling in

what you can earn as a dentist

now it's easier said than done to get

into practice ownership especially at

the scale

of 10 plus practices if it was so easy

and a surefire thing

everyone would be doing it there's a lot

of organizational headache

that simply amplifies every time you add

an additional practice

but people who are enterprising and have

the hustle and want to make that type of

money

can do it and talk about the money that

you'll earn as a dentist if you own a

practice

that is an income producing asset which

means at some point you'll be able to

sell it

now if you've been running the practice

successfully and you've grown it

hopefully that's an appreciating asset

that can act as a nice retirement fund

when you're finally ready to sell

now everything that i've just talked

about is of course just dental income

but hopefully if you're really smart

throughout your dental career you'll be

putting money into alternative asset

classes

and have a whole different type of

income to talk about i'm gonna get in

before the haters get to the comments

section

these numbers can and do vary widely

these are just the numbers that i've

seen talking to people that i know and

what the reported data shifts so there

you have it

now you know exactly what you can expect

to earn as a dentist

however once you make all this money you

realize it wasn't actually what you were

after in the first place

but that's a video for another day if

you're curious about how i earned over

300 000

in my first year check out this video i

talked about how i went to a remote

community

and paid off my debt that much quicker

and if you enjoyed this video hit

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i make videos to help you along your

dental journey and i'll see you in the

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