Dental Specialists – A breakdown

After graduating from an accredited dental school you will be considered a general practitioner in dentistry (I.e D.D.S). If you feel bold, though, and you have high stats (GPA, class rank, board scores, and letters of recommendation) you can consider applying to specialize in dentistry.

Much like medicine, you can choose to specialize in one area of dentistry.

Pros: more money, more complex cases, and (in my opinion) more respect.

Cons: more liability, business almost completely depends on referrals, and less job market.

Let’s first go through the dental specialties recognized by the ADA:

Specialty	Area of Expertise	Average Salary
Pediatric Dentistry	Children (1-18)	$174,000
Endodontics	Root Canals	$155,000
Periodontics	Gum treatments	$198,000
Orthodontics	Braces/TMJ	$207,000
Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery	Wisdom teeth removal	$226,000
Oral & Maxillofacial Radiology	X-ray diagnostics	$162,000
Oral Medicine & Pathology	Oral disease studies	$220,00
Prosthodontics	Restorations	$130,000
Dental Public Health	Community health	$143,000

The above “Areas of Expertise” are VERY simple samples of what these specialists do. It should go without saying that this requires a lot more work and knowledge than what is described. The average salaries are taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and 2 other smaller sources, and averages were taken from all three. In order to become a specialist, not only do you need to be the top in your class, but you need to be willing to invest more time into your training. Residency programs range from 2 years (public health and endo) to upward of 6 years (oral surgery).

The payoff for becoming a specialist in the field of dentistry is relatively significant (compare a general dentist’s salary at $150,000). Overall, regardless of the influence of an increase in salary, make sure to consider specializing for the right reason: because you are passionate about that field. More money is great, but forever is a long time.