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Role hub · Dentists, General

Dentist: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of dentists earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$170,950
Hourly
$82.19
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Dentists examine, diagnose, and treat diseases, injuries, and malformations of teeth and gums. The median pay is $170,950 a year ($82.19 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a doctoral degree (62% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$170,950
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
124,390
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 5 of 5
extensive preparation
Most common education
Doctoral Degree
62% of workers

Data Government data groups this job as Dentists, General (O*NET-SOC 29-1021.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

Explore the role

Every page for Dentists

SalaryDentist salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →How to becomeDentist how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

Open →ResumeDentist resume

Keywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.

Open →Interview questionsDentist interview questions

Questions with what they test, plus practice mode.

Open →Career changeDentist career change

Where these skills transfer, with skill match and pay change.

Open →Free toolCheck your resume

Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

Open →
The work

What dentists do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Use masks, gloves, and safety glasses to protect patients and self from infectious diseases.
  2. Administer anesthetics to limit the amount of pain experienced by patients during procedures.
  3. Formulate plan of treatment for patient's teeth and mouth tissue.
  4. Use dental air turbines, hand instruments, dental appliances, or surgical implements.
  5. Design, make, or fit prosthodontic appliances, such as space maintainers, bridges, or dentures, or write fabrication instructions or prescriptions for denturists or dental technicians.
  6. Advise or instruct patients regarding preventive dental care, the causes and treatment of dental problems, or oral health care services.
  7. Diagnose and treat diseases, injuries, or malformations of teeth, gums, or related oral structures and provide preventive or corrective services.
  8. Manage business aspects such as employing or supervising staff or handling paperwork or insurance claims.
Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Judgment and Decision MakingcoreCritical ThinkingcoreSocial PerceptivenesscoreService OrientationReading ComprehensionActive ListeningSpeakingActive LearningMonitoring

Knowledge areas: Medicine and Dentistry, Customer and Personal Service, Biology, Administration and Management, English Language, Chemistry.

Tools and technology

Software dentists use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Henry Schein DentrixMedical softwareHot technology
  • eClinicalWorks EHR softwareMedical softwareHot technology
  • ABELSoft ABELDentMedical software
  • ACE DentalMedical software
  • AlphaDentMedical software
  • AltaPoint Data Systems AltaPoint DentalMedical software
  • DSN Software Dental-ExecMedical software
  • DSN Software Oral Surgery-ExecMedical software
  • DSN Software Perio-ExecMedical software
  • Data Team DDSMedical software
  • Dental charting softwareMedical software
  • Dental clinical records softwareMedical software

Also called: DDS (Dental Surgery Doctor), DMD (Dental Medicine Doctor), Endodontist, Family Dentist, General Dentist.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).