How Much Does a Pediatric Dentist Make?
If you like kids and have an interest in dentistry, pediatric dentistry could provide a challenging and financially rewarding career. By completing two to three years of specialty training after dental school, pediatric dentists qualify as dental specialists, who generally earn much more than general dentists. While income can vary by experience, location and employer, pediatric dentists can look forward to successful and lucrative careers.
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Earning Expectations
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The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) includes pediatric dentists in a broad grouping of dental specialists. According to the American Dental Association, a dental specialist earned $304,000 on average in 2005. In 2000, the last year for which the BLS broke out salaries for pediatric dentists separately from other specialists, the median salary was $182,198.
Earnings During Training
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Many advanced programs in pediatric dentistry offer stipends to residents. The availability depends on the program, the availability of funding, and the region of the country. As an example, in 2009 the pediatric dentistry program at Jabobi Medical Center in New York offered a stipend between $58,000 and $63,000 during its three year program.
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Factors Affecting Earnings
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According to the dental outreach program at Stonybrook University Medical Center, a dentist's earnings vary based on their experience and place of work. A dental specialist may have to build a referral network before earning a high level salary. In addition, dental specialists who own their own practices make more than specialists in hospitals, although they also have higher insurance and business costs.
Misconceptions
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General and family dentists see a large percentage of children in their practice. While a pediatric dentist may provide general dentistry to a base of patients, he or she will also care for young patients that a general dentist feels unprepared to treat. These could include very young children, children with special health needs or developmental delays, and children with unusual tooth decay or formation problems.
Trends
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Earnings in dentistry are often tied to the economy, since most dental insurance is paid by employers. The outlook for pediatric specialists should remain strong, however, as children will continue to need dental care and preventive check-ups, and state programs often cover some of the cost of care.
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