Dental compensation, made clear
Dental salary data by role, state, city, and specialty
A clear, independent salary reference for the U.S. dental workforce — national benchmarks, local estimates, and side-by-side comparisons for every dental career.
Explore dental careers
What each dental role earns nationally, from clinical support to specialists. Open any role for the full pay range, what drives it, and how local pay compares.
| Role | Median annual | Median hourly | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Dentist | $179,210 | $86.16/hr | Verified |
| Dental Hygienist | $94,260 | $45.32/hr | Verified |
| Dental Assistant | $47,300 | $22.74/hr | Verified |
| Orthodontist | $239,200+ | — | Verified |
| Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon | $239,200+ | — | Verified |
| Pediatric Dentist | $179,210 | — | Modeled estimate |
| Dental Office Manager | $60,000 | $28.85/hr | Modeled estimate |
Compare dental compensation
See how dental careers stack up — by pay, by hour, and by stage — so you can weigh an offer or plan a move.
Pay across states
Modeled local estimates for every state, anchored to the national benchmark.
Local salary benchmarks
How hygienist pay shifts across major metros — useful for weighing a relocation.
Understand what drives dental pay
What affects dental salary?
The real drivers behind dental pay — role, geography, experience, practice setting, and procedure mix — and what national data can and can't tell you.
How to compare dental job offers
A practical framework for weighing two dental offers: base vs. production, benefits, hours, location cost of living, and total compensation.
Dentist base salary vs. production pay
How dentist compensation actually works — daily/annual guarantees, percentage of production or collections, and what BLS wage data does not capture.
Private practice vs. DSO compensation
How pay, structure, and trade-offs differ between private practices and dental service organizations — without overstating what the data shows.
Estimate your compensation
Adjust a national benchmark for your role, state, experience, and setting — with a confidence label and a plain explanation of how the estimate is built.
Hourly pay, the way it's actually paid
Hygienists and assistants are mostly paid by the hour. See median hourly rates and the full range.
Know a real number we don’t?
Submit your compensation anonymously. We review every entry and publish only de-identified aggregates above a sample-size threshold.
Submit your salary →How DentalSalary works
National figures are source-backed benchmarks. Local figures are clearly-labeled modeled estimates. Every number shows what it is — no guesswork dressed up as fact.
How it works →Salary reports
A national dental compensation baseline is available now. Join the waitlist for role- and state-level reports.
For practices & recruiters
DSOs, staffing firms, schools, and software companies can reach dental professionals here. Sponsorship never influences our salary data.