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.
National pay benchmarks
How we source this →In the U.S., the median general dentist earns about $170,950 a year, a dental hygienist roughly $98,100 ($47.16/hr), and a dental assistant about $48,070 ($23.11/hr) — based on BLS OEWS wage data.
Last updated
Dental pay over time
Real BLS actuals for 2024 and 2025, with a modeled 2026 projection — the dashed segment is the estimate.
2024 & 2025: BLS OEWS actuals. 2026: modeled projection (never labeled verified).
How dental pay varies across the workforce
Median pay spans more than 7× from chairside support to surgical specialists. Verified BLS figures and clearly-labeled modeled estimates, ranked.
2025 national median, annual. Tap a role for its full page and 2026 estimate.
Every role, two years
Each role shows a 2025 figure and a 2026 modeled estimate, labeled Verified or Modeled — across 25 dental roles.
Explore all roles →Get dental salary updates
Quarterly compensation updates — be notified when new state, metro, and role pay data is added, and when the annual BLS OEWS release lands.
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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 | $170,950 | $82.19/hr | Verified |
| Dental Hygienist | $98,100 | $47.16/hr | Verified |
| Dental Assistant | $48,070 | $23.11/hr | Verified |
| Orthodontist | $289,140 | $139.01/hr | Verified |
| Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon | $352,220 | $169.34/hr | Verified |
| Prosthodontist | $311,180 | $149.61/hr | Verified |
| Pediatric Dentist | $170,950 | — | Modeled estimate |
| Dental Laboratory Technician | $49,610 | $23.85/hr | Verified |
| 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
Verified BLS OEWS state wage data for most states, with a documented model where BLS doesn't publish a figure.
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.
Common questions about dental salaries
How much do dental professionals earn in the United States?
The median general dentist earns about $170,950 a year. Dental hygienists earn a median of roughly $98,100 ($47.16/hr) and dental assistants about $48,070 ($23.11/hr). Specialists earn the most: orthodontists around $289,140 and oral & maxillofacial surgeons around $352,220.
Where does DentalSalary's data come from?
National figures come from BLS OEWS wage data. Most state and metro figures are verified BLS OEWS local wage data too; where BLS doesn't publish a role for a place, we show a clearly-labeled modeled estimate derived from the national benchmark and a documented local wage index. We never publish a number without showing what it is.
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 and most state & metro figures are verified BLS OEWS data; where BLS doesn't publish a figure, we show a clearly-labeled modeled estimate. 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.