Ask Dr. Rye: How much do dentists make?

How much do dentists make?

Perhaps I can turn this around a bit for your benefit? If a shark, producing as much as 50,000 teeth in a lifetime, has a tooth problem, does he find a fast, inexpensive dentist? Sure. If you expect to live upwards of 90 years with, basically, one set of teeth, do you go to the same dentist? Like most things that are worth something, shouldn’t you think about your own cost-benefit ratio? How much should you care what the dentist makes, if you think he or she does the best job preserving your teeth for a lifetime? Only you can decide the value of your teeth.

But, answering on the flip side, which I trust addresses the main objective of your question, “Yes”, your dentist makes a good living, better if they have developed many great skill sets upon which to draw. The best benefit by far to any dentist is the emotional boost we get when a patient tells us, or anyone else, how we have changed their lives for the better. My favorite story, and any dentist will tell you similar stories, is of a patient who came to me in a “hot mess”. This patient was in pain, could not talk, eat, or smile, and felt run-down all the time. Self confidence was in the tank. They reappeared 15 years after their full mouth reconstruction, just to stop by and thank me. Their whole life had turned around. Now they were up on stage, acting and singing in musicals, moving around the country. Whew! Now, what do you think I like to think about after a tough day at the office? So, yes, the financial rewards are adequate. The altruistic rewards? Priceless!