Quick answer: A dentistry degree is a DDS or DMD, four years of clinical doctorate after a bachelor’s, CODA-accredited and followed by state licensure. General dentists earn a median $170,950 with a 90th percentile of $319,630 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). It cannot be studied online. For most people already working chairside, dental hygiene is the more proportionate step.
Dentistry Degree at a Glance
Metric
Detail
Source
Median annual wage
$170,950
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Wage range
$86,250 (10th pct) - $319,630 (90th pct)
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Employment
124,390 general dentists
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Projected change (2024-34)
4.1%, about 3,900 openings per year
BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34
Typical credential
DDS or DMD, four years after a bachelor’s
Program catalogs
Accreditation
CODA, the Commission on Dental Accreditation
CODA
License
State licensure following national and clinical examination
State dental boards
SOC codes covered
29-1021 general dentists; 29-1292 dental hygienists; 31-9091 dental assistants
BLS OEWS, May 2025
The Ladder, and an Honest Recommendation
This site exists to describe steps up from skilled work. In dentistry, the honest answer is that the biggest step is usually not the one to the top.
Rung
SOC
Median
10th pct
90th pct
Employment
Projected change
Dental assistants
31-9091
$48,070
$37,130
$62,250
387,790
+6.4%
Dental hygienists
29-1292
$98,100
$74,880
$126,050
222,740
+7.0%
General dentists
29-1021
$170,950
$86,250
$319,630
124,390
+4.1%
Wages and employment: BLS OEWS, May 2025. Projections: BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34.
Read the assistant-to-hygienist step first: a median of $48,070 rising to $98,100, reached through an associate degree. Then the hygienist-to-dentist step: $98,100 to $170,950, reached through a bachelor’s plus four years of dental school plus licensure.
The second step pays more in absolute terms, but it costs roughly eight years of education against about two, and admission is competitive in a way hygiene programs are not. For most people working chairside today, online dental hygiene programs is the more proportionate move, and this page would be doing you a disservice not to say so plainly.
Notice also the dentist 10th percentile of $86,250 - below the hygienist 25th percentile. The average is high but the floor is not, and much of the upside sits with practice ownership rather than the credential alone.
What the Path Requires
Stage
What it is
Typical timing
Bachelor’s degree with science prerequisites
Biology, chemistry, physics and biochemistry are typical
Four years
Admission testing and application
Centralised application, competitive admission
During the final undergraduate years
CODA accredited DDS or DMD program
Preclinical laboratory work then supervised patient care
Four years
National and clinical examinations
Required for licensure eligibility
Final year and after graduation
State licence
Issued by the state dental board, with continuing education
Ongoing
Optional specialty residency
Orthodontics, oral surgery, endodontics and others
Additional years
None of this happens at a distance. The preclinical years involve laboratory work on manikins and models; the clinical years involve treating patients under supervision. Prerequisite coursework can often be completed online before applying, and that is the only part that can.
State licensure requirements are set board by board and change periodically. Confirm the current rules with the board in the state where you intend to practise before committing to any program.
Who This Page Is Actually For
Two groups, and they need different advice.
People early enough to plan the whole path. If you are choosing an undergraduate degree and dentistry is the goal, the science prerequisites and admission testing shape everything from year one. Plan backwards from them.
People already working in dental support roles - 387,790 dental assistants and 222,740 hygienists. For this group the realistic question is not usually dentistry but whether the next rung up is worth it, and for most the answer is hygiene. The exception is someone young enough, and financially positioned, to absorb eight years of education. That is a real option, just not a common one.
The gap between the 10th percentile of $86,250 and the 90th of $319,630 is the widest of any occupation covered on this site, and it is worth understanding before treating the median as a forecast of your own earnings.
Three things drive it. Ownership is the largest: an associate dentist earning a salary and a practice owner taking profit are both counted in the same occupation, and they are not comparable positions. Specialty is the second, since orthodontics, oral surgery and endodontics require additional residency years and command different fees. Geography and payer mix are the third, because a practice serving mostly insured patients in a dense metro operates on different economics from a rural or public-health practice.
None of that is captured by a single median. When you evaluate this path, the number that matters is what an associate earns in the market you intend to work in, not the national midpoint, and that is a question to put to practising dentists in that market rather than to a wage table.
Is a Dentistry Degree Worth It?
The case for: a median of $170,950, a 90th percentile of $319,630, a clearly defined licensure path, and genuine professional autonomy including practice ownership, which is where much of the earning upside actually sits (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
The case against: roughly eight years of education, competitive admission, a small profession at 124,390 jobs with only about 3,900 openings a year and 4.1 percent projected change, a 10th percentile of $86,250 that is lower than many assume, and no possibility of studying while working. The hygiene route reaches $98,100 in a quarter of the time.
Is college worth it covers the general tradeoff. Individual outcomes may vary.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do dentists make?
The national median annual wage for general dentists is $170,950 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The bottom 10 percent earn $86,250 or less and the top 10 percent earn $319,630 or more, across employment of 124,390 nationally. That spread is one of the widest on this site, largely because practice ownership changes the economics.
Can you study dentistry online?
No. Dental school is a clinical doctorate built around laboratory work and supervised patient care, and CODA accreditation requires both. Some prerequisite coursework can be completed online before applying, but the degree itself cannot. Treat any claim otherwise as a warning sign.
How long does dental school take?
The DDS or DMD is typically four years following a bachelor's degree, so roughly eight years of higher education in total before licensure. Specialty training adds further years of residency. This is one of the longest paths covered on this site.
Is there a difference between a DDS and a DMD?
No practical difference. They are the same degree under two names, awarded by different schools, and both lead to the same licensure and scope of practice. Which letters a school awards is a matter of institutional history rather than curriculum.
Can a dental assistant become a dentist?
Yes, though it is a long path rather than a promotion. Dental assisting is not a prerequisite and does not shorten dental school, but the clinical familiarity is genuine preparation and the exposure helps confirm the career before committing. Expect a bachelor's plus four years of dental school. Individual outcomes may vary.
What accreditation should a dental school have?
CODA, the Commission on Dental Accreditation. CODA accreditation is what state boards require for licensure eligibility, so a program without it does not lead to practice. Verify it directly rather than relying on a school's own description.
Is dentistry a growing field?
Modestly. Employment of general dentists is projected to change by 4.1% from 2024 to 2034, with about 3,900 openings per year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34). Most of those openings come from replacement rather than growth, and the profession is small relative to the assisting and hygiene roles beneath it.
Is dental hygiene a better option than dentistry?
For many people, yes. Dental hygienists earn a median $98,100 across 222,740 jobs and reach that after an associate degree rather than eight years of study (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The dentist median is higher, but the time, cost and admission difficulty are on a different scale entirely.
Colleges Offering This Degree
How we rank schools – graduation rate, graduate earnings, cost and retention.
Advertising plays no part.
This page lists 10 schools, closest group first, then ordered by
BOC Score with the highest at the top.
10 of them carry a score.
LOCAL RANK
Location / proximity to this page
Defines the local group
Graduation rate how often students finish
30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry whether it paid off
25%
Average net price what students actually pay after aid; lower ranks higher
20%
Retention rate how many come back for year two
15%
Fully online availability whether you can study while working
10%
Scores come from IPEDS (2024) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Earnings are for all graduates of a school, not one program, so treat them as a signal
about the institution rather than about this subject.
Sponsored listings are paid placements and are labelled as such; they are separate from
this ranking and never change it. Read the full methodology.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 - Dentists General (SOC 29-1021), Dental Hygienists (SOC 29-1292), Dental Assistants (SOC 31-9091)
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2024-34
CODA, the Commission on Dental Accreditation
About this guide: Researched and written by the TradeCareerPath Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches and sources every trade school and career guide using federal labor and education data, including BLS OEWS and Employment Projections, DOL apprenticeship records, IPEDS, College Scorecard, and state licensing boards. We follow the editorial standards documented at /editorial-policy/.
