Years of experience have a larger impact on hourly wages for dental assistants than dental hygienists, according to Dentalpost's Dental Salary Survey for 2024.
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Arkansas, the lowest-ranked state for dental health, has over 1,200 active dentists.
More than 78% of owner dentists worked 32 or more hours each week in 2023, according to Dentalpost's Dental Salary Survey for 2024.
There were 202,304 total dentists in the U.S. in 2023, compared to more than 56,000 active surgeons, according to data from the American Dental Association and KFF, respectively.
The average annual salary for orthopedic surgeons is nearly $200,000 higher than dentists, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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There were 202,304 total dentists in the U.S. in 2023, compared to more than 1.1 million active physicians, according to data from the American Dental Association and KFF.
Illinois, the top-ranked state for dental health, has one of the largest numbers of active dentists with more than 8,500.
The mean annual wage for dental hygienists varied by more than $35,000 across different regions in the U.S., according to Dentalpost's Dental Salary Survey for 2024.
The average hourly rates for dental assistants based on years of experience varied by more than $7 an hour, according to Dentalpost's Dental Salary Survey for 2024.
The average hourly rates for dental hygienists based on years of experience varied by less than $2 an hour, according to Dentalpost's Dental Salary Survey for 2024.