The average dentist's career lasted 40.4 years in 2021, according to the American Dental Association.
Though career spans have generally been increasing over the past two decades, 2021 saw a slight drop as dentists shaved a year off of the length of their careers, going from 41.4 years in 2020 to 40.4 years in 2021.
This data comes from a report from the American Dental Association published in March.
Below is the average career span of dentists from 2001-21:
2001 — 37.9 years
2002 — 37.8 years
2003 — 38.3 years
2004 — 38.2 years
2005 — 39 years
2006 — 39.2 years
2007 — 39.8 years
2008 — 39.4 years
2009 — 40.2 years
2010 — 41 years
2011 — 40.9 years
2012 — 40.9 years
2013 — 41.3 years
2014 — 41.6 years
2015 — 41.6 years
2016 — 41.7 years
2017 — 41.4 years
2018 — 41.8 years
2019 — 41.3 years
2020 — 41.4 years
2021 — 40.4 years