Is is problematic to go into dentistry for the lifestyle due to the money? (work 3 days a week and live comfortably?) or is this destined to fail?
It depends on your definition of “living comfortably”. Some people want to live in expansive houses which cost millions of dollars. As Laerla said, what you will make 5 years after graduation really depends on how good you’re and a range of factors:
-rural vs urban
-clinical skills
-communication/interpersonal skills
-business skills
-private vs public
-your contract terms (Your commission will most likely be around 40% after 5 years even though I heard that some new graduates are only getting 35%)
-competitors near you
-qualifications (there are courses you can do broaden your skills)
There are different procedures a dentist can do and the costs vary significantly. If you get to do a lot of the expensive procedures, you’ll make a lot of money. If you only get to do the cheap ones, you’ll make less money. Here are just some examples of the most common procedures:
- scale and cleaning + cleaning above the gym line =$200-300
-extractions = 150-500 for normal teeth
- fillings: $100-350
- root canal +crown = $3000-5000
-braces =$4000-8000
-implants = $3000-7000
-teeth whitening = up to 200-300 a tooth
Btw, Laerla is a practising dentist so she/he can probably provide some first hand info on this topic.