Dentist vs physician

The differences between dentists and physicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a physician has an average salary of $238,887, which is higher than the $147,415 average annual salary of a dentist.

The top three skills for a dentist include patients, diagnosis and DDS. The most important skills for a physician are patients, surgery, and patient care.

Dentist vs physician overview

	Dentist	Physician
Yearly salary	$147,415	$238,887
Hourly rate	$70.87	$114.85
Growth rate	6%	7%
Number of jobs	8,570	46,489
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	46	48
Years of experience	-	4

What does a dentist do?

Dentists are physicians specializing in oral health. The main responsibilities of dentists are to diagnose oral diseases and treat them with the help of different equipment and technologies. They manage to provide several services like tooth repair, cavities removal, teeth whitening, fillings, crowns, bridges, and even surgical procedures. They also help promote oral care by participating in community outreach and awareness programs. Sometimes, they would also conduct lectures and seminars for preventive education.

What does a physician do?

Physicians' general responsibility is to check, diagnose, and treat a patient's condition to improve their overall wellness. A physician could be General Practitioners or Specialist Physicians, wherein General Practitioners are physicians who provide regular checkups for patients depending on their needs and refer them to a Specialist Physicians who are more skilled in a particular field of expertise for a thorough diagnosis. Physicians monitor a patient's medical history and ensure follow-up checkups to observe if the condition of a patient is changing over time. A physician may refer a patient to other health professionals for further examination as needed.

Dentist vs physician salary

Dentists and physicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Dentist	Physician
Average salary	$147,415	$238,887
Salary range	Between $99,000 And $218,000	Between $128,000 And $442,000
Highest paying City	Lynn, MA	Cleveland, TN
Highest paying state	Alaska	Wisconsin
Best paying company	The Primary Health Network	Yuma Regional Medical Center
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between dentist and physician education

There are a few differences between a dentist and a physician in terms of educational background:

	Dentist	Physician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Advanced Dentistry And Oral Sciences	Medicine
Most common college	University of Southern California	Duke University

Dentist vs physician demographics

Here are the differences between dentists' and physicians' demographics:

	Dentist	Physician
Average age	46	48
Gender ratio	Male, 45.5% Female, 54.5%	Male, 39.0% Female, 61.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 3.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 22.0% White, 62.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 19.1% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	12%	13%

Differences between dentist and physician duties and responsibilities

Dentist example responsibilities.

Manage HMO and indemnity dental insurances.
Manage early and moderate periodontal disease, evaluate the results of periodontal treatment and establish maintenance program.
Experience with Medicaid, HMO, and PPO dental insurance plans.
Shadow Dr. Victor Avis, DDS in all dental procedures and assist in routine and surgical oral surgeries.
Provide dental service mostly to Medicaid patient.
Full mouth prophyllaxis, assisting flap surgery, frenectomy.

Physician example responsibilities.

Manage catheters and dress wounds.
Maintain ACLS and BLS certifications.
Treat complicated oncology cases in ICU and emergency.
Schedule new, follow-up and diagnostic testing for cardiology patients.
Attend radiation oncology clinic for new patients beginning treatment as well as follow-ups for returning patients.
Schedule tests and procedures (including radiology, cardiology, and respiratory) utilizing the hospital and clinic computer systems.

Dentist vs physician skills

Common dentist skills

Patients, 27%
Diagnosis, 9%
DDS, 8%
Work Ethic, 8%
Dentures, 4%
Treatment Planning, 4%

Common physician skills

Patients, 22%
Surgery, 8%
Patient Care, 7%
Internal Medicine, 6%
Primary Care, 6%
EMR, 6%

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Dentist vs Physician

Updated January 8, 2025

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