What is a General Dentist?

A General Dentist is responsible for improving and maintaining the dental health of their patients. They treat various issues related to teeth, such as pain or rot, or a harmful overlap of the teeth, or they work on smaller things, like cleaning teeth.

A Dentist has many duties when it comes to their work, such as examining and communicating with patients, fixing teeth or pulling them out, filling in cavities, applying medicine or otherwise helpful agents to teeth, prescribing medicine as needed, giving sedatives or anesthetics, ordering x-rays or models, and keeping records of patients' medical procedures and medical history.

A person hoping to become a General Dentist needs to have a doctorate of dental surgery or medicine, a state license, and perhaps even insurance. They may also need further certification and experience, and they may choose to specialize in something later. They must have good hand-eye coordination and understanding of medical improvements and research. A General Dentist earns, on average, $133,000 a year.

What Does a General Dentist Do

There are certain skills that many general dentists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed detail oriented, dexterity and patience.

Learn more about what a General Dentist does

How To Become a General Dentist

If you're interested in becoming a general dentist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 38.9% of general dentists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 4.2% of general dentists have master's degrees. Even though most general dentists have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a General Dentist
Top General Dentist Jobs Near You

General Dentist Career Paths

As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a general dentist can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as clinical instructor, progress to a title such as clinical manager and then eventually end up with the title clinical manager.

General Dentist

Average Salary for a General Dentist

General Dentists in America make an average salary of $147,636 per year or $71 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $219,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $99,000 per year.
Average General Dentist Salary
$147,636 Yearly
$70.98 hourly
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Roles and Types of General Dentist

The role of a general dentist includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general general dentist responsibilities:

  • Diagnose, prevent, and treat teeth and tissue problems. Remove decay, fill cavities, examine x-rays, place protective plastic sealants on children's teeth,
  • Provide superior patient care and service: treat patients in a professional
  • As a supported dentist with heartland dental, you will be the leader of your practice. You will manage the dental office team, mediate any conflicts that arise

There are several types of general dentist, including:

Dentist

Role:

Even though they can be viewed as scary sometimes, dentists aren't bad people. In fact, they're quite essential to maintaining good health. Dentists are responsible for diagnosing and treating all sorts of problems that affect your teeth, gums and other parts of your mouth. So if a tooth is hurting, you know who to call.

While most dentists are general practitioners, there are quite a few different specialty dentists that are worth mentioning, such as, orthodontists, endodontists, periodontists, and the list goes on and on. In addition, many dentists work less than 40 hours a week. What a sweet deal!

  • Average Salary: $147,415
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most General Dentist Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active general dentist jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where general dentists earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of General Dentist Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California4,196$117,211
2Pennsylvania1,524$122,434
3New York1,473$149,887
4Massachusetts889$173,480
5Washington735$134,617
6New Jersey735$134,774
7Oregon480$165,237
8Connecticut380$160,865
9Nebraska222$170,845
10Florida206$138,995
11Idaho204$160,978
12New Hampshire179$166,123
13Delaware170$135,407
14Georgia158$148,229
15Maine157$162,800
16Rhode Island127$186,678
17Texas127$142,645
18Wisconsin120$155,578
19South Dakota117$122,929
20North Dakota112$149,998
21Ohio95$147,991
22Arizona92$151,166
23Michigan80$148,928
24North Carolina64$150,745
25South Carolina54$136,817
26Illinois52$164,214
27Minnesota49$167,382
28Vermont46$152,752
29Oklahoma45$150,513
30Colorado44$139,627
31Tennessee43$136,185
32Missouri42$146,235
33Alabama39$169,447
34Virginia39$144,999
35Indiana34$144,468
36New Mexico32$138,302
37Louisiana32$113,487
38Maryland29$142,245
39Montana26$140,528
40Nevada22$158,222
41Arkansas18$140,581
42Kentucky18$108,855
43Mississippi17$128,719
44Iowa16$148,026
45Kansas12$140,993
46Alaska9$175,382
47Utah5$125,729
48West Virginia4$107,296
49Wyoming3$119,284
50Hawaii1$137,252

General Dentist Education

General Dentist Majors

Advanced Dentistry And Oral Sciences
45.0 %
Dentistry
18.4 %
Biology
11.1 %

General Dentist Degrees

Doctorate

50.4 %

Bachelors

38.9 %

Masters

4.2 %

Top Colleges for General Dentists

1. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

2. Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH • Private

In-State Tuition

$49,042

Enrollment

5,131

3. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

4. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

5. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-State Tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

6. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$13,226

Enrollment

31,568

7. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

8. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

New Brunswick, NJ • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,974

Enrollment

35,656

9. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

10. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-State Tuition

$6,381

Enrollment

34,564

Top Skills For a General Dentist

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 34.2% of general dentists listed patients on their resume, but soft skills such as detail oriented and dexterity are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable General Dentist Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use General Dentist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your General Dentist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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General Dentist diversity

General Dentist Gender Distribution

Male
Male
54%
Female
Female
47%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among general dentists, 46.5% of them are women, while 53.5% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among general dentists is White, which makes up 61.9% of all general dentists.

  • The most common foreign language among general dentists is Spanish at 52.0%.

Online Courses For General Dentist That You May Like

Advertising Disclosure  

1. Implant Dentistry

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Implant Dentistry is one of the most dynamic and rapidly developing areas within oral health care. In spite of increasing popularity of implantology, it is a relatively new discipline within dental education and remains limited to post-graduate courses offered by dental schools in many parts of the world today. With the vision to help dental practitioners gain clinical understanding of implantology and an opportunity to provide implant treatments to their patients, the Faculty of Dentistry of...

2. Dentistry 101

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Dentistry 101 is an introduction to the exciting and diverse field of dentistry through the lens of its many practitioners. If you’re interested in exploring dentistry as a profession, or if you’re ready to pursue a career in it and want to prepare yourself for dental school and the profession that lies ahead, Dentistry 101 will help you better envision the paths you can take. If you complete Dentistry 101, you'll have a well-rounded introductory understanding of the field of dentistry, and...

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The goal is less trauma and less drama! This is an update that teaches superior methods for atraumatic extractions...

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Best States For a General Dentist

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a general dentist. The best states for people in this position are Rhode Island, Alaska, Massachusetts, and Nebraska. General dentists make the most in Rhode Island with an average salary of $186,678. Whereas in Alaska and Massachusetts, they would average $175,382 and $173,480, respectively. While general dentists would only make an average of $170,845 in Nebraska, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Rhode Island

Total General Dentist Jobs: 127
Highest 10% Earn:
$256,000
Location Quotient:
2.2

$186,678

Avg. Salary

View 127 General Dentist Jobs In RI

2. Nebraska

Total General Dentist Jobs: 222
Highest 10% Earn:
$239,000
Location Quotient:
2.11

$170,845

Avg. Salary

View 222 General Dentist Jobs In NE

3. New Hampshire

Total General Dentist Jobs: 179
Highest 10% Earn:
$234,000
Location Quotient:
2.16

$166,123

Avg. Salary

View 179 General Dentist Jobs In NH
Full List Of Best States For General Dentists

How Do General Dentists Rate Their Jobs?

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Top General Dentist Employers

Most Common Employers For General Dentist

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Gentle Dental$149,215$71.7473
2Family Dental$149,209$71.7425
3Smiles Dental Care$149,153$71.7127
4Dr. Dental$149,139$71.7066
5Dental Dreams$149,040$71.6554
6Dental Associates$148,812$71.5428
7Great Expressions Dental Centers$148,704$71.4979
8Familia Dental$148,701$71.49454
9Aspen Dental$148,266$71.2863
10Kool Smiles$148,129$71.22110
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Updated April 6, 2023