Dentists, General
The published band from $86,250 to $319,630 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Radiologists.
Same-major-group titles next to Dentists, General: Radiologists ($421K) , Physicians, All Other ($266K) , Obstetricians and Gynecologists ($293K) , Surgeons, All Other ($414K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.
What Dentists, General publish as work
O*NET task statements for SOC 29-1021 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.
- 1. Use masks, gloves, and safety glasses to protect patients and self from infectious diseases
- 2. Examine teeth, gums, and related tissues, using dental instruments, x-rays, or other diagnostic equipment, to evaluate dental health, dia…
- 3. Administer anesthetics to limit the amount of pain experienced by patients during procedures
- 4. Use dental air turbines, hand instruments, dental appliances, or surgical implements
- 5. Formulate plan of treatment for patient's teeth and mouth tissue
- 6. Diagnose and treat diseases, injuries, or malformations of teeth, gums, or related oral structures and provide preventive or corrective s…
- 7. Write prescriptions for antibiotics or other medications
- 8. Advise or instruct patients regarding preventive dental care, the causes and treatment of dental problems, or oral health care services
- 9. Design, make, or fit prosthodontic appliances, such as space maintainers, bridges, or dentures, or write fabrication instructions or pres…
- 10. Fill pulp chamber and canal with endodontic materials
- 11. Treat exposure of pulp by pulp capping, removal of pulp from pulp chamber, or root canal, using dental instruments
- 12. Remove diseased tissue, using surgical instruments
Dentists, General: O*NET ranks Critical Thinking first
Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 29-1021 - lead skill Critical Thinking at 4.1 ; lead knowledge Medicine and Dentistry. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.
Top skills
- 1. Critical Thinking 4.1
- 2. Judgment and Decision Making 4.1
- 3. Reading Comprehension 4.0
- 4. Active Listening 4.0
- 5. Speaking 4.0
- 6. Monitoring 4.0
- 7. Complex Problem Solving 4.0
- 8. Active Learning 3.9
Knowledge areas
- 1. Medicine and Dentistry 5.0
- 2. Customer and Personal Service 4.2
- 3. English Language 3.9
- 4. Biology 3.5
- 5. Psychology 3.4
- 6. Education and Training 3.3
Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments
Top Paying States for Dentists, General
Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles
- 1. Radiologists $420,860
- 2. Obstetricians and Gynecologists $292,910
- 3. Surgeons, All Other $414,010
- 4. Physicians, All Other $265,930
- 5. Dermatologists $328,730
- 6. Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric $358,550
The OEWS band for Dentists, General runs from $86,250 (10th) to $319,630 (90th), about 3.7× wide, with median $170,950. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.
Employment Projections expect +4% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 3,900 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.
Highest published state median in this ranking: Oregon at $211,690. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Radiologists at $420,860. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.
Dentists, General pay-rank #23 in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
Among 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations with a published OEWS median, Dentists, General is pay-rank #23, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.
Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.
Dentists, General next: salary map, states, and peers
SOC 29-1021 · national median $170,950 · upper third of Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (#23/71). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.
Dentists, General salary map
State, metro, and percentile for SOC 29-1021
Oregon · top state for Dentists, General
$212K published median
Maine · #2 state pay
$209K · behind Oregon
Radiologists
Highest-pay peer vs Dentists, General · $421K
Physicians, All Other
Lower-pay peer beside Dentists, General · $266K
Compare Dentists, General
Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles sit near Dentists, General at the top of the pay table? ▼
What do dentists, general do day to day? ▼
Which O*NET skills rank highest for dentists, general? ▼
How wide is the published pay band for Dentists, General? ▼
What employment change does BLS publish for Dentists, General? ▼
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Dentists, General? ▼
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Dentists, General? ▼
Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025
Federal sources on this Dentists, General card
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 29-1021. bls.gov/oes
- O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Dentists, General. onetcenter.org
- BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
- IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics