How much money do dentists make in Canada? It’s a question that many people are curious about, and for a good reason – dentists play an important role in our health and well-being, and the cost of dental procedures is a lot! In this comprehensive guide, we will take a look at the average dentist salary in Canada, as reported by 1,000 practicing dentists, as well as some of the factors that can affect how much money a dentist makes. So whether you’re thinking about becoming a dentist or just curious about what they earn, read on for all the details!
Average Dentist Salary in Canada
The overall income range of dentists is extremely broad. Of the 1,000 dentists who worked more than 30 hours per week, the average income was $210,000 and the median income was $230,000. Total income was as low as $120,000 for professionals working straight out of school and as high as $700,000 for practice owners.
Factors that Affect Average Dentist Salary
There are a number of factors that can affect how much money dentists make in Canada. Here are some of the most important ones:
Ownership of Practice
Owning a practice provides the opportunity to greatly increase OR decrease a dentist’s salary. Being a dental practice owner brings both greater risk and reward. On average, a general dentist who owns a practice had an average income of $300,000. In comparison, general dentists who are associates of a practice had an average income of $190,000.
Corporate Practice vs Private Practice
Recently, there has been a notable increase in the number of large corporations that buy out dental practices. For example, a big player in the Canadian market for dental practices is the company 123dentists. Dentists working for big corporations tended to make $75,000 less than their private practice counterparts.
Services Offered
There are many different services that dentists can offer in their practices. The most common services are general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, orthodontics, and oral surgery. Not surprisingly, those who provided more specialized services earned significantly more than general practitioners. For example, the average income of a dentist who also provided implant services was on average $100,000 more than those who didn’t.
Location
As with most professions, location is a big factor when it comes to how much money dentists make. Dentists in Alberta and Saskatchewan reported the highest incomes, while those working in Atlantic Canada reported the lowest. This is likely due to the higher cost of living in Western Canada, as well as the fact that there are fewer dental practices per capita in Atlantic Canada.
Becoming a Dentist in Canada
The path to becoming a dentist is highly regulated in Canada and involves many steps including, undergraduate study, dental school, completion of dental exams, and registration with governing bodies. It is a highly competitive process with a big bottleneck at the dental school application stage, with most programs only accepting a small percentage of applicants.
There are also ways to become a practicing dentist if you have received your professional degree from outside of Canada. If you’re thinking about becoming a dentist, we recommend checking our “How to Become a Dentist in Canada” article as well as “Dental School Requirements in Canada“. They provide enough information to get you started on the right path.
Closing Thoughts
So there you have it – a comprehensive guide to how much money dentists make in Canada. As you can see, there is a wide range of incomes for this profession and a number of different factors that can affect how much money a dentist makes. We hope this article has been helpful in the shed some light on this topic!