Compensation and staffing struggles have played a significant role in the lives of practice owners for the past few years, but expectations around salary could be leveling off, according to the results of the latest DentalPost Dental Industry Salary Report.
Conducted from October to November 2024, the DentalPost and Endeavor Business Media survey gathered responses from more than 3,500 dental professionals, covering income and benefits, hours, job turnover, retirement plans, and more for dentists, hygienists, and front-office specialists. The results help show where dental industry salary trends in 2025 are headed.
Income satisfaction among dental professionals peaked in 2022 as many enjoyed raises brought on by pandemic-era inflation and staffing shortages. But by the following year, many respondents had become unhappy with their total compensation, perhaps as realizations about the new cost of living set in.
While plenty of respondents weren’t over the moon about their 2024 income, satisfaction did improve in some areas, and dissatisfaction appears to be leveling off in others. Let’s dive into some of the report’s main insights to help you be prepared for a successful 2025.
Dentists
Both owner-dentists and associates saw considerable increases in their incomes last year: the average full-time income for a general dentist practice owner was $320,316, up 10% over last year. For associates it was $225,929, up 9% over the previous year.
Across the board for all positions, income satisfaction peaked in 2022, taking a big hit in 2023, and practice owners are no exception. In 2024, 57% of practice owners were satisfied with their total compensation, which wasn’t much of a change from 2023’s 58%. Income satisfaction in 2022, though, was 72%. Satisfaction with benefits also declined four percentage points between 2023 and 2024.
Income satisfaction among associate dentists has also declined, albeit less abruptly. In 2024, 45% were satisfied, compared to 2023’s 46%, and 2022’s 53%.
Despite some lukewarm feelings about compensation, overall dentist-owners report high levels of satisfaction with their jobs—associates’ sentiments are much more mixed. Based on how our respondents answered, practice owners are more likely to be happy with their income, and much more likely to be happy with their jobs overall, despite the many stresses that come with owning a dental practice.
Wondering how to keep your associate dentists happy? Those who changed their employment last year reported a better work environment as their number one reason (50%), with higher pay (38%) and better hours (35%) coming in after. In other words, practice culture can be more impactful than just pay alone. Similar to 2023, about a quarter of associates changed jobs last year, and nearly half (47%) are considering a job change in 2025. For those who say they’re considering one, higher income is far and away the top motivation.
Dental hygienists
Average compensation continued to rise last year, hitting a high of $81,627 in 2024. However, many hygienists haven’t been happy with their compensation in the last few years, as the cost of living has significantly risen and expectations of receiving wage increases have also become more common.
Satisfaction with income peaked in 2022 before dropping sharply the next year, and not much has changed since then, although fewer hygienists consider themselves “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” compared to 2023.
One way compensation has radically changed for hygienists since the pandemic is in benefits. In 2021, only 43% were receiving some form of benefits. In 2024, that number had climbed to 92%. The majority of RDHs (68%) were satisfied with their benefits last year, but for those who didn’t already have them, medical and retirement topped the wish list.
Turnover hasn’t increased markedly over 2023, which is good news for practices who have been struggling with staffing. The number of hygienists looking for new jobs (or just thinking about looking) is also down compared to 2023. For those who changed their jobs last year, higher income was the most common reason (20%), with better work environment (16%) and benefits (14%) also being important.
Common challenges mentioned by RDHs in the survey included difficulties with insurance, a lack of office culture, rushed appointments, and not feeling valued as a profession. When hygienists loved their jobs, they cited friendly working environments, ethical and respectful employers, good pay, patients, and being able to learn new things.
Dental assistants
Assistants responding to the survey saw their income rise by 7% last year, to an average of $47,440.
Compared to hygienists, however, assistants are significantly more dissatisfied with their total compensation. While 75% of hygienists were either satisfied with or neutral about their income, only 64% of assistants shared those feeling. Nearly 1 in 4 (37%) were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.
Perhaps not surprisingly, 53% of assistants responded “yes” or “maybe” when asked if they’d apply to new jobs next year, and higher income was far and away the most common reason for wanting to find a new job, although better work environment and benefits were also common reasons.
When asked about their professional challenges, many DAs bemoaned the lack of certification and licensing requirements. One respondent wrote that they disliked “the way that the dental assistant profession has been undermined and devalued, working with unqualified and inexperienced people due to lack of regulations and credentialing requirements, not being able to get an actual degree in my field without going to a hygiene or dentist/doctoral specific program.”
Dental practice managers
Hourly compensation for dental practice managers rose a more modest 5% to $36.03 last year, compared to 2023’s 16%. The average full-time income was $71,292. Unlike the other staff positions we’ve discussed here, income satisfaction among office managers declined considerably again last year. Only 43% were satisfied with their total compensation, down from 49% in 2023 and 58% in 2022.
However, for those who actually changed jobs last year, higher pay wasn’t the most common reason; it came in fourth after career advancement, better location, and better work environment. More than a third of office managers are planning to apply for a new job in the coming months, with most looking for higher pay.
Many office managers responding to the survey cited working with insurance and difficult patients as a significant challenge. “Insurance is becoming increasingly more difficult to work with … patients have become way more difficult since 2020. The constant undercurrent of anxiety and stress makes interacting difficult and patients more likely to get upset about things that they didn’t pre-2020,” one person shared.
Many also felt as if they were second-tier employees compared to the clinical team, and weren’t appreciated for the important work that they did. But plenty of other respondents said they enjoyed helping patients navigate claims and financial concerns, working in their “no drama” offices, and having an employer with high ethical standards.
Conclusion
Although salaries have played an outsize role in staffing over the past few years, the results of the 2025 DentalPost Industry Salary Report show that while income is important, it isn’t always the main reason why someone chooses to stay at a job. While many staff members who said they’d apply to new jobs in 2024 cited higher income as a main motivation, for those who actually made the leap, practice environment and culture were often the deciding factors.
Get a deeper dive into the 2025 results by downloading the full report at dentalpost.net/salary-survey.
