Wall Street Journal Examines How Dentists’ Salaries Are Becoming More on Par With Some Doctors, Partly Because of Performing More Cosmetic Procedures

The Wall Street Journal on Monday examined diverging pay trends in medicine and dentistry and found that while dentists earned two-thirds as much as internal-medicine physicians in 1988, they now earn slightly more despite working an average of 10 to 15 hours per week less than internists. Dentists' average incomes more than doubled from 1988 to 2000, while the average income for physicians increased by about 42%, 4% slower than inflation. In addition, although specialist physicians continue to earn more than specialist dentists, specialist dentists "have seen their paychecks increase at a much faster rate than their physician counterparts," the Journal reports. One reason for the shift has been the dental industry's avoidance of the managed care system. As dental care accounts for less than 5% of the overall U.S. health costs, it has not been a focus of cost cutting, according to the Journal. Most private dental insurance is still paid on a fee-for-service basis, and because many optional procedures are not covered by insurance, dentists are "free to charge whatever the market will bear," the Journal reports. Although about 10% of physician and clinical costs are paid out of pocket, 44% of dental care is paid out of patients' pockets, according to federal statistics from 2002. According to the Journal, some dentists "have become more entrepreneurial" by performing more cosmetic procedures -- such as tooth-whitening treatments, tooth veneer applications and "smile makeovers" -- but "many physicians can't make the same kind of switch in their practices." American Dental Association Executive Director Jackson Brown said cosmetic procedures account for about 10% of the nation's $80 billion in annual dental costs (Maremont, Wall Street Journal, 1/10).