How do you misjudge me with the dental question?

How much does a restorative dentist earn? compared to dental hygienists? i was working towards dental hygien but my gpA was too low... but high enough for restoritive dentistry.. can u help me answer this question please?

• Answer:

  I believe you are confusing restorative for general dentist. Restorative dentistry is the restoration of the teeth such as fillings, partial or full dentures, pulpotomy (root canal), bridges (Maryland or fixed), or fixed implants to name a few. Most of a general dentist's duties are restorative. A full-time dental hygienist in an office that operates 4-5 days per week with an average 2500 charts (active patients) usually earns between 50k and 60k per year. The dentist of the same office would usually earn between 200k and 300k per year depending on factors such as the fee for service rates, acceptance of Medicare, etc.. The dental hygienist curriculum usually requires prerequisites of biology, chemistry, math, and anatomy to name a few. The program at most institutions is around 2 yrs, which after completion you will be state certified and have the letters "RDH" after your name (registered dental hygienist). To work in a dental lab as a technician, you do not need nearly the amount of training as that of a dental hygienist, but also, you will not earn nearly as much as a hygienist either. If your goal is to become a dental hygienist, I recommend you do whatever you have to do to boost your GPA. If that means staying in on weekends and spending less time with friends, so be it. If they care for you and support you, they will understand. Hope I was able to help.