Average Dentist Salary in USA

Orthos = Straight and Odontos = Teeth , gives you Orthodontist, a physician who straightens teeth, just like the bone surgeons ended up being called 'Orthopedicians' for their primary old practice of straightening fractured & bent bones in children !

Here are some mid-career average dentist salary in USA.

City	Annual Dentist Salary, $
New York, NY	149,000
Los Angeles, CA	145,000
Seattle, WA	135,000
Houston, TX	132,000
Miami, FL	128,000

National  Average dentist salary = $140,000  

Note that it's an average annual dentist salary in USA - individual salaries may vary widely due to number of work hours, insurance accepted or not, the location of your private practice, the type of patients and the setting (academic, group practice, ownership, partnership), etc. There are orthodontists earning much more than these figures - above $200,000 a year , while there will be others earning a little below these figures too.

How long does it take to become a dentist in the USA ?

First of all you have to do Residency in Orthodentistry after completing Dental graduate school. Dental School may be 3 to 4 Years long.

What does it take to become a dentist? International / Foreign Dental graduates have to repeat Dental school in the US (70,000$ to 90,000$ a year in expenses) and then get into the residency program, unlike the International medical graduate, who can apply for Residency programs in MD specialties like Internal medicine, neurology, etc. directly without having to repeat Medical school.

Are you paid stipend during Orthodontist dental residency Program ?

Yes - about 40,000 to 50,000 $ a year depending on the city of the program.