Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences

Types of Degrees Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many advanced dentistry and oral sciences graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Graduate Certificate	915
Master’s Degree	797
Doctor’s Degree	50

What Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to dentistry and oral science were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Dentistry & Oral Science Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in dentistry and oral science should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Skills for Dentistry & Oral Science Majors

dentistry and oral science majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Dentistry & Oral Science Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a dentistry and oral science student include the following:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences Major?

People with a dentistry and oral science degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Dentists	14.1%	$146,970
Dentists, General	19.4%	$151,850
Health Educators	14.6%	$54,220
Health Specialties Professors	25.9%	$97,370
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons	19.1%	$208,000
Orthodontists	18.2%	$208,000
Prosthodontists	22.2%	$176,540

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences?

Roughly 50% of the graduates are women, and 50% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of dentistry and oral science majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	109
Black or African American	16
Hispanic or Latino	61
White	331
International Students	211
Other Races/Ethnicities	69

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Dentistry & Oral Science. About 26.5% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• Saudi Arabia
• Canada
• India
• Kuwait
• Taiwan

How Much Do Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The median early-career salary of advanced dentistry and oral sciences students with a master’s degree is $189,764 a year according to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $185,139 (25th percentile) and $201,325 (75th percentile).

It is possible that some of these people may have taken positions that were not related to dentistry and oral science.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $122,320 to $225,760 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to dentistry and oral science. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences

Some degrees associated with dentistry and oral science may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to dentistry and oral science have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	0.4%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	0.5%
Some College Courses	1.6%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	11.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	6.5%
Master’s Degree	8.3%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	3.1%
Doctoral Degree	29.7%
Post-Doctoral Training	39.9%

Online Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences Programs

In 2020-2021, 67 schools offered a dentistry and oral science program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	1	0
Bachelor’s Degree	24	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	143	1
Post-Master’s	177	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	37	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences Worth It?

The median salary for a dentistry and oral science grad is $178,800 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 348% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $2,778,000 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to dentistry and oral science.

Major	Number of Grads
Nursing	66,964
Medicine	28,629
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	24,774
Public Health	19,473
Health & Medical Administrative Services	17,335
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences	16,952
Mental & Social Health Services	16,815
Allied Health Professions	12,950
Communication Sciences	10,547
Dentistry	6,770
Bioethics/Medical Ethics	4,684
Chiropractic	2,658
Alternative Medicine & Systems	2,582
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services	2,481
Optometry	1,822
Medical Illustration & Informatics	1,747
Health Sciences & Services	1,746
Other Health Professions	1,261
Health/Medical Prep Programs	1,122
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	954
Medical Science	909
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	462
Dental Support Services	122
Alternative Medical Support Services	80
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies	55
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies	37
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services	11
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	4
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.