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Prosthodontists: Career Profile

Diagnose, treat, rehabilitate, design, and fit prostheses that maintain oral function, health, and appearance for patients with clinical conditions associated with teeth, oral and maxillofacial tissues, or the jaw.

What Tasks Do Prosthodontists Perform?

The day-to-day responsibilities of prosthodontists include:

• Examine patients to diagnose oral health conditions and diseases.
• Fit prostheses to patients, making any necessary adjustments and modifications.
• Replace missing teeth and associated oral structures with permanent fixtures, such as implant-supported prostheses, crowns and bridges, or removable fixtures, such as dentures.
• Measure and take impressions of patients' jaws and teeth to determine the shape and size of dental prostheses, using face bows, dental articulators, recording devices, and other materials.
• Collaborate with general dentists, specialists, and other health professionals to develop solutions to dental and oral health concerns.
• Design and fabricate dental prostheses, or supervise dental technicians and laboratory bench workers who construct the devices.
• Restore function and aesthetics to traumatic injury survivors, or to individuals with diseases or congenital disabilities.
• Repair, reline, or rebase dentures.

Key Skills and Knowledge

Successful prosthodontists draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Most Important Skills

The abilities most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Core Knowledge

Related Job Titles

This career also goes by job titles like:

• DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery)
• Dental Science Dr (Dental Science Doctor)
• Denturist
• Maxillofacial Prosthetics Dentist
• Maxillofacial Prosthodontist
• Oral Maxillofacial Prosthodontist
• Prosthetic Dentist
• Prosthodontist

Job Outlook

There are roughly 1,866,093 prosthodontists working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to decline by -3.4% over the projection horizon.

How Much Do Prosthodontists Make?

Statistic	Value
Annual median	$144,273
Hourly median	$69.36
10th percentile	$93,885
25th percentile	$119,079
75th percentile	$169,467
90th percentile	$194,662

Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.

Which Industries Hire Prosthodontists

Most prosthodontists work in these industries:

Industry	Employment	Median annual wage
Health Care and Social Assistance	750	n/a

Prosthodontists work in the following industries:

Tech Stack

• Operating system software: Apple iOS (hot technology)
• Medical software: Henry Schein Dentrix (hot technology)

Work Environment

Daily working conditions for prosthodontists tends to involve the following characteristics:

• Physical Proximity
• Freedom to Make Decisions
• Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals
• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
• Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams

Getting Started in This Career

The role falls in Extensive Preparation Needed (Job Zone 5), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.

Related Careers

Similar Occupations

• Dentists, General (Primary-Short)
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (Primary-Short)
• Orthodontists (Primary-Short)
• Optometrists (Supplemental)
• Podiatrists (Primary-Long)
• Anesthesiologists (Supplemental)
• Cardiologists (Supplemental)
• Dermatologists (Primary-Long)

Where to Study

Aspiring prosthodontists typically earn programs in:

Health Professions and Related Programs

1 programs across 1 majors

• Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences

About the Data

Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
• BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
• O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 29-1024.00 (Prosthodontists).