Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many advanced dentistry & oral sciences graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Graduate Certificate	875
Master’s Degree	784
Doctor’s Degree	64
Bachelor’s Degree	56
Basic Certificate	14
Undergraduate Certificate	3

What Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, dentistry & oral science majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Dentistry & Oral Science Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• 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 & 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 & 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 Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with dentistry & oral science:

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 Bachelor’s Degree in ?

Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences runs middle of the road when it comes to popularity, ranking #25 out of all the healthcare majors we track. In 2021, about 0 graduates completed their bachelor’s degree in this field. The major attracts more women than men. About 93% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	6
Black or African American	3
Hispanic or Latino	14
White	27
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	6

How Much Do Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $122,320 to $225,760 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to dentistry & 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

Some careers associated with dentistry & oral science require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. 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.

Find out what the typical degree level is for dentistry & oral science careers below.

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 Programs

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	20	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	143	2
Post-Master’s	178	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	37	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a dentistry & 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

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

Major	Number of Grads
Nursing	319,502
Health & Medical Administrative Services	88,600
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	85,339
Allied Health Professions	83,905
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	83,587
Public Health	41,651
Health Sciences & Services	36,762
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	30,594
Mental & Social Health Services	30,331
Medicine	29,089
Dental Support Services	26,024
Communication Sciences	23,558
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences	19,400
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	18,884
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services	10,622
Health/Medical Prep Programs	9,605
Other Health Professions	7,676
Dentistry	6,771
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services	6,113
Bioethics/Medical Ethics	4,980
Alternative Medicine & Systems	3,434
Chiropractic	2,881
Medical Illustration & Informatics	2,163
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies	1,818
Optometry	1,746
Medical Science	1,051
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services	817
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies	452
Alternative Medical Support Services	140
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies	89

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.