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Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences

Instructional content for this group of programs is defined in codes 51.0501 - 51.0599.

Types of Degrees Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences Majors Are Earning

Those studying Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	5
Associate’s Degree	3
Bachelor’s Degree	31
Master’s Degree	1,899
Doctor’s Degree	43

What Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences Majors Need to Know

Studies in Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Judgment and Decision Making — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.6 / 7
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.2 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.1 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Blackboard Learn	Computer based training software	—
Turning Technologies TurningPoint	Multi-media educational software	—
IBM SPSS Statistics	Analytical or scientific software	—
Sakai CLE	Computer based training software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences graduates include:

• Nutrition Educator
• Clinical Instructor
• Instructor
• Pharmacology Teacher
• Speech Therapy Teacher
• Orthopedics Teacher
• Nutrition Teacher
• Radiology Teacher
• Optometry Professor
• Assistant Professor
• Chiropractic Teacher
• Teacher
• Roentgenology Teacher
• Medicine Teacher
• Health Teacher

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

Graduates with a degree in Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	10.7%	$46,663	$40,304–$53,022

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	35.8%
Post-doctoral training	24.8%
Master’s degree	22.4%
Bachelor’s degree	7.8%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	4.2%
Postsecondary certificate	2.5%
Some college courses	1.5%
First professional degree	1.0%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 58.2% women and 41.8% men among Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,152	58.2%
Men	829	41.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	779	39.3%
Asian	347	17.5%
Hispanic or Latino	219	11.1%
Black or African American	84	4.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native	8	0.4%
Two or More Races	48	2.4%
Race Unknown	85	4.3%
International Students	411	20.7%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$209,489
4 years	$191,956
5 years	$225,886

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $225,886 — roughly 8% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Bachelor’s	1	0
Master’s	3	2

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

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

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences graduates earn a median of $191,956 four years after completion — roughly 405% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	311,372
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants	99,987
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	90,379
Health and Medical Administrative Services	90,166
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services	80,693
Public Health	41,086
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	33,946
Medicine	29,737
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	29,603
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions	24,761
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	23,250
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	20,443

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.