Dental Public Health & Education

Types of Degrees Dental Public Health & Education Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many dental public health and education graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Graduate Certificate	26
Master’s Degree	9
Basic Certificate	8
Associate Degree	4
Undergraduate Certificate	1
Doctor’s Degree	1

What Dental Public Health & Education Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, dental public health and education 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 Dental Public Health and Education Majors

Dental Public Health and Education majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• 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.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• 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 Dental Public Health and Education Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to dental public health and education:

• 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.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities for Dental Public Health and Education Majors

A major in dental public health and education will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• 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.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Dental Public Health & Education Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with dental public health and education:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Dentists	14.1%	$146,970
Health Educators	14.6%	$54,220

How Much Do Dental Public Health & Education Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Dental Public Health and Education majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $59,660 to $178,800 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

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 Dental Public Health & Education

Some careers associated with dental public health and education require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

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

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.6%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	62.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	30.9%
Master’s Degree	3.4%
Doctoral Degree	0.9%

Online Dental Public Health & Education Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 14 schools offered some type of dental public health and education program. 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	1	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	7	1
Post-Master’s	8	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Dental Public Health & Education Worth It?

The median salary for a dental public health and education grad is $59,660 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 50% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $395,200 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Dental Public Health & Education

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to dental public health and education.

Major	Number of Grads
General Dental Clinical Sciences	404
Orthodontics/Orthodontology	297
Advanced General Dentistry	210
Oral Biology & Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology	151
Pediatric Dentistry/Pedodontics	144
Endodontics/Endodontology	141
Prosthodontics/Prosthodontology	117
Periodontics/Periodontology	113
Other Advanced/Graduate Dentistry & Oral Sciences	105
Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery	44
Dental Materials	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.