Pediatric Dentistry/Pedodontics

Types of Degrees Pediatric Dentistry/Pedodontics Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many pediatric dentistry/pedodontics graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Graduate Certificate	118
Master’s Degree	24
Doctor’s Degree	2

What Pediatric Dentistry/Pedodontics Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to pediatric dentistry/pedodontics 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 Pediatric Dentistry/Pedodontics Majors

Pediatric Dentistry/Pedodontics majors often go into careers in which the following 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.
• 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.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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 Pediatric Dentistry/Pedodontics Majors

A major in pediatric dentistry/pedodontics prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• 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.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for Pediatric Dentistry/Pedodontics Majors

As you progress with your pediatric dentistry/pedodontics degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Pediatric Dentistry/Pedodontics Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with pediatric dentistry/pedodontics:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Dentists, General	19.4%	$151,850

How Much Do Pediatric Dentistry/Pedodontics Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to pediatric dentistry/pedodontics is $175,840. This median refers to 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 Pediatric Dentistry/Pedodontics

Some degrees associated with pediatric dentistry/pedodontics 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 pediatric dentistry/pedodontics have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Some College Courses	7.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.7%
Master’s Degree	5.8%
Doctoral Degree	82.1%

Online Pediatric Dentistry/Pedodontics Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 25 schools offered some type of pediatric dentistry/pedodontics 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)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	3	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	9	0
Post-Master’s	20	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Pediatric Dentistry/Pedodontics Worth It?

The median salary for a pediatric dentistry/pedodontics grad is $175,840 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 341% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $2,718,800 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Pediatric Dentistry/Pedodontics

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to pediatric dentistry/pedodontics.

Major	Number of Grads
General Dental Clinical Sciences	404
Orthodontics/Orthodontology	297
Advanced General Dentistry	210
Oral Biology & Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology	151
Endodontics/Endodontology	141
Prosthodontics/Prosthodontology	117
Periodontics/Periodontology	113
Other Advanced/Graduate Dentistry & Oral Sciences	105
Dental Public Health & Education	49
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.