CCollegeMatcher

Prosthodontists

US occupation · SOC 29-1024

Job titles people report: DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery), Dental Science Dr (Dental Science Doctor), Denturist, Maxillofacial Prosthodontist, Prosthetic Dentist, Prosthodontist, Reconstructive Dentist, Removable Prosthodontist, Restorative Dentist

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$311,180
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$252,050 – $333,480
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
870
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
+5.8%
At or above the all-jobs rate (3.5% to under 7%)
Openings a year (projected)
0
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
Doctoral or professional degree
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

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.

Main tasks

  • 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.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
Doctoral or professional degree
Training once hired: internship/residency
O*NET Job Zone 5
Extensive preparation
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
  • Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas
  • Social: helping, teaching and caring for people

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 3 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Health & Nursing

  • Prosthodontics/Prosthodontology

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Health & Nursing at the Major step.

Where many students take health & nursing

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Other fields

Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.

Health Professions Residency/Fellowship Programs

  • Prosthodontics Residency Program
  • Implantology Fellowship Program

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk