For practice owners, office managers and small DSOs
Dental salary survey and dental salary report options for hygienists, assistants and front desk
Most dental salary surveys are free, and that is the catch. DentalPost's 2026 report is a free download built from what about 3,575 dental professionals say they earn. SVA's survey goes to practices that took part, and DANB covers assistants only. The federal OEWS survey reads payroll records instead: hygienists in dental offices earn a median of $47.25 an hour.
Hiring a hygienist or an assistant this month? Pick Dental Hygienist or Dental Assistant in the builder on the right and get a band and a posting range you can use today.
- P25
- $0
- P50 ยท Median
- $0
- P75
- $0
Suggested posted range
Built from public U.S. BLS OES wage data (May 2025 release), adjusted for market, seniority and company stage by the multipliers published in our methodology.
Get bands for your whole team
Get started$47.25
median hourly wage for a hygienist in a dental office
$23.08
median hourly wage for a dental assistant, 354,900 employed
22.3%
how far dental offices pay receptionists above the all-industry median
3.75x
the gap between the 10th and 90th percentile dentist in a dental office
Which dental salary report to trust depends on the job you are filling
A dental practice almost never needs to buy a salary survey. What it needs is a number it can defend to a candidate who has just read the DentalPost report, to a long-serving assistant who thinks she is underpaid, and, in a growing list of states, to a regulator reading the job ad. Those are three different tests, and the free sources each pass only one of them.
Self-reported surveys like DentalPost and DANB tell you what candidates believe the market pays. That is useful in an interview, but the sample chooses itself: people who answer a job board's survey are more likely to be shopping for a job. Practice surveys like SVA's ask employers, which is better, but the full tables go to participants and the role list is fixed.
The federal OEWS survey is the only free source built from what dental offices actually report paying, and it publishes percentiles, not just one average. It counts 211,560 hygienists and 354,900 assistants in offices of dentists. Its weakness is speed and geography: it lands once a year, and the dental-office figures are national. That is the gap a band adjusted for your market tier fills.
Match the source to the job
- Hygienist
- Federal percentiles for the band, DentalPost for what the candidate will quote back at you.
- Dental assistant
- Federal percentiles, plus DANB if you want to price a certification premium.
- Front desk and office manager
- Federal dental-office figures. Cross-industry numbers misprice these two jobs most.
- Associate dentist
- Percentiles only set the frame. Production or collections terms decide what the offer is worth.
Dental salary surveys by publisher, price and who answers them
| Survey | Who answers | Roles covered | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DentalPost Salary Survey 2026 | Dental professionals, self-reported | Dentists, hygienists, assistants, front office | Free download | A quick read on what candidates expect |
| SVA Dental Salary and Benefits Survey 2025 to 2026 | Dental practices | Front desk, schedulers, treatment coordinators, office managers, assistants, hygienists, associate dentists | Complimentary to practices that took part; others through SVA sales | Benefits, sign-on bonuses and pay by experience |
| DANB Salary and Career Report | Dental assistants, self-reported | Dental assistants only, certified and not certified | Free on danb.org | The value of DANB certification in an offer |
| ADA Health Policy Institute polls | Dental practice owners | Recruiting, raises and benefits offered, not role pay scales | Free summaries | What other owners are doing, not what to pay |
| BLS OEWS, offices of dentists | Employer payroll records | Every occupation dental offices employ, with percentiles | Free | Pay scales and posted ranges you can defend |
| WageList | Built on the federal payroll data above | 69 staff roles, including hygienist, assistant and dental front desk, with market tiers | $99 a month or $588 a year | A band and a posting range the day you hire |
Prices and coverage as stated on each publisher's own page. SVA does not publish a price for practices that did not take part, so we do not quote one. The DentalPost response count and survey window come from its 2026 report coverage. For national publishers outside dentistry, see our full comparison of salary survey providers.
Dental office pay percentiles for six staff roles
Each bar runs from the 10th to the 90th percentile, the shaded block is the middle half, and the dot is the median. Annual wages, May 2025, offices of dentists. Read the shape, not just the dot: the receptionist median sits close to the 75th percentile, which means a large group of practices pays almost the same rate, and offering the 25th percentile will lose you most candidates.
Dental hygienists
211,560 employed, median $98,280
Office supervisors
32,840 employed, median $63,910
Billing and posting clerks
15,240 employed, median $51,910
Dental assistants
354,900 employed, median $48,000
Medical secretaries
120,490 employed, median $47,990
Receptionists
69,930 employed, median $46,500
| Role | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dental hygienists | $75,420 | $83,920 | $98,280 | $108,680 | $126,050 |
| Office supervisors | $49,270 | $58,510 | $63,910 | $76,300 | $88,020 |
| Billing and posting clerks | $41,690 | $48,270 | $51,910 | $62,900 | $70,270 |
| Dental assistants | $37,090 | $44,360 | $48,000 | $58,020 | $62,040 |
| Medical secretaries | $37,050 | $43,840 | $47,990 | $58,120 | $61,940 |
| Receptionists | $36,000 | $38,830 | $46,500 | $49,960 | $59,570 |
The hygienist hourly scale
$40.35
25th
$47.25
median
$52.25
75th
$60.60
90th
Hygienists are quoted hourly almost everywhere, so price the band hourly too. The 10th percentile works out to about $36.26.
The assistant hourly scale
$21.33
25th
$23.08
median
$27.89
75th
The jump from median to 75th percentile is $4.81, wider than the step below it. That is where expanded-function and certified assistants sit.
Where a cross-industry salary number misprices a dental office
Receptionists
+22.3%
Dental hygienists
+0.2%
Dental assistants
-0.1%
General dentists
-0.6%
Office supervisors
-8%
Health services managers
-37%
Median annual wage in offices of dentists against the all-industry median, May 2025. Blue pays more in dental offices, gold pays less.
What this means for your budget
Clinical jobs match the national number almost exactly. Hygienists sit 0.2 percent above it, assistants 0.1 percent below and general dentists 0.6 percent below. The business side does not. Dental offices pay receptionists $46,500 against $38,010 nationally, and a practice manager coded as a health services manager earns $78,050 against $123,860.
So a free salary site quoting the national median will tell you to underpay your front desk by about $8,500 and overpay your office manager by more than $45,000. Both mistakes are expensive, and the first one shows up as turnover. How the federal survey is built is on our BLS salary data page.
Why a dentist salary survey median rarely settles an associate offer
General dentists working in offices of dentists earned a median of $169,900 in May 2025. The 10th percentile was $85,920 and the 90th was $322,350, a ratio of 3.75 to 1. For comparison, the hygienist ratio is 1.67 to 1. No staff role in a dental office spreads anywhere near that wide.
The reason is how associates are paid. Most offers are a percentage of production or collections, often with a daily guarantee for the first months. Two practices with the same percentage can produce very different incomes depending on fee schedule, payer mix and how full the chair is. A survey median tells you whether an offer is in the market. It cannot tell you what the offer will pay.
The federal overtime rules leave room for that structure. 29 CFR 541.304 treats licensed dentists practicing dentistry as exempt professionals, and paragraph (d) says the salary requirements do not apply to them. A pure percentage-of-collections associate agreement is lawful under federal wage law in a way that the same arrangement for a hygienist is not.
General dentists, offices of dentists
- 10th percentile
- $85,920
- 25th percentile
- $124,800
- Median
- $169,900
- 75th percentile
- $224,400
- 90th percentile
- $322,350
111,880 employed. May 2025 OEWS, industry 6212.
Federal pay rules that shape every dental office pay scale
29 CFR 541.304
Dentists are exempt with no salary test
The rule names dentists among the physicians covered, and the minimum salary does not apply. Percentage pay is fine.
29 CFR 541.301(e)(3)
Hygienists need a four-year degree to qualify
Only hygienists with four academic years in an ADA-accredited program generally meet the professional duties test.
29 CFR 541.600
And a salary of at least $684 a week
A qualifying hygienist paid hourly or on commission only is still non-exempt. Several states set a higher floor; see the exempt salary threshold.
29 CFR 778.117
Commission goes into the regular rate
Whether it is the only pay or on top of an hourly rate, commission raises the rate overtime is calculated on.
Assistants and front desk
Non-exempt almost without exception
No advanced degree is required for entry, so overtime applies. Our FLSA overtime guide covers the regular rate.
Posting laws
A range in the ad in covered states
Colorado from one employee, New York from four, California and Washington from 15. See pay transparency laws.
Three dental practices and the pay question each one actually has
Solo dentist, 6 staff
Replacing a hygienist who just quit
The departing hygienist earned $41 an hour. That sits just above the federal 25th percentile, so the replacement will probably cost $47 or more. Pricing at the market median, not the old rate, is the difference between a two-week search and a two-month one.
Three dentists, 18 staff
An assistant asks for a raise
She earns $22 and holds a DANB certification. Federal data puts the median at $23.08 and the 75th percentile at $27.89. A band with the certification priced in near the upper half answers the request with a number, not a feeling, and the compa-ratio calculator shows where she sits.
Five-office group, 80 staff
Posting jobs in two states
The group hires in Colorado and Washington, so every ad needs a good-faith range. One national number for every office fails twice: it ignores local labor markets, and it cannot show how the range was set. A band per role per market tier, with the federal source on every figure, does both.
A dental hygienist salary survey number the day you post the job
Dental surveys arrive once a year and most are written for the employee. A practice hires whenever someone leaves, and usually in a hurry. These are the four dental office jobs owners price most often between surveys:
- 1Hygienist, the hardest seat to fill and the one candidates negotiate hardest on.
- 2Dental assistant, with a real premium for certification and expanded functions.
- 3Front desk and scheduler, which dental offices pay well above the national median.
- 4Office manager, where the job title you pick changes the benchmark by $14,000.
WageList for dental practices
Pick the role and the market, get a band built on federal wage data with the source on every figure, and a posting-ready range in under a minute. No questionnaire, no participation deadline, no sales call.
Starter is $99 a month or $588 a year on the pricing page. One mispriced hygienist hire costs more than that in a single week of an empty chair.
Who buys dental salary data and what they do with it
Practice owners
A defensible offer for the next hygienist and a fair answer to raise requests. See WageList for small businesses.
Office managers
Turning percentiles into a pay scale the dentist will sign off on. Our guide to creating salary bands walks through it.
Small DSOs
One structure across offices, adjusted for each market tier, with ranges ready for every job posting salary range.
Dental salary survey questions practice owners ask
What is the best salary survey for a dental practice?
For setting staff pay, combine one dental survey with federal data. DentalPost's free report shows what dental professionals say they earn. The federal OEWS survey shows what dental offices actually pay, by percentile, for hygienists, assistants, front desk and office managers. SVA's dental survey adds benefits and experience levels if you take part.
Is the DentalPost salary survey free?
Yes. The DentalPost 2026 Dental Salary Survey Report is a free download. It is built from self-reported answers, nearly 3,575 dental professionals responding between August 29 and September 30, 2025, so it describes what people say they earn rather than what practices pay on payroll records.
How much does a dental hygienist make per hour?
Dental hygienists working in offices of dentists earned a median of $47.25 an hour in May 2025, according to BLS. The middle half earned between $40.35 and $52.25, and the top tenth earned $60.60 or more. That is about $98,280 a year at full time, almost exactly the all-industry median.
What is the average salary for a dental office manager?
It depends on how the job is classified. Dental offices report office supervisors at a median of $63,910 and practice managers classed as health services managers at $78,050, both May 2025 BLS figures. The second number is 37 percent below the all-industry median for that title, because hospital administrators pull the national figure up.
Are dental hygienists exempt from overtime?
Usually not. 29 CFR 541.301(e)(3) treats hygienists as learned professionals only after four academic years of study in an ADA-accredited program, and most hold associate degrees. Even a qualifying hygienist must be paid a salary of at least $684 a week. Hourly and commission-only hygienists are owed overtime.
Can you pay a dental hygienist commission?
Yes, but commission does not remove overtime. Under 29 CFR 778.117 every commission counts toward the regular rate, so a non-exempt hygienist on a percentage of production is owed half that rate again for each hour over 40. Commission-only pay also fails the salary test, so it cannot make a hygienist exempt.
How much do associate dentists make?
General dentists working in offices of dentists earned a median of $169,900 in May 2025, according to BLS, with the middle half between $124,800 and $224,400. The spread is wide because most associates are paid a share of production or collections, so the same job pays very differently from one practice to the next.
Do dental offices have to post salary ranges?
In states with posting laws, yes. Colorado applies from the first employee, New York from four, and California and Washington from 15. A practice advertising a hygienist or assistant job there needs a good-faith range. Delaware lets a job paid partly on commission state that fact instead of a range.
Keep going
Hourly, commission or base plus bonus, with the overtime math.
MGMA, SullivanCotter and ASHHRA for medical practices.
Every national publisher compared on price and coverage.
Build bands for every role from one market.