Employment

• The BLS provides salary data for wage-and-salary dentists but not for self-employed dentists. About 86,270 wage-and-salary dentists were working in the United States in 2009, and about 660 of them were employed in Iowa. Self-employed dentists in private practice tend to earn more than salaried dentists, according to the BLS. The agency notes that salaried dentists typically receive employer-paid or employer-contributed health insurance and malpractice insurance, rather than having to pay for these benefits entirely on their own.
  
  

Comparisons

• The average salary of a general dentist in Iowa as of May 2009 was $172,320 per year, according to the BLS. That was about 9 percent higher than the nationwide average salary for general dentists of $156,850 per year. The BLS does not disclose salary figures for the top 25 percent of Iowa dentists. The agency shows the bottom 10 percent of Iowa dentists earning $101,180 per year and less, a significant difference from the bottom 10 percent nationwide, with salaries of $69,790 and lower.
  
  

Regions

• The highest-paying area in Iowa for dentists on average is the greater Davenport area, including Moline and Rock Island in Illinois, where the average salary for general dentists was $196,000 in 2009. The second-highest paying region was the southeast nonmetropolitan area of the state, with an average salary of $190,450. Iowa dentists earned the lowest average pay in the northwest nonmetropolitan area, at $135,010 per year. Dentists in the southwest nonmetropolitan area had an average annual salary of $150,510; in the greater Council Bluffs area, including Omaha, Nebraska, $152,320; in the Sioux City area, $156,380; in the greater Des Moines area $174,320; and in Dubuque $184,500.
  
  

Outlook

• Employment of dentists is likely to experience fast growth until at least 2018, according to the BLS. The general population is increasing and people are keeping their teeth longer than was typical in years past. In addition, the BLS sees a trend of private insurance providers boosting their dental coverage, prompting more people to have dental visits.