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Prosthodontist: pay, job outlook and how to become one

Updated October 29, 2026. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET data. Published by Humblebee.

$311,180median pay per year, or $149.61 an hour, May 2025[1]
  1. $103,510lowest 10% earn less
  2. $252,05025th percentile
  3. $311,180median
  4. $333,48075th percentile
  5. $344,750top 10% earn more
Middle half of workers in the inner band[4]Median for all US jobs, $50,980[2]

Prosthodontists had a median pay of $311,180 a year, compared with $50,980 for all occupations[1][2]. It is a very small field that needs a doctoral or professional degree[3].

Job growth, 2025–35
+5.8%[5]
Openings per year
0[6]
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree[3]

How much do prosthodontists make?

The median pay for a prosthodontist was $311,180 a year, or $149.61 an hour, in May 2025[1]. Half of workers earned more and half earned less[1]. The average was lower, at $268,630 a year, or $129.15 an hour[7].

The range is wide. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $103,510 a year, and the 25th percentile was $252,050[4]. The 75th percentile was $333,480, and the 90th percentile was $344,750[4].

Measure Annual Hourly
10th percentile[4][8] $103,510 $49.77
25th percentile[4][8] $252,050 $121.18
Median[1] $311,180 $149.61
75th percentile[4][8] $333,480 $160.33
90th percentile[4][8] $344,750 $165.75

For comparison, the median for all occupations was $50,980 a year[2]. A percentile is a boundary, and BLS publishes percentile wages, not a starting salary[9]. These wages cover paid employees only. They leave out the self-employed, nonproduction bonuses and the cost of benefits[10].

How to become a prosthodontist

BLS lists a doctoral or professional degree as the typical education for entry, with no work experience in a related job needed[3]. The typical on-the-job training is an internship or residency[3]. The training details below come from a BLS profile of dentists, which covers a wider group than prosthodontists[11].

The residency for a specialty usually lasts 2 to 4 years[14]. In an O*NET survey of 16 workers, 61% said post-doctoral training was required and 36% said a doctoral degree was[17].

What prosthodontists do

Prosthodontists design and fit prostheses that help teeth, mouth and jaw work and look as they should[18]. Typical tasks include:

BLS also notes that attention to the shape and color of teeth matters in dental work[20].

Where they work

The following comes from the wider dentists profile[11]. Some dentists own a practice and work alone or with a small staff, some have partners, and others are associates in established practices[21]. In 2025, 78% of dentists worked in offices of dentists[22]. Among prosthodontists, 12.6% were self-employed in 2025[23]. Work schedules vary, and some dentists work evenings and weekends[24]. Masks, gloves and safety glasses protect dentists and patients from infection[25].

Job outlook

BLS projects that prosthodontist jobs will grow 5.8% from 2025 to 2035, from about 1,000 to 1,100 jobs[5]. Employment in all occupations is projected to grow 3.5% over the same period[26]. These counts include self-employed workers[5]. The OEWS count is lower, at about 870 wage and salary jobs in May 2025[27]. Each year, 2% of workers leave the labor force and 0.4% move to a different occupation[28]. The field is small, so a change of 100 jobs is a large share of it[5].

Is it a good fit?

The pay is far above the all-occupations median[1][2]. The path is long, since it takes a doctoral or professional degree and a residency[3]. The residency alone usually lasts 2 to 4 years[14]. Growth is faster than the all-occupations rate, but the field is small[5][26]. The facts do not give tuition costs or the total years of study.

Related occupations from O*NET, with BLS median pay and projected growth[29].

Frequently asked questions

How much does a prosthodontist make an hour?
The median was $149.61 an hour in May 2025[1]. The 10th percentile was $49.77 and the 90th was $165.75[8].
What degree do you need to be a prosthodontist?
BLS lists a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry education[3].
How long is specialty training for dental specialists?
The residency is usually 2 to 4 years in an accredited program[14].
Is prosthodontist a growing field?
BLS projects 5.8% growth from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations[5][26].

Facts and sources

  1. BLS OEWS, May 2025: the median wage for Prosthodontists in the US was $311,180 per year and $149.61 per hour. Half of workers earned more and half earned less. BLS OEWS, May 2025
  2. BLS OEWS, May 2025: the median annual wage for all occupations in the US was $50,980. BLS OEWS, May 2025
  3. BLS Employment Projections, typical path into Prosthodontists: education needed for entry: Doctoral or professional degree; work experience in a related occupation: None; typical on-the-job training: Internship/residency. BLS Employment Projections
  4. BLS OEWS, May 2025, annual wage percentiles for Prosthodontists: 10th percentile $103,510, 25th percentile $252,050, 75th percentile $333,480, 90th percentile $344,750. The 10th percentile means 10% of workers earned less. BLS OEWS, May 2025
  5. BLS Employment Projections: employment of Prosthodontists is projected to grow 5.8% from 2025 to 2035, from about 1,000 to 1,100 jobs (a change of +100). These counts include self-employed workers. BLS Employment Projections
  6. BLS Employment Projections: about 0 openings for Prosthodontists are projected each year, on average, from 2025 to 2035. Openings include jobs that open when workers retire or move to other occupations, not only new jobs. BLS Employment Projections
  7. BLS OEWS, May 2025: the mean (average) wage for Prosthodontists was $268,630 per year and $129.15 per hour. BLS OEWS, May 2025
  8. BLS OEWS, May 2025, hourly wage percentiles for Prosthodontists: 10th percentile $49.77, 25th percentile $121.18, 75th percentile $160.33, 90th percentile $165.75. BLS OEWS, May 2025
  9. BLS OEWS FAQ: a percentile wage is a boundary. The median (50th percentile) separates the highest-paid 50% from the lowest-paid 50% of workers in the occupation. OEWS publishes percentile wages, not a starting salary. BLS OEWS, May 2025
  10. BLS OEWS FAQ: OEWS covers part-time and full-time workers paid a wage or salary. It does not cover the self-employed, owners and partners in unincorporated firms, household workers or unpaid family workers. OEWS wages do not include nonproduction bonuses or employer costs of benefits such as health insurance or retirement contributions. BLS OEWS, May 2025
  11. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook profile "Dentists" covers Prosthodontists together with other related occupations, so its text describes the wider group. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
  12. Occupational Outlook Handbook, How to Become One: Education. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
  13. Occupational Outlook Handbook, How to Become One: Education. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
  14. Occupational Outlook Handbook, How to Become One: Training. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
  15. Occupational Outlook Handbook, How to Become One. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
  16. Occupational Outlook Handbook, How to Become One: Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
  17. O*NET 29-1024.00 survey of workers (16 respondents), education level they say is required: Post-Doctoral Training 61%, Doctoral Degree 36% (levels under 5% not listed). O*NET OnLine
  18. O*NET description of Prosthodontists. O*NET OnLine
  19. O*NET task list for Prosthodontists. O*NET OnLine
  20. Occupational Outlook Handbook, How to Become One: Important Qualities. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
  21. Occupational Outlook Handbook, Work Environment. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
  22. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, largest employers of dentists in 2025: Offices of dentists 78%. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
  23. BLS Employment Projections: 12.6% of Prosthodontists were self-employed in 2025. BLS Employment Projections
  24. Occupational Outlook Handbook, Work Environment: Work Schedules. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
  25. Occupational Outlook Handbook, Work Environment. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
  26. BLS Employment Projections: employment in all occupations is projected to grow 3.5% from 2025 to 2035. BLS Employment Projections
  27. BLS OEWS, May 2025: about 870 people were employed as Prosthodontists in the US (wage and salary jobs, not counting self-employed workers). BLS OEWS, May 2025
  28. BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35 annual average for Prosthodontists: 2% of workers leave the labor force each year and 0.4% move to a different occupation. BLS Employment Projections
  29. Related occupations (O*NET) with BLS pay, growth and entry education. O*NET OnLine

Notes are for reading the data only. They are not facts and cannot be cited: use the wage_scope and percentile_meaning facts instead. OEWS employment (jobs in May 2025) and Employment Projections employment (2025, includes self-employed) are different measures and can differ. O*NET education shares come from a small survey of workers in the occupation, not from all workers. The Occupational Outlook Handbook text covers a wider group of occupations than this page.

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. CareerFacts has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.