Vocational Index

Career

Prosthodontists

Restore and replace damaged or missing teeth.

$311,180
Median pay
+5.8%
Job growth, 2025–35
0
Openings a year
Doctoral or professional degree
Typical education
7–8 years
Typical time after high school

Here's what you actually need to know.

The work

What people in this job do

  • 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.

The outlook

How the forecast changed this year

2024–34 edition+4.5%2025–35 edition+5.8%
Projected 10-year growth in last year's and this year's BLS projections. 0 → 0 openings a year.

The deeper question

What kind of person does this path ask you to become?

What this work centers on

Objects & tools
6.2
Ideas & analysis
5.5
People & care
4.6
Information & systems
3.2
Creation & expression
1.8
Persuasion & leadership
1.4

O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.

The work

Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then ideas & analysis?

Responsibility

Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?

“Examine patients to diagnose oral health conditions and diseases.”

Development

What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?

Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Speaking, Complex Problem Solving.

Trade-offs

What does it ask of you in exchange?

7–8 years of education after high school (doctoral or professional degree), for a median of $311,180 a year and 0 openings nationally each year.

Paths in

Degrees that lead here

  • Prosthodontics/ProsthodontologyCIP 51.0511
  • Prosthodontics Residency ProgramCIP 60.0108
  • Implantology Fellowship ProgramCIP 60.0110

Paths across

Careers that use similar skills

Ask anything about this career.

“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.

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Sources

  1. BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  2. BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  3. O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  4. CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.