Overview
1. Automation Risk
2. User Poll
3. Growth
4. Wages
5. Volume
Decription
Resources
Comments

Dentists, General

AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
0.0%
risk level
POLLING
31%
Based on 1,139 votes
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
6.1%
by year 2032
WAGES
$155,040
or $74.53 per hour
Volume
120,740
as of 2022
SUMMARY
JOB SCORE
8.0/10

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Comments (38)

Automation risk

0.0% (Minimal Risk)

Minimal Risk (0-20%): Occupations in this category have a low probability of being automated, as they typically demand complex problem-solving, creativity, strong interpersonal skills, and a high degree of manual dexterity. These jobs often involve intricate hand movements and precise coordination, making it difficult for machines to replicate the required tasks.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some very important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Assisting and Caring for Others

  • Finger Dexterity

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Manual Dexterity

  • Social Perceptiveness

  • Persuasion

  • Cramped Work Space, Awkward Positions

  • Negotiation

  • Originality

User poll

31% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted there's a low chance this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 0.0% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Dentists, General will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?






Sentiment

The following graph(s) are included wherever there is a substantial amount of votes to render meaningful data. These visual representations display user poll results over time, providing a significant indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (quarterly)

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Fast growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Dentists, General' job openings is expected to rise 6.1% by 2032

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2021 and 2031
Updated projections are due 09-2023.

Wages

Very high paid relative to other professions

In 2022, the median annual wage for 'Dentists, General' was $155,040, or $74 per hour

'Dentists, General' were paid 234.8% higher than the national median wage, which stood at $46,310

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2022 there were 120,740 people employed as 'Dentists, General' within the United States.

This represents around 0.08% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 1 thousand people are employed as 'Dentists, General'.

Job description

Examine, diagnose, and treat diseases, injuries, and malformations of teeth and gums. May treat diseases of nerve, pulp, and other dental tissues affecting oral hygiene and retention of teeth. May fit dental appliances or provide preventive care.

SOC Code: 29-1021.00

Resources

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Comments

Leave a comment

John (medium chance within 10-15 years) says
Will robots be able to perform complex dentistry after being trained on it? The answer is not if but when. Robots are already predicting and maneuvering complex obstacles they've never seen before with the use of AI.

Some say dentists are safe because, hey, who would want to see a robot dentist? "I wouldn't want a robot dentist in my mouth."

But if everybody is also jobless due to advances in AI, you won't be able to afford anything BUT a robot dentist.
Mar 20, 2024 at 05:24 PM
Samuel Watanabe (No chance) says
I think no one would be ok with a machine or robot trying to fix your teeth and touching your mouth. This could be so dangerous. Besides it would be a waste of time and money trying to build ai for this function. No chance. One of the few jobs that can't be replaced by a robot.
Feb 04, 2024 at 10:35 PM
AI will raplace dents sorry not sorry says
That is wrong, actually. More than 50% of people said they would consent to a fully automated robot to perform a surgery on them. It's because AI is better than any human on Earth. So... no. LOL!
Mar 14, 2024 at 03:57 AM
Deez nuts (No chance) says
Honestly if I got replaced by a stupid unintelligent peace of trash id be mad...So don't replace me....
Jan 11, 2024 at 04:55 PM
Brandon Young (No chance) says
I would like someone experienced and someone that know what hurts or not.
Jan 11, 2024 at 04:47 PM
Khadiga (No chance) says
because i am a dentist and i know the challenges of this job.
Dec 27, 2023 at 08:14 PM
Chase says
So many clueless people on this page. To be clear, I HATE dentists. However, Imagine an unfeeling robot hurting a patient. Would it be able to stop? Or will it continue operating on the patient while they're screaming? I also don't think a robot can come up with a treatment plan independently either, or consult people who are deathly afraid of dentists already.

Maybe in the year 2700 we will advance to that stage. I heard of tha Chinese robot dentist back in 2017, but have not really hear any more things about it. From what I've seen from it though, the dummy mouth it worked on was already "pre-molded" for the robot dentist to operate on. Every mouth is different, everyone's pain tolerance is different, and everyone's mental state when dealing with the dentist is different.
Dec 23, 2023 at 11:10 AM
J says
Can a robot sense when a patient is getting an anxiety attack and stop to calm them down? Do you want a 200,000 rpm diamond bur cutting through your tooth that has a nerve in the middle of it, with a machine on the other end of that tool? Human dentists will be around for a long time.
Jul 02, 2023 at 10:48 PM
Elrich says
The question must be :

What is cheaper ?

- doctor labor + dental instruments

or

- dental assistant labor + highly specialized surgical robot + cost of maintenance of such a device.
(Just to put in perspective, the Da Vinci surgical robot costs 2 millons $ and 2500$ per intervention, without the cost of labor)

What is however happening is the Radiological interpretation of dental X-rays.
Mar 12, 2023 at 12:19 PM
Bella (No chance) says
Imagine a robot working in your mouth without no liability or sense of emotion. A high risk of malfunction can happen also. It could be automated but would we want it to?
Jan 31, 2023 at 03:20 PM
Leopold M Ferenc (Highly likely) says
I can visualise a device which is put in the mouth which will scan and 3d fill in decaying section of teeth based on previous historical scans.
Jan 30, 2023 at 08:28 PM
Anon (Highly likely) says
Extremely easy to replace actually. What’s really required in this that a robot cannot do? Robots have manual dexterity just like robots that sew and do carpentry. They’re already experimenting with using robots in certain surgeries (obviously on decoys) and it’s been very successful and they’re just programmed. Robots remove the chance of human error when working in the mouth. And a robot can easily interpret data on the teeth, that’s just stats and numbers. I think it’s highly likely but also think it can go either way just like anything else.
Sep 28, 2021 at 10:49 PM
Samuel Watanabe says
Nobody wants a machine or a robot fixing their teeth. This is too dangerous. It's something so sensitive that only human beings are capable of, and the chances of this happening in the next 300 years is very low.
Feb 04, 2024 at 10:23 PM
N (Moderate) says
Honestly, robots are more precise, and humans can't really top AI. Okay, so let's imagine something, imagine your local dentists' office. All you see are big machines, right? Yep. So just imagine a robot instead of a dentist.
May 28, 2021 at 04:57 PM
Stefano says
Oh, if a hacker attack or solar storm arrives that launches very powerful electromagnetic waves from the sun capable of causing a total and worldwide blackout, what will you do? You keep the pain in your teeth because there are no more Robots, We Human Beings don't need batteries or electricity, Much better than a real Dentist, Think about it and also a lot.
Jan 05, 2024 at 04:30 PM
deez (No chance) says
Dentists are needed to be people as their patients might not like a more mechanical approach to an already mechanical job
May 10, 2021 at 05:04 PM
Honey Mandal says
I agree ...
Majority Patients will 😨 of machines handling their surgeries
Sep 03, 2023 at 06:53 AM
donald (Highly likely) says
Image recognition and precision work is what robots are good at
Oct 20, 2020 at 08:51 PM
Scott (Low) says
It will be awhile before robots replace dentists - but it will happen.
Oct 16, 2020 at 12:14 PM
T. Fairy (Highly likely) says
Dentistry is mainly about image recognition and operating machinery, machines excel at this.
Jan 30, 2020 at 02:47 PM
Muddy (No chance) says
While I can see robots eventually replacing dentists, the degree of analytical creativity and personalized service makes it unlikely within 20 years .
Jan 28, 2020 at 12:08 PM
Abdullah (Uncertain) says
Give Chinese people some time .
Jan 18, 2020 at 06:03 PM
eliazk says
I want to be a dentist and I'm so happy
Dec 13, 2019 at 06:09 PM
Allison Amodeo (Low) says
Dentists need to know what to do and need to give the child/or parent comfort. Robots wouldn't make anyone (including me) comfortable.
Nov 27, 2019 at 01:21 AM

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