A word of warning to all those of you who dream of being dentists (from a dentist)

Scott you're a pain in the ***, but here goes:

I really doubt anyone thinks they're going to be earning 100k+ as a GDP without their own practice.
As someone who is not going to be looking for a job anywhere near london I know that I'm going to have many more patients and much less competition for jobs. From looking up jobs online for dentists and such, dentists with experience in the NHS seem like theyre getting around 70k full time - Which is a great salary, incredible hours and one of the most stable professions. AS muchomungo has said however the Medical/dental field IS NOT the field for making huge money UNLESS you are looking to become more than just a dentist/medic and own many practices and run a business. Contrary to belief on TSR, living in a very good area with a nice house, nice car and being able to send your child to a public school is not the norm...
TL;DR - Dentistry is not going to make you ridiculously rich - you work 9-5 5 days a week, great holidays and at the top of society. But you're not gonna have a ferrari with a mansion

Yh 70k before paying 18-20k in lab fees. And then don't forget about the student loans, income tax and pension contributions (which is 10%) as well as the professional costs such as GDC membership and indemnity fees.

So by the numbers you are providing you are talking around 35-40k. Im sorry, but this is not true lol. A dentist in their vt year gets 30k(inb4 they pay for lab fees lol).

'Average taxable income (gross earnings less total expenses) from NHS and private dentistry for Providing-Performer dentists was £112,800, compared to £61,800 for Performer Only dentists. For all self-employed primary care dentists (that is, Providing-Performer and Performer Only dentists) this figure was £74,400.'

Aren't GDPs classed as self-employed?

Yh 70k before paying 18-20k in lab fees. And then don't forget about the student loans, income tax and pension contributions (which is 10%) as well as the professional costs such as GDC membership and indemnity fees.

You haven't read the data completely (i dont blame you though lol). If you would, you would see in the document that expenses include all professional costs as well as lab fees. All these expenses are already taken before the 60k average performer only dentist.
60k before tax is INCREDIBLY good for someone with <10 years experience in a field as secure as dentistry.
Also, a performer providing dentist who ONLY provides NHS work is averaging 100k before tax.
Also looking at the regions london performer only dentists are earning the least.

Yh ur right lol, my bad

Yh I totally agree 60k before tax is a great income, definitely more than what most people earn. However starting out as a fresh grad u'll likely not be earning 60k outright. As the report says, only performer dentists who were nearing or above 35 began earning that much, which makes sense as the more experience you get the faster u'll be and thus the more work u can do. So i wouldn't expect 60k for a good 10 years after qualifying. Nevertheless, 60k is very good to achieve. However it was a bit of a shock that dentists earn around this figure, i always thought it was much more. I have friends who are salaried GPs who earn around 85k and some full time locum GPs who earn over 100k, i used to think dentists also earned around that.

Also the report says providing performer dentists who do NHS AND private work earn around 112k don't they?

Your salary won't increase like it does in other jobs. Your VT is 30k no matter what. When you get your first job you will be a performer and so your pay will be determined by
your own ability and the average of all performers is 60k. Age is irrelevant.
GPs do earn slightly more however I believe being a GP is NO where near as good as being a dentist.
=Its not hands on.
=You rarely get to see patients when there issues have been relieved.
As for doctors on the wards they get paid a lot less than any dentist.
And yeah those who do NHS and private work around 112k

Your salary won't increase like it does in other jobs. Your VT is 30k no matter what. When you get your first job you will be a performer and so your pay will be determined by
your own ability and the average of all performers is 60k. Age is irrelevant.
GPs do earn slightly more however I believe being a GP is NO where near as good as being a dentist.
=Its not hands on.
=You rarely get to see patients when there issues have been relieved.
As for doctors on the wards they get paid a lot less than any dentist.
And yeah those who do NHS and private work around 112k

Your probably right, I'm not sure. However I spoke to quite a lot of dentists when I was thinking of studying dentistry and the vibe I got was that ur not fast or skilled enough straight out of vt to be earning the UDA levels most dentists are. It's true 60k is achievable but after a few years of working when you are able to work fast and safe, which may not necessarily be straight out of vt. this is reflected in the report where dentists began earning that much once they were nearing their 30s I.e. once they were fast and experienced enough. Not sure if I put it clearly, I agree age itself had nothing to do with how much u earn as a dentist.

Also I disagree with ur opinion on GPs. As a dental student u probably know half the uk doesn't even go to the dentist. Most of the people who go are the ones that need the dentist I.e have a tooth ache. Not many people are going to fork out £30-40 every 6 months for a checkup. On the other hand 90% of all condition are dealt with by GPs. Almost 3 million people are living with coronary heart disease and they need a check up every few weeks to see the progression so a lot more continuity of care with GPs

Also gp is not as hands on as dentistry, but it is also not as stressful. Doing surgery on 30-40 people a day is incredibly stressful by anyone's standards. Back problems are constant worry which is obviously not the case with GPs.
However everyone has their own likes and dislikes and I totally respect ur view.

Bear in mind that you also have to work with some extremely difficult dental nurses. They are often young females with a serious attitude problem and you are stuck in a small room with them all day doing a stressful job.

Yeah the UDA system sucks and fortunately they are changing it which would relieve a lot of stress and the whole 'fast as you can' system.
90% of all conditions are dealt with by GPs? They very rarely 100% deal with a condition unlike dentists
Doing surgery may be more stressful however I would argue its a lot more fun and challenging
Are you a med/dent/vet applicant?

LOL GPs deal with the vast majority of patient complaints and are in charge of managing patients completely. Only really complex stuff is referred on to the consultants as they have more experience in their specific niche area. However everything is managed by GPs. For example if someone is diagnosed with diabetes, they would be managed entirely by GPs i.e. ensuring glucose levels are maintained and whether treatment needs to be tweaked or altered. This is the case with almost all chronic conditions. It used to be the case that consultants used to deal and manage their patients, but the government changed this due to cost cutting measures. This was partly the reason why GPs were allowed to opt out of out of hours as they had so much responsibility dumped on them.

Lool i guess to each their own. Medicine is always changing and evolving. Conditions which are prevalent todays society will not be in 20-30 years time and a doctor will be witnessing this first hand. Dentistry looks fun i agree, but doing the same 10-15 procedures (as the NHS severely restricts what dentists can and can't do) for years on end would get rather tedious. If i had to chose a surgical speciality i would rather choose one in a field of medicine. However you obviously have ur own reasons for choosing dentistry And yh, I'm a 3rd yr med student

...

You treat a greater variety of conditions, but not surgically, so some would argue that you are just sitting in an office talking to people all day. We also do that, on top of then carrying out the same 10-15 procedures that you mentioned. ;p

Also being a GP isn't as stress-free as you seem to think. I've seen in the news a lot lately GPs complaining that their workload is too high.

We also have a nurse to keep us company.