The faculty member who teaches dentistry in a dental school — covering clinical and basic science content, supervising students in pre-clinical and clinical rotations, and often continuing to practice. Half academic faculty, half practicing or recently practicing dentist.
Most days tend to involve a blend of classroom and small-group teaching, clinical supervision, and continued clinical practice — leading didactic sessions, working with students on technique and clinical decision-making, and seeing patients yourself. You'll often spend part of the time on scholarly work — research, curriculum development, or board exam preparation support — that feeds academic advancement.
The harder part is often balancing the multiple demands of teaching, clinical care, and scholarship simultaneously, and the salary differential between academic and full clinical practice. You'll typically work with students at varying clinical readiness levels, while staying credible clinically with the patients and colleagues who depend on you.
People who tend to thrive here are clinically grounded, scholarly, and willing to invest in the long arc of academic work. The trade-off is the financial and time tradeoffs of academic dentistry compared to private practice. If you find satisfaction in shaping the next generation of dentists, the work can carry meaning that pure clinical practice doesn't.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
The faculty member who teaches dentistry in a dental school — covering clinical and basic science content, supervising students in pre-clinical and clinical rotations, and often continuing to practice. Half academic faculty, half practicing or recently practicing dentist.
Median pay for a Dentistry Professor is about $106K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $52K to $208K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Instructing, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Active Learning, and Learning Strategies.
Most people in this role hold a master's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 17.3% through 2034, with roughly 229,720 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Health Teacher, First Aid Teacher, and Clinical Instructor.
Truest gives you tools to understand your strengths, explore roles that fit, and plan your next move.
Explore Truest career tools