well, if you had to pull teeth, and dig in peoples mouths all day, i think you would want to be paid well too. they have a lot of schooling to go through before they get to where they are. and doctors are kind of the same, i mean nurses do most of the dirty work and then the dr comes in and "okays" it. so i have decided it is worth it, so that i can avoid dentures in the future.

Considering the average dentist office has more than $1.5 million in equipment including x-ray equipment, most of what a dentist gets is that overhead. Now if you are talking dentists working for a dental practice, I have no knowledge of what they get paid. Does dentist costs exceed what the average can afford? Definitely!

Dentists are absolutely overpaid for what typically amounts to less than 40 hours a week work. And as you stated, the hygenist does most of the actual work during your visit. I literally get a 3 minute exam. Should anyone be satisfied with that? Look at what a typical doctor has to go through, dealing with life and death situations and constant pressure. The worst thing a dentist could screw up is your teeth. They are more concerned about squeezing in another patient to bill more. Dentists are overpaid because noone can stop them and they know it - you need your teeth fixed and you can't turn to anyone else. It basically amouts to price gouging, they provide a service we need. So much for the moral high ground of the "medical" profession. Yes, they spent large sums of money and time going through dental school but that in no way compares to going through actual medical school. I've known a few people go through dental school and the hardest part was actually getting in. Once accepted, the actual schooling was no more difficult that many other graduate schools...you just needed to be one of the few that were allowed in...and trust me when I say that some that were let in were nothing special, average work ethic and average ability.

Absolutely! - (If I use the price I'm charged for 5 minutes in the chair) I've just worked out my dentist earns 48 times more than I do per hour!