Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences graduates pursue 4 occupations, with top roles paying $289,140/yr or more. The career cards below break down wages, daily tasks, and 10-year job growth projections for each.
About Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences
This page covers Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences as a course of study: what it costs, where it is taught, and what graduates go on to earn. It sits inside the wider field of Health and how it pays overall, which is the better comparison if you are still choosing between subjects.
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences is a focused area of study within Health. You will not have trouble finding it: 69 colleges offer this program, from community colleges to research universities. About 1,845 students complete it each year, most walking away with a master's. Training is clinical and hands-on, often leading to licensure or certification.
Colleges Offering
69
Graduates / Year
1,845
Avg Net Price / yr
$25,278
Who Studies This? Credential Breakdown
Of the 1,845 students who complete Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences programs each year, the majority (45%) earn a master's degree.
The breakdown below shows the full credential distribution.
45%44%
Master's45%
Post-Master's Cert.44%
Post-Bacc Cert.6%
What Can You Do With an Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences Degree?
This degree does not lock you into one job. Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences graduates show up in 4 different occupations, and Orthodontists pay the most at $289,140/yr median. Expand any card below to see daily responsibilities, in-demand skills, and 10-year growth projections.
Doctoral or professional degree200 openings/yr6K employed nationally
Active ListeningSpeakingCritical ThinkingMonitoringComplex Problem Solving
Day-to-day responsibilities
Examine, diagnose, and treat dental malocclusions and oral cavity anomalies. Design and fabricate appliances to realign teeth and jaws to produce and maintain normal function and to improve appearance.
Diagnose teeth and jaw or other dental-facial abnormalities.
Examine patients to assess abnormalities of jaw development, tooth position, and other dental-facial structures.
Study diagnostic records, such as medical or dental histories, plaster models of the teeth, photos of a patient's face and teeth, and X-rays, to develop patient treatment plans.
Doctoral or professional degree4,200 openings/yr124K employed nationally
Judgment and Decision MakingCritical ThinkingReading ComprehensionActive ListeningSpeaking
Day-to-day responsibilities
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.
Use masks, gloves, and safety glasses to protect patients and self from infectious diseases.
Examine teeth, gums, and related tissues, using dental instruments, x-rays, or other diagnostic equipment, to evaluate dental health, diagnose diseases or abnormalities, and plan appropriate treatments.
Administer anesthetics to limit the amount of pain experienced by patients during procedures.
Teach courses in health specialties, in fields such as dentistry, laboratory technology, medicine, pharmacy, public health, therapy, and veterinary medicine.
Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
Provide and manage health education programs that help individuals, families, and their communities maximize and maintain healthy lifestyles. Use data to identify community needs prior to planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating programs designed to encourage healthy lifestyles, policies, and environments. May link health systems, health providers, insurers, and patients to address individual and population health needs. May serve as resource to assist individuals, other health professionals, or the community, and may administer fiscal resources for health education programs.
Prepare and distribute health education materials, such as reports, bulletins, and visual aids, to address smoking, vaccines, and other public health concerns.
Develop and maintain cooperative working relationships with agencies and organizations interested in public health care.
Maintain databases, mailing lists, telephone networks, and other information to facilitate the functioning of health education programs.
Top Colleges for Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences
Not sure where to study Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences? These 20 colleges graduate the most students in it each year. Scroll right to compare acceptance rate, net price, and median earnings side by side.
Ranked by Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences graduate volume. Scroll right to compare key stats.
Read our methodology →
Related Health Programs
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences is not the only path through Health: 30 other specializations sit alongside it. The comparison below ranks them by 4-year median earnings so you can see where this one lands.
Decide with data, not guesswork. These tools turn the numbers on this page
into a personal plan. Estimate the real cost of an Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences program, compare colleges side-by-side, weigh the long-term payoff, and find
schools that match your profile.
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences Degree: Pros & Cons
The data on Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences shows 2 measurable strengths and 2 real trade-offs. All points are sourced from College Scorecard earnings, BLS projections, and IPEDS graduate counts.
PROS
Fast-growing fieldRelated careers are projected to grow up to +17.9% over the next decade, with Health Specialties Teachers among the fastest-growing roles.
Strong hiring volumeRelated occupations generate more than 36,200 job openings per year combined, creating consistent demand for graduates.
CONS
Licensure often requiredMost roles in this field require state licensure or certification before you can practice. Budget time and costs for board exams alongside your degree.
Advanced degree often expectedTop roles in this field typically expect a master's degree or higher. A bachelor's may be a starting point rather than a terminal credential for the most competitive positions.
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences Degree: Frequently Asked Questions
What jobs can you get with an Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences degree?
Orthodontists are one path, and it pays a median of $289,140 a year. It is not the only one: the Career Paths section below lists every occupation graduates actually go into, with wages and 10-year growth for each.
How long does an Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences program take?
Four years for the bachelor's, plus one to two more if you continue on to a master's, which many Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences students do. Some schools shorten that with an accelerated 5-year combined program.
How many colleges offer Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences?
69 colleges and universities, so you are not short on options. That range runs from community colleges granting certificates and associate degrees to research universities with full doctoral tracks. Source: IPEDS.
What is the difference between Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences and Health?
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences is the narrower of the two: Health covers the full discipline, while this program limits the curriculum to Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences-specific courses, skills, and career tracks. Pick the specialization once you already know this is the direction you want; it gets you a more targeted credential, not a broader one.
What skills do employers look for in Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences graduates?
Coursework alone will not get you hired. Employers hiring Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences graduates consistently look for clinical judgment, patient communication, and evidence-based decision-making. Licensure, certifications, and supervised clinical hours are typically required or strongly preferred in most roles. Build those into your coursework and internships now, and the job search later gets easier.
Is graduate school worth it for Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences graduates?
Often, yes. Advanced degrees in this field (nurse practitioner, physician assistant, doctor of physical therapy) typically come with significantly higher pay and a wider scope of practice, which is why most students in health fields eventually go back for one. Weigh that against your own career goals, the program's cost, and whether your target role actually rewards the advanced credential.
What is the job outlook for Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences graduates?
Outlook is strong overall: related occupations average +8.8% projected job growth over the next 10 years. Health Specialties Teachers are among the strongest-growth roles at +17.9%. That average hides real differences by role and location, so check the Career Paths section below for the projection on each specific occupation before you count on any single number.
Related Health Programs
Other programs in Health. Compare earnings, credentials, and career paths before committing to a specialization.
Free, data-backed guides to help you decide, built on the same federal data as this profile.
H
How to Choose a Major Pillar
A decision framework for picking a college major using your interests, aptitudes, and federal earnings data to reach a defensible choice before applying.
Yes, most schools allow it, but the schedule math rarely works without either overlapping requirements or extra time. Here's when it actually fits in four years.
The real cost of a second major, when it pays back and when it doesn't, and why a focused single major with a relevant minor often beats a double major.
Original data analyses built on the same federal data as this profile. Rankings, outliers, and patterns, no opinions.
All 38 Majors, Ranked by What Graduates Earn
The highest-earning college major out-pays the lowest by a factor of two and a half. The full ranking of all 38 fields by median graduate earnings, with job growth alongside.
Major earnings
Highest paying majors
Job growth
STEM
Field of study
Does Engineering Tech Out-Earn Engineering? The Data Says No
A popular claim holds that the applied engineering-tech degree pays more than the theoretical one. Across every program, engineering wins by about $10,000.
Engineering tech
Engineering
Program earnings
Applied degree
Technician careers
STEM Is Not One Thing: The Pay Gap Within STEM
Across 88 STEM programs the top one out-earns the bottom by $65,000 a year. Operations research pays $122,531; environmental design pays $57,461.
STEM earnings
Engineering pay
Computer science
Program earnings
Major choice
Continue Exploring
Browse our full directory: every college, major, program, and career we track, all built from verified government data.
