Dentist salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a dentist is $168,100 per annum, before tax, up $35,200 since 2018.
- What a dentist earns is tied to how the practice charges.
- Associates are usually paid a fixed salary or a percentage of the billings they generate, while owners keep what is left after rent, staff wages, lab fees and equipment.
- Ask whether a percentage is worked out before or after lab fees, and whether the practice has a set fee schedule or charges whatever each patient's health fund will cover.
The median salary rose by $35,200 between 2018 and 2024; the dashed line shows a projection to 2028 based on the real ABS Wage Price Index growth rate, not a role-specific forecast.
Roles that pay more than dentist
The largest typical pay rise is $65,900 a year, moving into Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon.
- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon+$65,900/yr
- Prosthodontist+$13,900/yr
How to negotiate a higher dentist salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time dentist salary is $168,100; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Use demand as leverage. Dentists are on the national skills shortage list, so employers are more likely to move on price to keep or attract someone in a role they're struggling to fill.
- Lead with what's scarce, not just tenure. Skills like Clinical assessment and treatment and Patient care and support tend to command a premium over general dentist experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- Bring a real alternative to the table. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon pays a typical $65,900 a year more and draws on similar skills, even mentioning you're weighing it up is a legitimate data point in a pay conversation.
- Time it deliberately. Reviews, the end of a project you delivered, or taking on responsibility beyond your job description are stronger moments to ask than an arbitrary date on the calendar.
- Ask for a number, not a raise. "Based on the market rate and [specific contribution], I'd like to move to X" gets a clearer answer than "I think I deserve more."
Dentist salary questions
How much do dentists earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a dentist is $168,100 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is dentist pay rising or falling?
The median dentist salary is up $35,200 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.
What pays more than dentist?
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon pays a typical $65,900 a year more and draws on similar skills to dentist.
Related salaries
- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon salary
- Orthodontist salary
- Endodontist salary
- Prosthodontist salary
- Periodontist salary
- Dental Assistant salary
Pay advice
- How to ask for a pay rise, and back it up with real numbersWhat national wage growth looks like right now, how to work out a figure for your own role, wording you can adapt for the conversation, and what to do if the answer is no.
- The average salary in Australia (2026)Full-time adults in Australia averaged $2,083.70 a week in May 2026. Several measures get called the average salary, and this explains which one fits your situation.
- Overtime pay, time in lieu and what your award saysOvertime rates come from your award or agreement, not one national rule. How rates work, what happens on a salary, and how time off in lieu works.