Industry group, 6212
Offices of Dentists
1,054,930 people work in this industry in the US, at mean pay of $79,690 a year (BLS, May 2025). What follows is how much of their working time the best AI models could finish, when, and in which jobs and tasks. Estimates.
of the paid hours. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
a year: 797 million hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.
- 39%
- 14%
- 48%
of the paid hours are within reach now in tasks people already bring to Claude. Another 30% is within reach in tasks not yet seen there.
Across the US: 30% within reach now and 36% by the end of 2028, on the long-run pace at four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
Share of the paid hours within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
What handing the work over would take
For the 1,024,250 people in jobs so far, 97% of the industry's people; the others are in the totals above and join this split as the review reaches their jobs. Shares of their working time within reach now, at the pace and reliability chosen above. Estimates. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
about 292 million hours a year. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
about 500 million hours a year. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
about 89 million hours a year. Short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the totals.
What their work is made of
- 16%
- 24%
- 5%
- 9%
- 47%
Each task's time split among five kinds of doing, judged one task at a time; only documents and systems can count as within reach.
What changes for the people
For the 1,024,250 people in jobs reviewed task by task so far, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five: the shares of their working time, from each job page's own map, weighted by how many people here do that job. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job. Estimates.
Conversation, in-person and hands-on work.
Desk work within reach in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs.
Desk work within reach that is small if wrong, with lighter checks.
What most people here would learn first
How many of them have each skill among the first two things to learn on their job's page. Every state, and the US
- The hands-on craft614,008 (60%)
- Judgment where errors are severe583,663 (57%)
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself325,647 (32%)
- Running AI inside the business systems262,500 (26%)
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts184,587 (18%)
- Dealing with people outside the organization70,300 (7%)
- Signing off under your license1,930 (under 1%)
- The conversations1,875 (under 1%)
- Handling protected records430 (under 1%)
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this industry's paid hours were within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 4%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 30%. Today's estimate: 37%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 57% of the working time of the people in this industry as physical work. For 10% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 9% in a purpose-built cell, 1% in a structured facility. 0.10 of 3.
- Not physical 43%
- No robot shown 47%
- In a purpose-built cell 9%
- In a structured facility 1%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. Weighted by the people in each occupation; each job's page names the robot behind each rated task.
Where the hours are
Jobs by hours within reach now. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index. The 14 largest jobs hold 95% of the people.
| People | Pay here | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants | 120,490 | 84% | 212 million | $48K |
| Dental Hygienists | 211,560 | 27% | 119 million | $98K |
| Dentists, General | 111,880 | 44% | 102 million | $170K |
| Dental Assistants | 354,900 | 13% | 98 million | $48K |
| Receptionists and Information Clerks | 69,930 | 60% | 87 million | $47K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers | 32,840 | 54% | 37 million | $64K |
| Office Clerks, General | 29,070 | 56% | 34 million | $48K |
| Billing and Posting Clerks | 15,240 | 85% | 27 million | $52K |
| Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 10,020 | 88% | 18 million | $52K |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 10,940 | 59% | 13 million | $49K |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | 9,240 | 31% | 5.9 million | $78K |
| Orthodontists | 5,990 | 39% | 4.8 million | $288K |
People: BLS counts for this industry, May 2025. Pay here: the median paid for the job in this industry, else its mean, else the national median. 55 smaller jobs (52,110 people) count in every total but are not listed. Task data covers 99% of the industry's people; the rest are in BLS "all other" groups with no task list, or in counts BLS does not publish.
The tasks with the most hours within reach by the end of 2028
Across the whole industry, on the chosen pace and reliability.
- Maintain patient recall system.Dental Hygienists78 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Perform bookkeeping duties, such as credits or collections, preparing and sending financial statements or bills, and keeping financial records.Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants48 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Analyze or evaluate dental needs to determine changes or trends in patterns of dental disease.Dentists, General44 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Record treatment information in patient records.Dental Assistants34 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Plan, organize, or maintain dental health programs.Dentists, General32 million hours70% of the task within reach
- Operate office equipment, such as voice mail messaging systems, and use word processing, spreadsheet, or other software applications to prepare reports, invoices, financial statements, letters, case histories, or medical records.Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants27 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Schedule appointments, prepare bills and receive payment for dental services, complete insurance forms, and maintain records, manually or using computer.Dental Assistants26 million hours80% of the task within reach
- Order and monitor dental supplies and equipment inventory.Dental Assistants25 million hours60% of the task within reach
- Complete insurance or other claim forms.Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants23 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Chart conditions of decay and disease for diagnosis and treatment by dentist.Dental Hygienists23 million hours100% of the task within reach
Scan a typical company in this industry
The industry's largest jobs, in the proportions BLS counts across the whole industry, at the pay it pays, run through the company scan. A starting point before you have a roster, or a benchmark for the one you have. Or choose the whole industry: every occupation BLS publishes for it with task data, at its nationwide headcount, the sector report ($249 for the full report, or included in Pro).
Next to this industry
Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- Offices of Physicians2,936,460 people44% now, 48% by 2028
- Home Health Care Services1,789,480 people19% now, 21% by 2028
- Offices of Other Health Practitioners1,305,160 people39% now, 42% by 2028
- Outpatient Care Centers1,182,730 people39% now, 44% by 2028
- Other Ambulatory Health Care Services369,130 people26% now, 32% by 2028
- Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories309,310 people34% now, 41% by 2028
How it is built: BLS counts the people in each job in this industry; each job's tasks and their lengths give its share within reach at a date; the industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Value is pay times 1.43 for benefits and payroll costs. Seen in Claude use splits today's share by whether Anthropic saw people bring each task to Claude in 2025; other AI tools are not counted. How it works
Questions about this industry
- How much of the work in Offices of Dentists is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 37% of the paid hours in Offices of Dentists are within reach of AI models now and 39% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (38% to 39% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which jobs in Offices of Dentists carry the most hours within reach?
- By hours within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index): Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants (120,490 people, 84% of their time, about 212 million hours a year); Dental Hygienists (211,560 people, 27% of their time, about 119 million hours a year); and Dentists, General (111,880 people, 44% of their time, about 102 million hours a year).
- Which tasks in Offices of Dentists carry the most hours within reach by the end of 2028?
- Maintain patient recall system (Dental Hygienists, about 78 million hours a year); Perform bookkeeping duties, such as credits or collections, preparing and sending financial statements or bills, and keeping financial records (Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, about 48 million hours a year); and Analyze or evaluate dental needs to determine changes or trends in patterns of dental disease (Dentists, General, about 44 million hours a year).
- What would people working in Offices of Dentists learn first?
- Among the 1,024,250 people in jobs reviewed task by task, the skills most often among the first two things to learn on their job's page are the hands-on craft (614,008 people); judgment where errors are severe (583,663 people); and reviewing work you did not do yourself (325,647 people). By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 61% of their working time stays with people, 26% becomes checking a model's work and 13% can be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- How is this estimated?
- BLS counts the people in each occupation in Offices of Dentists (May 2025); each occupation's share of working time within reach comes from its O*NET tasks, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. The industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Task data covers 99% of its people, and 97% are in occupations reviewed task by task. Data checked November 10, 2026.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.