Dentists, General
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.
124,390 people do this job in the US. $170,950 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 54%
- 2%
- 44%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 11%. Today's estimate: 15%.
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 20 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan, organize, or maintain dental health programs.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 20% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | 9%Half by Aug 2027 | |
| Analyze or evaluate dental needs to determine changes or trends in patterns of dental disease.Done daily by most who do it. | 19% | 3.3 h50 min to 1 work day | 28%Half by Feb 2027 | |
| Diagnose and treat diseases, injuries, or malformations of teeth, gums, or related oral structures and provide preventive or corrective services.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 8% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Produce or evaluate dental health educational materials.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 7% | 3.3 h50 min to 1 work day | 28%Half by Feb 2027 | |
| 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.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 29 min17 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Design, make, or fit prosthodontic appliances, such as space maintainers, bridges, or dentures, or write fabrication instructions or prescriptions for denturists or dental technicians.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Use dental air turbines, hand instruments, dental appliances, or surgical implements.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Manage business aspects such as employing or supervising staff or handling paperwork or insurance claims.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min13 min to 3.3 h | 69%Half by now | |
| Fill pulp chamber and canal with endodontic materials.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Formulate plan of treatment for patient's teeth and mouth tissue.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 3% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Remove diseased tissue, using surgical instruments.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 3% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Treat exposure of pulp by pulp capping, removal of pulp from pulp chamber, or root canal, using dental instruments.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).