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For comparison the median salary for dentists in Sweden is $51 500 [0]. The reason for the high salary in the US is not the expensive education ($100 000 extra

For comparison the median salary for dentists in Sweden is $51 500 [0]. The reason for the high salary in the US is not the expensive education ($100 000 extra per year buys a lot of education), it's the high income inequality [1]. The expensive health care with few incentives to lower the prices of course helps. [0] http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.asp/yrke/Tandlakare-1241 http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.asp/yrke/Tandlakare-1241 [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_eq...

creaghpatr 9y ago
I'd like to add: -malpractice insurance -administration/documentation costs The procedure price in the US has to account for filing the claim, issuing the patient an EOB, then going through the adjudication process, then finally billing the patient for the copay/deductible payment, a percent of which will likely have to be written off.
highd 9y ago
I don't think "high income inequality" is much of an explanation for why someone has high income...
- Klockan 9y ago
  It is certainly a part of it, McDonalds workers earn about twice as much in Sweden as in the US. There is no good reason why a dentist should earn 10 times as much as a McDonalds worker, people still work hard to get those jobs even when they just pay 2-3 times as much like in Sweden.
  - cisanti 9y ago
    I'm sure the dentist worked harder to become one, or has more talent, to make 10x more than McDonald's worker. The latter can be done by anyone... It's absurd to compare the two...
    - badestrand 9y ago
      Why is the comparison itself absurd? Both are just normal people that work all day. I guess whether the dentist "should" earn 2x or 50x is a matter of values and culture. As such I find it quite reasonable to attribute the high dentist salaries in the US to the population's high tolerance of the high income inequality.
      - rscho 9y ago
        Simple question: would you prefer to have your teeth fixed by a burger-flipper, or to have your burger flipped by a dental school graduate? Second question: would you prefer living without well-cooked burgers, or live with bad teeth? The difference in value is there.
        sorenjan 9y ago
        Nobody is questioning whether dentists should be payed more than fast food workers, it's just how much more. Another example: brain surgeons have an average salary in the US of $450 000 [0], in Sweden it's $65 700. I would agree that there is some room for higher salaries for people with advanced degrees in Sweden, but I also think that the income inequality in the US is way too high. It's a cultural thing. [0] https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Doctor_of_Medicine_(MD)/Salary https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Doctor_of_Medici... [1] http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.asp/yrke/Hjarnkirurg-5131 http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.asp/yrke/Hjarnkirurg-5131
        sgc 9y ago
        It seems like the defense you have been required to make is just proving your point. People appear almost offended and baffled at your comments which are easy to understand. They are also overlooking the basic facts that healthcare in Sweden is significantly better than in the US despite the significantly lower pay scale, Sweden has a higher median income, and the quality of McDonalds food and service is probably better as well (it has been anywhere I have been in Europe).
  - ghostbust555 9y ago
    10 McDonald's workers can't fix your teeth. 10 dentists can be equally as good at making hamburgers. They also invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into education. So yes they deserve to make significantly more money.
    - arcticbull 9y ago
      Why should that education cost so much though? Not really anything, right? That's why socialized education is so valuable, because people do what they feel passionate about regardless of 'investment' cost.
      - hackmode 9y ago
        Because being surrounded by nice buildings and experts in their respective fields while living in densely populated cities isn't free. Who would've thought? If you're truly passionate about something, you're not going to let something as meager as tuition cost get in the way of it.
    - oblib 9y ago
      "10 McDonald's workers can't fix your teeth. 10 dentists can be equally as good at making hamburgers." That is incredibly arrogant and so far wrong it's not even close to the truth.
      - alasdair_ 9y ago
        >That is incredibly arrogant and so far wrong it's not even close to the truth. This seems like fact to me. The whole point about McDonalds is that they have perfected their processes so well that there is very little difference in quality and output between someone who has spent 20 years making hamburgers and someone who has been there a month. If someone is capable of being a dentist, they can likely make hamburgers. The reverse is probably not true - some portion of the people making hamburgers likely don't have what it takes to make it through dental school.
      - jaredklewis 9y ago
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
colanderman 9y ago
Can you provide any insight into the market forces keeping dentist salaries low in Sweden? High supply / low demand / salary/insurance caps / lower cost of living / non-salary benefits / etc.? (In the US we have the opposite of these… artificially low supply, private insurance hides costs, high cost of living in urban areas…)
- sorenjan 9y ago
  It's not considered a low salary in Sweden. Engineers have a median salary of $51 500 [0], lawyers $55 200 [1]. The spread between low and high salaries is much lower, and there's some discussion of trying to raise the salaries for advanced degrees to increase the incentive for education. [0] http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.asp/yrke/Civilingenjor-1161 http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.asp/yrke/Civilingenjor-116... [1] http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.asp/yrke/Advokat-1066 http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.asp/yrke/Advokat-1066

creaghpatr 9y ago

I'd like to add: -malpractice insurance -administration/documentation costs The procedure price in the US has to account for filing the claim, issuing the patient an EOB, then going through the adjudication process, then finally billing the patient for the copay/deductible payment, a percent of which will likely have to be written off.

highd 9y ago

I don't think "high income inequality" is much of an explanation for why someone has high income...

Klockan 9y ago
It is certainly a part of it, McDonalds workers earn about twice as much in Sweden as in the US. There is no good reason why a dentist should earn 10 times as much as a McDonalds worker, people still work hard to get those jobs even when they just pay 2-3 times as much like in Sweden.
- cisanti 9y ago
  I'm sure the dentist worked harder to become one, or has more talent, to make 10x more than McDonald's worker. The latter can be done by anyone... It's absurd to compare the two...
  - badestrand 9y ago
    Why is the comparison itself absurd? Both are just normal people that work all day. I guess whether the dentist "should" earn 2x or 50x is a matter of values and culture. As such I find it quite reasonable to attribute the high dentist salaries in the US to the population's high tolerance of the high income inequality.
    - rscho 9y ago
      Simple question: would you prefer to have your teeth fixed by a burger-flipper, or to have your burger flipped by a dental school graduate? Second question: would you prefer living without well-cooked burgers, or live with bad teeth? The difference in value is there.
      - sorenjan 9y ago
        Nobody is questioning whether dentists should be payed more than fast food workers, it's just how much more. Another example: brain surgeons have an average salary in the US of $450 000 [0], in Sweden it's $65 700. I would agree that there is some room for higher salaries for people with advanced degrees in Sweden, but I also think that the income inequality in the US is way too high. It's a cultural thing. [0] https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Doctor_of_Medicine_(MD)/Salary https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Doctor_of_Medici... [1] http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.asp/yrke/Hjarnkirurg-5131 http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.asp/yrke/Hjarnkirurg-5131
        sgc 9y ago
        It seems like the defense you have been required to make is just proving your point. People appear almost offended and baffled at your comments which are easy to understand. They are also overlooking the basic facts that healthcare in Sweden is significantly better than in the US despite the significantly lower pay scale, Sweden has a higher median income, and the quality of McDonalds food and service is probably better as well (it has been anywhere I have been in Europe).
- ghostbust555 9y ago
  10 McDonald's workers can't fix your teeth. 10 dentists can be equally as good at making hamburgers. They also invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into education. So yes they deserve to make significantly more money.
  - arcticbull 9y ago
    Why should that education cost so much though? Not really anything, right? That's why socialized education is so valuable, because people do what they feel passionate about regardless of 'investment' cost.
    - hackmode 9y ago
      Because being surrounded by nice buildings and experts in their respective fields while living in densely populated cities isn't free. Who would've thought? If you're truly passionate about something, you're not going to let something as meager as tuition cost get in the way of it.
  - oblib 9y ago
    "10 McDonald's workers can't fix your teeth. 10 dentists can be equally as good at making hamburgers." That is incredibly arrogant and so far wrong it's not even close to the truth.
    - alasdair_ 9y ago
      >That is incredibly arrogant and so far wrong it's not even close to the truth. This seems like fact to me. The whole point about McDonalds is that they have perfected their processes so well that there is very little difference in quality and output between someone who has spent 20 years making hamburgers and someone who has been there a month. If someone is capable of being a dentist, they can likely make hamburgers. The reverse is probably not true - some portion of the people making hamburgers likely don't have what it takes to make it through dental school.
    - jaredklewis 9y ago
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

colanderman 9y ago

Can you provide any insight into the market forces keeping dentist salaries low in Sweden? High supply / low demand / salary/insurance caps / lower cost of living / non-salary benefits / etc.? (In the US we have the opposite of these… artificially low supply, private insurance hides costs, high cost of living in urban areas…)

sorenjan 9y ago
It's not considered a low salary in Sweden. Engineers have a median salary of $51 500 [0], lawyers $55 200 [1]. The spread between low and high salaries is much lower, and there's some discussion of trying to raise the salaries for advanced degrees to increase the incentive for education. [0] http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.asp/yrke/Civilingenjor-1161 http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.asp/yrke/Civilingenjor-116... [1] http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.asp/yrke/Advokat-1066 http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.asp/yrke/Advokat-1066