Orthodontists
Also called: Orthodontic Dentist, Orthodontic Specialist, Orthodontics Doctor, OrthodontistExamine, 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.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 4 of its 10 rated tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 6.0% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 1.0% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Dentists”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 5.0 hires for every 10 job openings in health care and social assistance, which employs about 100% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.5.0 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $253,670 | $193,860 to $287,970 | not published |
| Arizona | $272,330 | $203,710 to $301,740 | 120 |
| Colorado | $416,000 | $416,000 to $520,000 | 160 |
| Connecticut | $478,680 | $324,670 to $491,860 | not published |
| Florida | not published | not published | 450 |
| Georgia | $159,230 | $125,620 to $159,310 | not published |
| Idaho | not published | not published | 40 |
| Illinois | $343,100 | $225,140 to $471,390 | not published |
| Indiana | $239,200 or more | $239,200 or more to $239,200 or more | not published |
| Maine | $301,250 | $182,010 to $323,460 | 60 |
| Maryland | $361,030 | $248,110 to $361,050 | not published |
| Michigan | $357,090 | $259,940 to $389,940 | 140 |
| Mississippi | not published | not published | 90 |
| Missouri | $332,630 | $332,630 to $332,630 | not published |
| Montana | $312,840 | $115,290 to $348,650 | not published |
| Nebraska | $239,200 or more | $239,200 or more to $239,200 or more | not published |
| New York | $172,980 | $98,920 to $258,500 | 130 |
| North Carolina | $224,990 | $199,990 to $362,340 | 160 |
| Ohio | $219,300 | $108,430 to $318,070 | 250 |
| Oklahoma | $239,200 or more | $239,200 or more to $239,200 or more | 30 |
| Pennsylvania | $311,180 | $311,180 to $311,280 | not published |
| South Carolina | $311,450 | $218,080 to $377,370 | not published |
| Tennessee | $339,610 | $314,990 to $354,140 | not published |
| Texas | not published | not published | 1,070 |
| Washington | $290,430 | $290,430 to $290,440 | 290 |
| Wisconsin | $212,860 | $203,990 to $300,830 | 90 |
Nationally: $289,140. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 4 of its 10 rated tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Diagnose teeth and jaw or other dental-facial abnormalities. | Not published |
| Not much | Examine patients to assess abnormalities of jaw development, tooth position, and other dental-facial structures. | Not published |
| AI + software | 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. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Fit dental appliances in patients' mouths to alter the position and relationship of teeth and jaws or to realign teeth. | Not published |
| Not much | Adjust dental appliances to produce and maintain normal function. | Not published |
| AI + software | Provide patients with proposed treatment plans and cost estimates. | Not published |
See all 11 tasks
| Not rated | Advise patients to comply with treatment plans. | Not published |
| AI + software | Prepare diagnostic and treatment records. | Not published |
| Not much | Instruct dental officers and technical assistants in orthodontic procedures and techniques. | Not published |
| AI + software | Coordinate orthodontic services with other dental and medical services. | Not published |
| Not much | Design and fabricate appliances, such as space maintainers, retainers, and labial and lingual arch wires. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 1 of the 11 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 11 tasks fall under 11 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explain medical information to patients or family members | |||
| Adjust medical equipment to ensure adequate performance | |||
| Design materials or devices | |||
| Analyze health or medical data | |||
| Advise patients or clients on medical issues | |||
| Examine people or animals to assess health conditions or physical characteristics | |||
| Diagnose health conditions or disorders | |||
| Train others on health or medical topics |
Show all 11 activities
| Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care | |||
| Maintain health or medical records | |||
| Fabricate medical devices |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- Advice or a recommendation66%
- An explanation or answer21%
- An email or message2%
- An analysis or summary2%
- A document or report2%
How they worked with Claude
1% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for orthodontists specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved in from
of 232 moves in
- 1 Teacher Assistants (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 12%
- 2 Dental Assistants Low +7.4% 11%
- 3 Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products 9%
- 4 Waiters and Waitresses Moderate +2.0% 8%
- 5 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 7%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 2% high school
- 8% postsecondary certificate
- 3% bachelor's
- 7% professional doctorate
- 12% research doctorate
- 69% post-doctoral training
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 24 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 3% master's
- 71% professional degree
- 26% doctorate
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Dentists” · 2,084 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Dentists”
1 program: Orthodontics/Orthodontology.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/29-1023.00