Prosthodontists
Also called: DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery), Denturist, Maxillofacial Prosthodontist, ProsthodontistDiagnose, treat, rehabilitate, design, and fit prostheses that maintain oral function, health, and appearance for patients with clinical conditions associated with teeth, oral and maxillofacial tissues, or the jaw.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 2 of its 11 rated tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 5.8% 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 95% 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
BLS publishes no state estimates for this occupation.
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 2 of its 11 rated tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not rated | Examine patients to diagnose oral health conditions and diseases. | Not published |
| Not much | Fit prostheses to patients, making any necessary adjustments and modifications. | Not published |
| Not much | Measure and take impressions of patients' jaws and teeth to determine the shape and size of dental prostheses, using face bows, dental articulators, recording devices, and other materials. | Not published |
| AI + software | Collaborate with general dentists, specialists, and other health professionals to develop solutions to dental and oral health concerns. | Not published |
| Not much | Replace missing teeth and associated oral structures with permanent fixtures, such as implant-supported prostheses, crowns and bridges, or removable fixtures, such as dentures. | Not published |
| Not much | Repair, reline, or rebase dentures. | Not published |
See all 12 tasks
| AI + software | Design and fabricate dental prostheses, or supervise dental technicians and laboratory bench workers who construct the devices. | Not published |
| Not much | Restore function and aesthetics to traumatic injury survivors, or to individuals with diseases or congenital disabilities. | Not published |
| Not much | Use bonding technology on the surface of the teeth to change tooth shape or to close gaps. | Not published |
| Not much | Treat facial pain and jaw joint problems. | Not published |
| Not much | Place veneers onto teeth to conceal defects. | Not published |
| Not much | Bleach discolored teeth to brighten and whiten them. | 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. 0 of the 12 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 12 tasks fall under 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treat injuries, illnesses, or diseases | |||
| Adjust medical equipment to ensure adequate performance | |||
| Examine people or animals to assess health conditions or physical characteristics | |||
| Design materials or devices | |||
| Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care |
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 prosthodontists 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 125 moves in
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 55%
- 2 Receptionists and Information Clerks Very high -1.7% 16%
- 3 Medical and Health Services Managers High +24.2% 9%
- 11 Public Relations and Fundraising Managers (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 1%
- 12 Administrative Services Managers (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 1%
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
- 3% postsecondary certificate
- 36% research doctorate
- 61% post-doctoral training
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 16 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: Prosthodontics/Prosthodontology.
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
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