The Salary of a Dentist in Singapore
Dentistry of course can prove to be a high-paying profession. However, whether one should pursue such a career path in the Lion City is a matter of debate. For instance, there is only one institution in the country, the National University of Singapore, where you can get a dentistry (i.e. dental education) degree locally. Then upon earning such accreditation, you are bonded to the Government of Singapore for a duration of time. What this means in layman’s terms is that you have to work as a dentist on behalf of the government for four years, at what can be deemed as a reduced rate. Said salary is said to be, at max, about SG$4,500.00 monthly and remains so throughout your four-year tenure.
Other factors which some may perceive as disadvantages in Singaporean dentistry is the fact that there has been an influx of foreigners into the field. Moreover some institutions work on a commission, as opposed to base salary, pay structure. But this is a relatively-small price to pay for those who hearts are truly into the profession.
And upon completing your bonding service, you can expect to earn about SG$7,000.00 monthly. Of course some dentists make a lot more than that, apparently based on how long they’ve been in the field and of course what institution they are employed by. And at least one plausible report puts Singaporean dentists’ average salary as high as SG$98,000 annually. But based on other studies this seems to be a bit on the high end. And unless you intend on working perhaps for an upscale private institution, you should temper your expectations somewhere along the lines of SG$7,500.00 a month (upon completing bonding), which comes out to SG$90,000.00 for the entire year, which still isn’t half bad at all.
In Conclusion
Earning SG$90,000.00 a year is quite a pretty penny, though it isn’t necessarily an awful lot of money in a country as expensive as Singapore. Also it appears that the foreign-trained dentist may have advantages over one who is educated locally, as the former does not have to do relatively low-paying, government-bonded service for as long. So upon first getting into the field one may face economic challenges depending on their lifestyle. But if you endure to complete your bonding and establish yourself in the profession, you should be looking forward to a salary of $7,000.00+ monthly.
