Why dentists are all smiles when it comes to their working week (2024)

Stephanie Charnock loves that her job gives her flexibility and a 37.5-hour-working week but a cup of tea wouldn't go astray.

The general dentist at Melbourne's Royal Dental Hospital, like the average full-time dentist, works less than other full-time workers and unlike her friends in other professions, never has to take work home.

But when she is clocked on, Dr Charnock says her days are non-stop.

"I have some friends who have cups of tea at their desk and to me that sounds amazing because for me that's not an option," she says.

"The work that we do is very detailed. A lot of it is very intricate and you're working in a confined space. And sometimes you can be working in what are difficult positions. Sometimes you have to bend your body to get into the position for you to provide care to the patient so there are some physical pressures on your body."

The average full-time worker in Australia says they work 44-and-a-half hours per week, but for the average full-time dentist it's slightly less, about 42-and-a-half. And when it comes to hourly pay, they rank rank fifth out of almost 400 occupations.

A dentist’s average hourly personal income is about $70, which is surpassed by only four other jobs: anaesthetists ($79 per hour); psychiatrists ($77); and other medical practitioners and specialist physicians (both $71). For all full-time workers, the average is about $28 per hour.

Check out how your job fares by typing it into the interactive below:

Other jobs that boast a combination of higher-than-average pay and lower-than-average hours worked include IT analysts, programmers, telecommunications engineering professionals, statisticians, optometrists, medical imaging professionals and intelligence analysts.

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Workplace psychologist Nicholas Duck says workers who are motivated by their roles find it easier to put in more hours, but there are limits when it comes to occupations that are particularly mentally or physically taxing.

Dr Charnock says dentistry is a fast-paced job and demanding on both your mind and body.

"We are very busy. We have allotted breaks but it's because we don't get breaks at any other times, otherwise, we're very busy seeing client after client," she says.

Dr Duck says roles with long working weeks tend to involve regular contact with other people and have an element of unpredictability, while those in high-skilled jobs that work fewer hours can operate within scheduled times or use their technological prowess to automate some of their tasks.

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He says people also tend to mimic the number of hours their colleagues put in, even if they feel they are sacrificing their time away from work to do so.

Melbourne Dental Group owner Greg Barton believes a lot of his colleagues work longer weeks than he does, even though he is working more than 50 hours.

Dr Barton says that as well as working in his clinic from 8am to 5.30pm, he works in the evenings and on weekends managing the business side of his practice.

But he says he enjoys the work and doesn't think his hours are that bad.

"If you run your own clinic, you're generally prepared to do the extra yards," he says.

About the data

Our interactive tool uses census data, which people report themselves.

The average hourly personal income for each job is calculated based on census averages for full-time earnings and hours worked. Because of the way census data is collected, it likely understates the hourly income of those in jobs that earn more than $180,000 a year.