Dentists Salary Structure In Nigeria Currently (2024)
Dentistry is a top profession in the medical industry and it ranks very high as one of the top courses to study in Nigerian Universities. In this post, we shall look at the salary structure of dentists in Nigeria 2024 and give you any other information about dentistry that you ought to know. If you would like to study this course in university, our article on the top dental universities in Nigeria will give you a heads up on where you should go to get the best education about this course that is among the accredited medical courses in the country currently.
Being one of the most sort after professions in Nigeria and the world at large, the importance of dentists in ensuring that we practice safe oral hygiene can never be over emphasized. Dentists are highly sort after and their monthly take home pay is interesting as well as impressive.
Dentistry, like some of the other medical jobs, is one of the few where their professionals are almost guaranteed automatic employment upon graduation from the university. They can work at government or private established health institutions or decide to go solo and open their own dentist facilities while earning a good pay as salary in the process.
As we proceed, we will take a look at the average salaries of dentists per month in the country, considering those that work in government hospitals and dental clinics as well as those that work in private hospitals.
WHAT IS THE SALARY OF DENTISTS IN NIGERIA THIS 2024?
Dentists salary may not be the highest in the medical profession but they are part of the best paying. As is the case with medical doctors, dentists are almost guaranteed instant employment upon graduation from the university.
The salaries dentists are paid differ according to where they work, their years of experience in the profession as well as the location of their places of work. The average entry level salaries that dentists are paid per month this 2024 is between ₦140,000 – ₦200,000 in private hospitals in Nigeria while dentists in government hospitals are paid monthly salaries ranging between ₦180,000 – ₦280,000. Dentists in federal hospitals are paid more than their counterparts in state hospitals.
HOW TO BECOME A DENTIST IN NIGERIA
If you want to become a dentist in Nigeria today, you should follow the steps below:
BE CERTIFIED
First of all you must be science inclined at secondary school level before you can be eligible to pursue your dreams of becoming a dentist in the country. You are required to have your O’Level certificate (WAEC SSCE/NECO SSCE) with at least a credit pass in the major science courses such as Physics, Chemistry, Biology as well as English and Mathematics. Once that is done, you can then proceed to sit for your UTME and your JAMB subject combinations should be Use of English, Biology, Chemistry and Physics or any other relevant science subject as stipulated by JAMB.
If you pass your JAMB UTME and Score at least 250, and your post UTME score is also good, you will be offered provisional admission into the University of your choice and your journey to becoming a dentist commences. Dentistry usually takes about 5-6 years in the university.
HOUSE JOB
Once after graduating from the university, dentists are mandated to go for house job where they are to gain experience working with other} professionals in the field, usually more experience dentists.
During this period, interns are paid and their salaries vary but on the average, they earn salaries between ₦120,000 – ₦180,000 per month and this depends on the hospital they work at.
Interns at federal hospitals earn higher than their colleagues at state and private hospitals. In recent times, getting a place for housemanship has become quite challenging and this is due to the large number of dentists being graduated every year.
This has made getting house jobs very competitive and has led to some hospitals conducting tests for these medical professionals and choosing only the select few who pass their exams.
NYSC
After housemanship comes the mandatory NYSC programme where every dentist graduate, like other graduates of other fields in the country are supposed to serve their fatherland for a mandatory period of one year.
During NYSC, dentists are posted to local hospitals or teaching hospitals within the state in which they are deployed. While at it, they are paid for it and their payment per month depends on hospitals and medical facilities they are posted to. Hospitals pay dentists between ₦50,000 – ₦120,000 per month via NYSC.
Some dentists are not paid during their NYSC by their respective places of primary assignment so they have to only rely on their NYSC allowance which is paid by the federal government and this allowance is ₦33,000.
