jem wrote: So how much money must US orthodontists make running their practices on the lines described above? I think if I were in the US, I would encourage my son or daughter to train to be an orthodontist.
Jem
LOL, I was thinking the same thing! Ortho's do seem like they can make some good money. In my area, many of the ortho practices are open only four days during the week. I'm wondering if that's because there aren't enough patients to stay open five days a week? At any rate, a three-day weekend sounds nice.
That said, I would imagine the overhead of an ortho practice is very high. Even if leased, there is a lot of equipment necessary to have on hand (in my ortho practice, the room where they perform x-rays, impressions, and photos probably has $1 million of machinery in it). Plus at each chair there's a stand with a laptop (probably to pull up each patient's file during treatments). Then all the necessary insurance ... it all adds up, I'm sure.
But it's probably a lucrative field, and as far as medicine goes, one that doesn't involve too many heartbreaks (you're not dealing with sick or dying clients).
