I've done extensive research on the topic but never found an answer.
I was wandering what's the salary of an employed Dentist in Switzerland and how it compares with Luxembourg (and how the two salaries compare with the cost of living).
From what I know, Dentists in Switzerland are perceived expensive even with the local salaries and as a consequence Swiss people prefer to go abroad into neighbouring countries for treatments to save money. I know in Switzerland basic insurance does not cover Dentists expenses, whereas in Lux this is almost covered around 88-100% of the treatment cost depending on the procedure. I know that until 17 ys, children can get braces free, adults can get fillings, extractions etc. For things not covered from the insurance (implants...), in Lux usually people have a separate insurance.
I love Switzerland, I have visited the country many times and it's stunning. Luxembourg never been, but from what I know it is a rich country, maybe even more than Switzerland. I know that Dentists have an obligatory affiliation with the CNS, but for the "frontalières", where do they get the treatment? LUX or DE/FR/B?
No thank you, what I was try to find was a lesser "try to be funny" and more knowledgeable person
Salaries on payscale or internet in general seem to be really not trustworthy enough and differ among websites. I was trying to gather more trustworthy information, not general ones on the internet. Thanks
My wife is a dentist and has been working for over 25 years here. She does not own a practice, but rather works for a practice based on a percentage of the fees paid by her patients. There is a huge difference. If you own a practice you may be earning 300K plus but then you have staff to pay (hygienists, dental nurses, receptionist) plus interest on a loan taken out to buy all the equipment (chairs and equipment of at least 2 surgeries, x-ray machine, sterilizer, computer etc) plus all the necessary chemicals and replacement parts and hand tools. I estimate after all expenses are paid you take home 150K. For a contract turnover-based dentist the figure is closer to 100 - 120K. It's not as lucrative as people think.
"The minimum rates refer to assistant dentist positions with a pronounced continuing education character as well as a more than usual supervision of the assistant dentist by the practice owner during working hours and take into account a 20% discount for this. From the 6th year of employment onwards, the salary is determined by agreement between the employer and employee. These salaries apply to assistant dentists with Swiss state examinations. Holders of a foreign diploma should be classified according to their education and experience, taking full account of their professional activity in Switzerland."
Thank you both for the answers, they are really helpful!
Karl, you said your wife works as a percentage of the fees paid by the patient. How many hours per week your wife works normally? 42 full time or variable depending on the number of patients? As you said, 100-120k seems not a really impressive salary for an employed dentist compared with other professions at least (I do not know for sure, but I have seen posts in this forum with 160k for engineers, managers etc...). In my country, dentists are really well paid respect to these professions (normally). I know that in Switzerland the cost of living is really high.
Mullhollander, so dentists in the first years if just graduated are qualified as assistant dentists with a specific salary. Interesting. I didn't know that.
Are Swiss people normally insured for dentistry works? If yes, are they obliged to being treated in Switzerland? Or do people usually go abroad for treatments?
I expect the cost of 'doing business' is higher in Switzefrland partly because the supporting staff (reception, cleaning, assistants) need to be paid a lot higher than in other places.
And there's no universal dental cover.
And people do travel abroad to get cheaper treatment.
And I would be cautious if you are foreign-trained dentist. If you are non-EU you may find that you need to completely re-do your exams or even large parts of your training, in the local language, to get accredited.
No, I know salaries are way lower, as it is for all other border countries respect to Switzerland (except for Liechtenstein obviously). I'm from Italy (EU). That's why I wrote "respect to other professions" and I meant that Switzerland seems that salaries for dentists are more similar relatively to other jobs. But it was an opinion based on previous posts, not a fact.
I know that the cost of living, staff etc is really high in Switzerland. I've seen that buying a house and paying for a mortgage is really expensive. I was wondering how much a house in the countryside of central Switzerland could cost (maybe 1,5 million chf??). People rents, but I woudn't want to rent if possible. I've seen apartments from about 700.000 chf. Considering the cost of living which is extremely high for a family of four for a normal life I estimated at least 6k chf per month to pay among health insurance, food, holidays etc. Am I right or do I miss something?
If so, 100-120k maybe start to appear not very much for a dentist. I say maybe I'm not sure.
You are about right assuming expenses of 6k +, health costs will be 1k with a 2.5k excess for the adults Children have a 300 excess. Not sure it's worth moving for 8k a month gross if you have a family.
Anecdotal information only ... at a drinks party I once said that orthodontists were amongst the highest paid professions in CH. Our neighbour who is a retired orthodontist (own practice) was forced to confess that he earned around CHF 500k for three days work per week. I definitely had the feeling he was underplaying it.
I rather think the information given by Karl above is more useful.
fatmanfilms: could you please explain me what you mean by excess? Do you mean the part of medical insurance that has to be paid by the patient before the insurance starts to pay?
Klostergirl: I understand that you do not have enough information to answer, but couldn't be that 500k for a practice owner refer to gross revenue before expenses on inventory, salaries etc, and not real salary? Because Karl also wrote about 300k+, maybe for an established Orthodontist it could be possible to reach 500k?
As you rightly say, I am afraid I can't answer your question. My feeling is that the figure quoted would not be gross revenue though. Orthodontics is painfully expensive here. I prayed my children would be born healthy and that they would grow up with straight teeth ... luckily they did!
Exactly, you pay an extra 1000 or so a year to reduce excess to 800 so unless you visit the Dr on a regular basis the 2500 excess will work out the cheapest. In 20 years in CH I never got close to spending 2500.
Well, saying that money is my main drive even without knowing me maybe is a little bit hazardous?
I was only trying to gather information about a possible move and so salaries, cost of living etc. Since when I travelled I loved Switzerland, I was considering the move also for the future of my family. In a low cost country I would surely have maybe better salaries compared with the cost of living as a Dentist, but what if my children won't do dentistry? Where will they work for a decent salary?
Since I was searching information, why don't asking about Luxembourg since I know it is also a rich country so maybe if anyone has an answer could help?
I do not know where I was wrong with asking... Being judgers so fast is never a good behaviour. I appreciate the hints though