Tennessee / Tenncare / Dentist
Job-title file
Diagnose and treat patients, direct clinical care, and supervise other medical staff.
2 employees hold this title in Tenncare. Median total compensation for the role is $184,657, above the department median of $67,707.
Compared with the local labor market
Across all employers in Tennessee, the median wage for Dentists, General — about 2,200 people — is $215,290. Tenncare pays a median base salary of $184,657 for this role, 14% below that figure — about the 41st percentile of local pay for the occupation.
The bar is the range of annual wages for Dentists, General across every employer in Tennessee, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Tenncare’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Dentists, General — about 124,390 people — is $170,950. Tenncare’s median base salary is 8% above that national figure, about the 56th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Tennessee range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Tenncare is $184,657, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare departments
Dentist is held in 2 Tennessee departments. In Tenncare, the median of $184,657 ranks #1 of 2.
Median total compensation for the Dentist role in other Tennesseedepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
This role is reported in 11 jurisdictions. In Tennessee, the median of $164,420 ranks #5 of 11. See Dentist across all of Tennessee →
Median total compensation for comparable Dentistroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.
Record list
Page 1
Dentist/Tenncare
Source-specific fields
James Gillcrist is a Dentist at Tenncare within Cmo - Skilled Medical. They work part-time. 2026 total compensation came to $215,114.
Dentist/Tenncare
Source-specific fields
Martha Wheeler holds the role of Dentist at Tenncare within Cmo - Skilled Medical. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $154,200.