How old are dentists when they retire?

Dentists do not have any fixed age at which they should retire at. Most are self employed and as long as they keep up with their states continuing education and licensing requirements, they can continue practicing dentistry as long as they would like. Obviously their finances and other interests play a role in their decision. If they have a good nest egg they can decide to retire earlier, but many do not have funds in their retirement to take an "early retirement".

Most states do have continuing education requirements that dentists must meet in order to keep their dental license active. This requirement is designed to help insure that dentist stay up to date in their training. In New York State the number of  hours of continuing education now required for renewing a three year dental license is currently 60 hours.

Since practicing dentistry is not strictly a desk  job a dentist's duties do require a certain amount of physical fitness and it can be difficult for a dentist to perform their job properly when they are suffering from physical ailments. Various illnesses can temporarily sideline a dentist or force their retirement .