What the role does
Periodontists diagnose and treat gum disease, place and manage dental implants, perform bone and soft-tissue grafting, and treat the more advanced stages of periodontal disease that general dentists refer out. In a South Florida office this can mean scaling deep pockets, doing crown-lengthening before restorative work, placing implants for a prosthodontist's or general dentist's case, and managing patients with diabetes or other conditions that complicate gum health. The job is procedure-heavy and referral-based: most patients arrive already diagnosed by a general dentist, so a periodontist's day is built around surgery blocks, hygiene recall for periodontal maintenance, and case planning with referring offices.
Ideal qualifications
A periodontist has completed dental school (DDS or DMD) plus an accredited periodontics residency, typically two to three years. Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach practices generally want someone comfortable with implant surgery, guided bone regeneration, and sedation protocols, plus the ability to communicate with referring dentists and anxious patients in plain terms. Spanish or Haitian Creole fluency is a real advantage given the patient population across the three counties, and shows up often as preferred, sometimes required, in job posts here.
Licensing and certification in Florida
Practicing dentistry in Florida, including periodontics, requires a dental license under Fla. Stat. Chapter 466 and the rules of the Board of Dentistry (Florida Administrative Code 64B5). There is no separate state license for the periodontics specialty; a periodontist practices under the general dental license and may hold board certification through the American Board of Periodontology, which is a professional credential, not a state license. Any specialty designation used in advertising must meet the Board's rules on specialty announcements under 64B5 — check the current rule text before using "specialist" in marketing copy, since requirements can change. Employers should verify an applicant's license status directly with the Florida Department of Health before hiring.
Pay in the Miami metro
Pay varies; the posts below show current offers. Periodontist compensation in South Florida is usually structured as a percentage of production, a day rate for surgical sessions, or a base salary plus bonus, and it varies by ownership stake, patient volume, and whether the caseload is implant-heavy. Ask any listing for its pay structure directly rather than assuming a flat salary.
Schedule and setting
Most periodontist roles run four to five clinical days a week, often with block scheduling — surgery mornings, consults and periodontal maintenance in the afternoon. Some practices run a satellite-office model, with the periodontist splitting days between two or three locations across Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach to cover multiple referral relationships. Call coverage for post-surgical complications is common but usually light. Part-time roles and associate-to-partner arrangements both show up regularly in this market.
Interview questions
- Walk me through your implant case volume in a typical month, and what systems you use to track it.
- How do you handle a referring dentist who disagrees with your treatment plan?
- What is your approach to medically complex patients — diabetes, anticoagulants, osteoporosis medications?
- Describe how you explain periodontal surgery risk to a nervous patient in plain language.
- What sedation credentials do you hold, and what does Florida require for the level you use?
- How would you build referral relationships with general dentists in this specific market?
Career path
Periodontists typically move from associate to partner or owner over three to seven years, depending on the practice's structure and the referral base they build locally. Some move into teaching at a residency program, into corporate dental support organizations that run multi-location periodontal groups, or into a solo practice built entirely on referrals. A few specialize further within periodontics — implant-focused, regenerative and grafting work, or combined perio-prosthodontic practices — which shapes both pay and daily caseload.
Where to train locally
Florida does not currently have a periodontics residency housed at Miami Dade College, Broward College, or FIU; those institutions support the pipeline through dental hygiene and assisting programs and pre-dental coursework. Nova Southeastern University's College of Dental Medicine, based in Broward County, trains dental residents and is a reasonable starting point for continuing education and residency information in this region. The University of Florida's dental college is another in-state option for residency-level training and the continuing education credits Florida dentists need to maintain licensure.
Working through Miami Dentist
If you're hiring a periodontist, post a job with the compensation structure, surgical scope, and referral base spelled out — vague listings draw fewer qualified applicants in this specialty. If you're looking, search openings or go straight to the county pages for Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach to see what's currently open near you.