Dentist Statistics 2026: Workforce Size, Demographics, Specialties & Ownership

What's in This Guide

How Many Dentists Are There

The headline number comes from the ADA Health Policy Institute, the authoritative source for dental workforce data. In 2024, 202,485 dentists were professionally active in the United States, a national density of 59.5 dentists per 100,000 people. That total has increased steadily for more than two decades and is projected to keep rising through 2040, driven in part by the opening of new dental schools.

The pipeline is expanding: 2024 produced more than 6,700 graduates, the highest annual cohort on record. Combined with later retirements, this points to continued supply growth even as the profession works through the tail end of a baby-boomer retirement surge.

Source: ADA Health Policy Institute, U.S. Dentist Workforce 2025 Update

Geographic Distribution

The national average conceals a persistent access problem. Dentist-to-population ratios vary dramatically by state, and the gap between well-served and under-served areas has been widening.

In 2024, density ranged from a low of 40.2 dentists per 100,000 in Arkansas to a high of 103.2 in the District of Columbia, with Alabama and Mississippi also near the bottom. The ADA notes a widening supply gap between urban and rural counties, driven in part by younger dentists being less likely to practice in rural areas. Tens of millions of Americans still live in designated dental health professional shortage areas, which is one reason demand for care remains strong even as the overall headcount grows.

Source: CDC / National Center for Health Statistics | ADA Health Policy Institute

Gender and Diversity Shifts

The most dramatic change in the profession is demographic. Dentistry was overwhelmingly male a generation ago; it is rapidly approaching gender balance.

The female share of professionally active dentists reached 38.5% in 2024, up from just 16% in 2001. Women have made up at least half of graduating classes since 2019 and were 55.6% of the 2024 cohort, and among dentists under 35 they are already the majority. The ADA projects the workforce will reach roughly gender parity around 2040. On race and ethnicity, the workforce is diversifying but still does not mirror the population: in 2024 it was about 67.0% White, 20.4% Asian, 6.1% Hispanic, and 3.9% Black, with Hispanic and Black dentists remaining underrepresented relative to their share of the U.S. population.

Source: ADA Health Policy Institute, U.S. Dentist Workforce 2025 Update

Age and Retirement Trends

Dentists are working longer, which reshapes both the supply outlook and the pace at which the demographic changes above filter into the active workforce.

Among dentists who retired in 2024, the average retirement age was 68.7, up four years from 2001, with an average career span of 41.3 years. The average age of a practicing dentist is around 49.5, and roughly 16% are 65 or older, which has fueled projections that more than one in four currently practicing dentists could retire by 2035. Because retirements and graduations are both running high, the net effect is continued but demographically shifting growth.

Source: ADA Health Policy Institute, U.S. Dentist Workforce 2025 Update

Specialty Mix

Despite the attention specialties receive, the profession is still overwhelmingly generalist, with specialty growth concentrated in a few areas relevant to sedation and surgery.

Only about one in five U.S. dentists holds a specialty credential; the large majority practice general dentistry, and many general dentists offer cosmetic, implant, or sedation services without a specialty designation. Orthodontics is the largest recognized specialty, while oral and maxillofacial surgery is among the fastest-growing in absolute terms. Pediatric dentistry has grown roughly 121% since 2001, a shift the ADA links in part to the rising female share of the workforce. The growth in surgical and sedation-oriented practice is one reason charting and compliance tools have become more relevant across both specialist and generalist settings.

Source: ADA Health Policy Institute, U.S. Dentist Demographics

The Decline of Solo Ownership

The classic image of the dentist as a solo practice owner is fading, and the data behind that shift is striking.

The share of dentists who own their practice fell to 73% in 2023 from 85% in 2005. Solo practice has dropped from about 67% of dentists in 2005 to roughly half today, while small group practice (2 to 9 dentists) accounts for about 36% and DSO affiliation about 14%, with a small but growing share in large 100-plus-location groups. The shift is generational: early-career dentists are far less likely to be in solo practice or to own, though the ADA notes ownership is delayed rather than abandoned, most dentists still eventually become owners, just later. Private-equity involvement has also grown, with the share of dentists and practices affiliated with private equity nearly doubling between 2015 and 2021.

Source: ADA Health Policy Institute, Practice Ownership Trends

Income and Economics

The profession remains financially strong at the top line, though the ADA cautions that expenses have been outpacing revenue growth, pressuring net earnings.

According to the ADA Survey of Dental Practice, average net income in 2025 was about $215,320 for general dentists in private practice and $346,520 for specialists, on average gross billings of $965,660 and $1,213,040 respectively. Zooming out, offices of dentists generate a $487 billion annual economic impact and support 2.5 million jobs nationwide. The ADA's caution that earnings are pressured by expenses outpacing revenue is a recurring theme across the practice-management data, and it puts a premium on operational efficiency, clean documentation, and anything that reduces administrative drag.

Source: ADA Health Policy Institute, Dental Practice Research

Dentist Statistics: Summary Table

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