In the 2026 Match, 444 residents were placed into pediatric dentistry residency positions out of 693 applicants who applied through the Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program, and programs offered 480 positions — the most of the three specialty matches this site tracks.
Applicant interest grew from 657 in 2022 to 693 in 2026, but so did the position count, up from 439 to 480 over the same span, which keeps the field roomier than orthodontics or oral and maxillofacial surgery.
The 2026 pediatric dentistry match, by the numbers
In the 2026-2027 cycle, 693 applicants applied for pediatric dentistry residency positions through the Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program (National Matching Services, natmatch.com/dentres).
Programs offered 480 positions, and 444 were filled in the Match — the sourced figures from the program's published 2026-2027 results.
That's the largest position count of the three specialty matches this site tracks, ahead of orthodontics (362 positions) and oral and maxillofacial surgery (260 positions) in the same 2026 cycle.
Zoom out to the whole Match and pediatric dentistry sits inside a larger picture: across all eight program types the program runs — including general practice residencies and dental anesthesiology — 2,272 total positions were offered in 2026, and 1,982 of them were filled, or 87%, a figure the Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program itself publishes as an overall fill rate.
That 87% describes the whole Match, not any single specialty, and it isn't a stand-in for a pediatric-dentistry-specific number.
No acceptance rate is published here — on purpose
How pediatric dentistry compares to orthodontics and oral surgery
The Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program runs several specialty tracks side by side each cycle.
In 2026:
- Pediatric dentistry: 693 applicants, 480 positions, 444 matched
- Orthodontics: 722 applicants, 362 positions, 341 matched
- Oral and maxillofacial surgery: 440 applicants, 260 positions, 243 matched
Pediatric dentistry offered the most positions of the three individually and drew fewer applicants than orthodontics did for far more seats — the roomiest of the three by raw counts.
That doesn't mean every applicant gets a seat, in pediatric dentistry or any track: across the whole 2026 Match, spanning all eight program types, 1,231 applicants went unmatched — a figure the Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program publishes for the Match as a whole, not broken out by specialty.
The five-year trend: positions have grown alongside demand
Applicant interest in pediatric dentistry residency grew from 657 applicants in 2022 to 693 in 2026 — a gain of 36.
Over the same span, positions grew from 439 to 480, a gain of 41, so the position count grew by slightly more than applicant interest did. (The source publishes these as endpoints, not a year-by-year series, so this describes the five-year change, not a claim that either number rose every single year.)
That's a different shape than orthodontics, where applicant demand rose every year over the same five years, climbing from 593 to 722 — a gain of 129 — while positions moved only from 345 to 362, a gain of just 17.
Pediatric dentistry's position growth has kept pace with its applicant growth; orthodontics' applicant growth has clearly outrun its position growth.
Getting into the residency
The Match determines who gets a seat; it doesn't describe what the seat requires.
For the CODA-accredited training itself — the 24-month accreditation floor, what fills the residency, and board certification — see pediatric dentistry residency: what it takes.
For the full path from dental school through the Match, see how to become a pediatric dentist.
For how specialty matches and board certification work across every dental specialty, not just pediatric dentistry, see dental residency & board certification.
To see how the pediatric specialty differs from general practice in the first place, see pediatric dentist vs. general dentist.
For how pediatric dentistry compares to periodontics, prosthodontics, and dental anesthesiology too, see which dental specialty is hardest to match into.
This article reports Match statistics for informational purposes only, not admissions or career advice. Figures are for the 2026-2027 Match cycle and will change in future cycles — confirm current figures directly with the Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program.