Dental Industry
Statistics2026
Practice counts, national dental spending, the occupation mix inside dental offices, and pay by role — every figure sourced, dated and linked to the agency that published it.
Live Dental Job Openings
Every other figure on this page comes from a government agency or a named research body. These numbers are ours — aggregated from employer career sites and direct postings, and updated continuously.
How many dental practices are in the U.S.?
There were 136,040 private-sector dental practice establishments in the United States in 2024 — the annual-average count the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes for NAICS 6212, Offices of Dentists. Those practices employed 1,039,896 people and paid $68.2 billion in wages. Growth is steady rather than dramatic: the published year-over-year change has sat between 0.1% and 1.3% in every year since 2019.
Annual-average establishment counts, private ownership, NAICS 6212 (Offices of Dentists). Source: BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
| Year | Establishments | Change | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 131,976 | +0.5% | 973,165 |
| 2020 | 132,046 | +0.1% | 885,825 |
| 2021 | 132,578 | +0.4% | 987,391 |
| 2022 | 134,269 | +1.3% | 1,009,827 |
| 2023 | 135,236 | +0.7% | 1,026,380 |
| 2024 | 136,040 | +0.6% | 1,039,896 |
| State | Practices (2024) | Dentists (2025) | Per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 22,560 | 30,647 | 77.9 |
| Texas | 12,507 | 16,761 | 52.9 |
| Florida | 9,432 | 12,635 | 53.9 |
| New York | 7,930 | 14,286 | 71.4 |
| Illinois | 5,230 | 8,511 | 66.9 |
| Pennsylvania | 4,468 | 7,007 | 53.7 |
| New Jersey | 4,421 | 7,385 | 77.3 |
| Georgia | 4,154 | 5,404 | 47.8 |
| North Carolina | 3,951 | 6,557 | 58.6 |
| Ohio | 3,772 | 5,827 | 49.0 |
Two sources, two different years, deliberately side by side. Practice counts are establishments (BLS QCEW, 2024); dentist counts are professionally active dentists (ADA Health Policy Institute, 2025). A state can rank high on practice count and low per capita: Georgia has the eighth-most dental practices in the country and ranks 42nd of 51 jurisdictions on dentists per 100,000 people.
An establishment is a single physical location, not a business. A ten-office group counts as ten establishments, so this series measures offices, not owners — which is why the count keeps rising even as ownership consolidates. Dentist supply per capita has been roughly flat over the same period: 60.0 dentists per 100,000 people in 2025, against 60.8 in 2015.
Dental Industry Market Size & Growth
The United States spent $189.2 billion on dental services in 2024, up 6.6% over 2023 — the official figure from the CMS National Health Expenditure Accounts. Dental services were 3.6% of the $5,278.6 billion the country spent on health care that year.
Dental services expenditures in nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation. Source: CMS National Health Expenditure Accounts, Table 12.
| Year | Dental spending | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | $144.5B | +4.9% |
| 2020 | $140.4B | −2.8% |
| 2021 | $166.4B | +18.5% |
| 2022 | $166.8B | +0.2% |
| 2023 | $177.5B | +6.4% |
| 2024 | $189.2B | +6.6% |
Dental services expenditures by source of funds, 2024. Shares of the $189.2B total: 41.3%, 38.3%, 8.0%, 6.7%, 3.5% and 2.1% respectively. Source: CMS National Health Expenditure Accounts, Table 12.
The ADA Health Policy Institute reads the same release this way: national dental care expenditures amounted to $189 billion in 2024, up 3.6% from 2023 once adjusted for inflation — real growth, not just price growth.
Dental Jobs & Employment
BLS counted 1,054,930 jobs inside Offices of Dentists in May 2025. Dentistry is not mostly dentists: general dentists are 10.6% of those jobs, while dental assistants alone are 33.6%. The median wage across every occupation in a dental office was $58,300.
| Occupation (SOC) | Jobs | Share | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dental Assistants 31-9091 | 354,900 | 33.64% | $48,000 |
| Dental Hygienists 29-1292 | 211,560 | 20.05% | $98,280 |
| Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants 43-6013 | 120,490 | 11.42% | $47,990 |
| Dentists, General 29-1021 | 111,880 | 10.61% | $169,900 |
| Receptionists and Information Clerks 43-4171 | 69,930 | 6.63% | $46,500 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers 43-1011 | 32,840 | 3.11% | $63,910 |
| Office Clerks, General 43-9061 | 29,070 | 2.76% | $47,840 |
| Billing and Posting Clerks 43-3021 | 15,240 | 1.44% | $51,910 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers 11-9111 | 9,240 | 0.88% | $78,050 |
| Orthodontists 29-1023 | 5,990 | 0.57% | $287,960 |
| Dental Laboratory Technicians 51-9081 | 5,700 | 0.54% | $51,380 |
| Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons 29-1022 | 4,250 | 0.4% | $360,820 |
The twelve largest occupations in NAICS 621200, Offices of Dentists. These are BLS occupation titles measured inside dental offices, not job titles a practice would advertise — BLS has no occupation for “dental office manager” or “treatment coordinator,” and the front-office roles are split across Medical Secretaries, Receptionists and Office Clerks. Employment and median wage are annual figures. BLS does not publish this industry table at state or metro level, so there is no state version of it.
Across all occupations BLS projects 3.5% growth from 2025 to 2035, so both chairside roles beat the market. The rest of the dental picture is mixed: general dentists +5.7% (141,900 to 150,000, about 4,200 openings a year) and dental laboratory technicians −5.9% (34,400 to 32,300) as lab work moves to digital workflows and offshore production.
The eight largest of 1,467 CODA-accredited programs in the United States. Directory pulled 10 September 2026; CODA's index was last updated 9 September 2026.
Who Owns & Visits Dental Practices
16.1% of U.S. dentists were affiliated with a dental support organization in 2024. That single number hides the real story: DSO affiliation is overwhelmingly a career-stage phenomenon, not an industry-wide one.
DSO affiliation ranges from 26.9% in Colorado to 2.3% in Hawaii, with North Dakota (2.9%), South Dakota (4.3%) and Alaska (4.4%) at the bottom. State dental practice acts and ownership rules are part of the reason the spread is this wide — where you practice changes what employment even looks like.
Dental Salaries by Role
National medians from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 — the same figures our salary pages publish, not a separate set. The bar is the 25th-to-90th-percentile range; the notch is the median. Click any role for percentiles, comp structure and state-by-state pay.
| Role | BLS series measured inside dental offices | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Dental Office Manager | First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers (43-1011) | $63,910 |
| Dental Billing Coordinator | Billing and Posting Clerks (43-3021) | $51,910 |
| Treatment Coordinator | Nearest measured series — Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants (43-6013) | $47,990 |
| Dental Front Desk | Receptionists and Information Clerks (43-4171) | $46,500 |
There is no BLS occupation for a dental office manager, a treatment coordinator, a billing coordinator or a front-desk coordinator. What exists is the wage of the BLS occupation those people are reported under inside Offices of Dentists (NAICS 621200), May 2025. Treat these as the closest official series, not as a measurement of the job title. Office managers have a second, higher tier: Medical and Health Services Managers (11-9111) inside dental offices had a median of $78,050. For a survey that asks by job title instead, the DentalPost 2026 Dental Industry Salary Report puts pooled front-office professionals at a $61,000 median (n=365, 70% of them practice managers, 2025 income).
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions the sourced data on this page can actually answer — nothing beyond it.
01How many dental practices are in the U.S.?
There were 136,040 private-sector dental practice establishments in the United States in 2024, the annual average from the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages for NAICS 6212, Offices of Dentists. That is up from 131,976 in 2019. Growth has been slow and steady: the published year-over-year change has been between 0.1% and 1.3% in every year since 2019.
02How many dentists are there in the U.S.?
The ADA Health Policy Institute counts 205,088 professionally active dentists as of 2025, or 60.0 dentists per 100,000 people. About 21.2% report an ADA-recognized specialty and 39.4% are women. Supply per capita varies widely by state, from 100.9 per 100,000 in the District of Columbia to 40.6 in Alabama.
03How many people work in dental offices?
BLS counted 1,054,930 jobs inside Offices of Dentists (NAICS 621200) in May 2025. Dental assistants are the single largest occupation at 354,900 jobs (33.6% of the industry), followed by dental hygienists at 211,560 (20.1%) and general dentists at 111,880 (10.6%). The median wage across all occupations in dental offices was $58,300.
04How much does the U.S. spend on dental care?
U.S. dental services expenditures were $189.2 billion in 2024, up 6.6% from 2023, according to the CMS National Health Expenditure Accounts. Private health insurance paid $78.2 billion (41.3%) and patients paid $72.5 billion (38.3%) out of pocket. Dental services were 3.6% of the $5,278.6 billion the country spent on health care in 2024.
05Are dental jobs growing?
Yes, faster than the labor market as a whole. BLS projects dental hygienist employment to grow 8.0% and dental assistant employment 7.4% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations. BLS puts average annual openings at about 53,000 for dental assistants and 15,000 for dental hygienists, most of them replacement openings rather than newly created jobs.
06How many dentists work for a DSO?
16.1% of U.S. dentists were affiliated with a dental support organization in 2024, per the ADA Health Policy Institute. Affiliation is heavily skewed by career stage: 26.5% of dentists within 10 years of dental school are DSO-affiliated, against 9.1% of those more than 25 years out. By state it ranges from 26.9% in Colorado to 2.3% in Hawaii.
07How often do Americans go to the dentist?
45.0% of the U.S. population had a dental visit in 2022, per ADA Health Policy Institute analysis of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Children (52.2%) and seniors (51.5%) go more often than working-age adults (40.2%). Cost is the binding constraint: 13% of the population reported a cost barrier to dental care in 2023, against 4–5% for other health care services.