Dentist-Clients

1. There’s a growing pool of dentists. Currently, there are about 200,000 working dentists in the U.S. but that number is expected to increase given that six CODA-accredited predoctoral programs have opened their doors since 2020, making a total of 72 accredited dental schools in the country. Consequently, enrollment rates as well as the percentage of younger dentists in the workforce are on the rise.

2. More and more dentists will be female. While women still make up only 38% of practicing dentists in the U.S., it’s predicted that the dentist workforce will reach gender parity by 2040, since more women are enrolling in dental school. For example, in 2023, 56% of dental students were women compared to 40 years ago when about 20% of students were female.

3. They’re more likely to work in a group practice. In fact, the percentage of dentists in solo practices has fallen from about 65% in 1999 to about 35% in 2023. “Our latest update shows a continued shift away from solo to groups,” says Dr. Marko Vujicic, Chief Economist and Vice President of the ADA’s HPI. “That trend continues slowly and steadily; it’s not like a revolution. It’s one percent more of dentists per year who shift into those models.”