How the dental workforce’s age mix has shifted since 2001: 5 stats to know

Dentists ages 45 to 54 made up the largest share of the U.S. dental workforce in 2001. In 2025, they accounted for less than a quarter of it, as the profession has grown both younger and older at the same time, according to data from the American Dental Association.

The ADA’s Health Policy Institute data shows how the workforce’s age mix has changed over nearly 25 years, a shift driven in part by the growing share of female dentists in the industry.

Here are five stats to know on how the age of dentists working in dentistry has shifted from 2001 to 2025:

1. Mid-career dentists lost nearly 10 percentage points of share. Dentists ages 45 to 54 went from 31.9% of the workforce in 2001, the largest age group at the time, to 22.5% in 2025. The drop is concentrated among male dentists: Their 45-to-54 share fell from 33.7% to 22.4%, while the share among female dentists barely moved (23% vs. 23.1%).
2. The largest age group changed twice. Dentists ages 55 to 64 were the largest group from 2010 to 2017, peaking at 26.1% in 2011. They have since fallen to 18.6%. Dentists ages 35 to 44 have been the largest group since 2018 and now make up 26.3% of the workforce.
3. The 65-and-older share rose by nearly three-quarters. It grew from 8.7% in 2001 to 15.2% in 2025, after peaking at 16.3% in 2020. The group skews heavily male: 21.2% of male dentists are 65 or older, up from 10.2% in 2001, compared with 6.7% of female dentists.
4. Young dentists recovered their share. Dentists under 45 fell to a low of 37.6% of the workforce in 2010 and now make up 43.8%, above the 2001 level of 41.1%.
5. Female dentists are younger, but they’re aging too. Women grew from 16% of dentists in 2001 to 39.4% in 2025. More than half of female dentists (54.6%) are under 45, compared with 35.5% of male dentists. Still, the share of female dentists 55 or older rose from 4.9% in 2001 to 22.3% in 2025.

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