After dentists’ confidence in their dental practice, the dental care sector and the U.S. economy increased for the first two quarters of 2026, it dropped in the third quarter, according to a report from the American Dental Association’s Health Policy Institute.
The ADA’s “The State of the U.S. Dental Economy” update for the third quarter of 2026 surveyed dentists on their economic confidence, which reached its lowest point in multiple years.
The report collected responses from 750 dentists, 704 of whom work in private practice.
About half of dentists are “somewhat” or “very” confident in the economic performance of their own practice, about 40% are confident in the dental care sector and about 26% of dentists are confident in the U.S. economy as a whole.
Nearly 70% of dentists were confident of the economic performance of their practice in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Dentistry always being needed, strong demand, positive economic outlook in general, patient awareness in the value of oral health and economic resilience of the dental sector were the most common reasons why dentists are confident in the dental care sector.
On the other side, low reimbursements, rising practice costs, patients being unable to prioritize dental care, U.S. economic downturn and uncertainty are causing dentists to be skeptical about the dental care sector, the release said.
