The United States needs 11,896 dental professionals to fill shortage areas, according to data from KFF.
The health policy research organization tracks the number of health professional shortage areas in each state every year.
Here is the number of dental professionals needed in each state to remove the health professional shortage area designation:
Florida: 1,304
North Carolina: 664
New York: 659
Illinois: 503
Texas: 475
Arizona: 467
Georgia: 445
California: 419
Missouri: 386
Ohio: 385
Alabama: 377
Tennessee: 368
Maryland: 348
Washington: 344
Pennsylvania: 337
Michigan: 300
Oregon: 288
Louisiana: 282
Wisconsin: 275
South Carolina: 263
Mississippi: 228
Indiana: 224
New Mexico: 223
Virginia: 212
Kentucky: 199
Nevada: 191
Oklahoma: 180
Minnesota: 165
West Virginia: 145
Colorado: 143
Connecticut: 110
Arkansas: 108
Delaware: 97
Kansas: 82
Utah: 77
Iowa: 76
Idaho: 69
Alaska: 60
Maine: 59
Montana: 54
Hawaii: 41
South Dakota: 41
Rhode Island: 23
Massachusetts: 20
New Jersey: 17
North Dakota: 12
New Hampshire: 9
Wyoming: 8
Vermont: 2
Nebraska: 0