Only 34.9% of dentists are confident in the economic conditions of the U.S. for the next six months, down from over 50% in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the American Dental Association.
The Economic Outlook and Emerging Issues in Dentistry survey from the first quarter of 2025, created by the ADA’s Health Policy Institute, found that dentists were much less confident in the economic state of their dental practice, the dental sector and the U.S. economy compared to last quarter.
The results were the lowest confidence level dentists had in the economy since the third quarter of 2023.
The report polled 738 dentists in private practice.
Here is the percentage of dentists that are “very” or “somewhat” confident in the economic conditions in the next six months, compared to the last quarter of 2024:
Your particular dental practice
First quarter of 2025: 54.5%
Last quarter of 2024: 67.5%
The dental care sector
First quarter of 2025: 45.8%
Last quarter of 2024: 62.6%
The U.S. economy
First quarter of 2025: 34.9%
Last quarter of 2024: 56.3%