There are more than 205,000 dentists working in dentistry in the U.S., according to new data from the American Dental Association’s Health Policy Institute.
General practice is the most common practice area with more than 161,000 dentists, followed by orthodontics with more than 10,000 dentists and pediatric dentistry with more than 9,000 dentists.
The organization counted each dentist toward every practice area for which they hold a certificate or degree.
Here is the breakdown of the number of dentists the ADA tracked across 13 dental specialties:
General practice: 161,733
Orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics: 10,844
Pediatric dentistry: 9,521
Oral and maxillofacial surgery: 7,482
Endodontics: 5,738
Periodontics: 5,480
Prosthodontics: 3,568
Public health dentistry: 722
Oral and maxillofacial pathology: 424
Oral and maxillofacial radiology: 225
Dental anesthesiology: 159
Orofacial pain: 96
Oral medicine: 54
