Over half of first-year dental students in the U.S. are female, according to data from the American Dental Association’s Health Policy Institute.
Overall, 57.4% of first-year students were female, 42.4% were male and 0.2% were another gender or unknown. The ADA used data from its 2023-24 dental education survey.
The gender split was nearly identical at public and private dental schools. At public schools, 57.6% of first-year students were female, compared to 57.2% at private schools.
There are 72 accredited dental schools in the U.S., of which 40 are public and 32 are private, according to the HPI.