Dentists’ confidence in the U.S. economy and the dental sector is significantly lower than a year ago, according to new data from the American Dental Association.
The ADA released its “Economic Outlook and Emerging Issues in Dentistry” report for the fourth quarter of 2025, highlighting key trends and statistics on the workforce, practice operations and financial performance.
The report shows dentists’ confidence about the U.S. economy and the dental care sector during the fourth quarter is much lower compared to the fourth quarter of 2024.
Here is the percentage of dentists who indicated they were “somewhat” or “very” confident in the economy during the fourth quarter of 2024 and 2025:
2024
Their particular dental practice: 67.5%
The dental care sector: 62.6%
The U.S. economy: 56.3%
2025
Their particular dental practice: 53.4%
The dental care sector: 41.1%
The U.S. economy: 32.7%
