The U.S. is short more than 10,000 dentists, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration.
The American Dental Association recently compiled data on the dental workforce. Here are nine statistics to know:
1. There is a shortage of 10,877 dentists in the U.S.
2. There were 202,536 dentists in the U.S. in 2022, up from 165,659 in 2002.
3. There are 60.8 dentists per 100,000 people.
4. The U.S. is projected to have 67 dentists per 100,000 people by 2040.
5. There were 6,745 dental school graduates in 2022, a 7 percent increase since 2018.
6. There were 6,513 first-year students enrolled in dental schools for the 2022-23 academic year, a 4.2 percent increase since the 2018-19 academic year.
7. There were 22 dental schools opened and seven closings in the last 50 years.
8. The share of dentists 55 and older hit a peak of 40 percent between 2013 and 2016.
9. More than 48 percent of dental school graduates in 2021 were male, compared to 51.6 percent of female graduates.