2026 dental access report card
Dental access in Arkansas
From the U.S. Dental Access Report 2026 by Pete Johnson, founder of dentalist.ai. Source: federal NPPES registry (October 2026) and Census Vintage 2024 estimates. Updated October 21, 2026.
Overall access rank
51st of 51
52.3 dentists per 100k people (national: 80.2)
Pediatric access rank
43rd of 51
9.5 pediatric dentists per 100k children (national: 14.9)
Pediatric desert
Arkansas sits in the bottom ten states for pediatric dental access, with roughly one pediatric dentist for every 10,475 children. Families here often rely on general dentists for kids' care, and the right pediatric specialist may be a city or two away.
1,615
Registered dentists
1,524
Practice addresses
161
Cities and towns
15.2%
Specialist share
Specialty coverage
Dentists in Arkansas by primary registered specialty, with the per-100k rate next to the national rate.
| Specialty | Dentists | Per 100k | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentistry | 67 | 2.2 | 3.2 |
| Orthodontics | 75 | 2.4 | 4 |
| Oral surgery | 44 | 1.4 | 2.7 |
| Endodontics | 22 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Periodontics | 21 | 0.7 | 1.9 |
| Prosthodontics | 17 | 0.6 | 1.1 |
Where Arkansas's dentists concentrate
| City | Dentists | Pediatric |
|---|---|---|
| Little Rock | 227 | 14 |
| Fayetteville | 119 | 8 |
| Fort Smith | 97 | 4 |
| Rogers | 91 | 2 |
| Jonesboro | 83 | 5 |
frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in Arkansas?
Arkansas has 1,615 NPI-registered dentists practicing at 1,524 addresses in 161 cities and towns, per the federal NPPES registry (October 2026). That is 52.3 dentists per 100,000 residents, against a national rate of 80.2.
How does Arkansas rank for dental access?
Arkansas ranks 51st of 51 for dentists per capita in the U.S. Dental Access Report 2026. For pediatric access it ranks 43rd of 51, with 9.5 pediatric dentists per 100,000 children.
How many pediatric dentists does Arkansas have?
Arkansas has 67 NPI-registered pediatric dentists, roughly one for every 10,475 children in the state. The national average is one for every 6,705 children.
Counts are individual dentists' NPI registrations from the federal NPPES registry (October 2026), with deactivated registrations removed; they are not licensure data and can include dentists who have retired. Denominators: Census Vintage 2024 estimates. Full methodology in the national report.
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