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2026 dental access report card
From the U.S. Dental Access Report 2026 by Pete Johnson, founder of dentalist.ai. Source: federal NPPES registry (May 2026) and Census ACS 2024 estimates.
Overall access rank
6th of 51
110.8 providers per 100k people (national: 88.7)
Pediatric access rank
27th of 51
17.9 pediatric providers per 100k children (national: 17.3)
43,672
Registered providers
32,954
Practice locations
876
Cities and towns
18.9%
Specialist share
NPI-registered specialists in California, with the per-100k rate next to the national rate.
| Specialty | Providers | Per 100k | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentistry | 1,503 | 3.8 | 3.7 |
| Orthodontics | 2,539 | 6.4 | 5.4 |
| Oral surgery | 1,740 | 4.4 | 4.1 |
| Endodontics | 1,343 | 3.4 | 2.6 |
| Periodontics | 1,238 | 3.1 | 2.5 |
| Prosthodontics | 575 | 1.5 | 1.3 |
| City | Providers | Pediatric |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 2,755 | 78 |
| San Diego | 1,704 | 66 |
| San Francisco | 1,506 | 48 |
| San Jose | 1,211 | 24 |
| Sacramento | 834 | 25 |
California has 43,672 NPI-registered dental providers across 32,954 unique practice locations in 876 cities and towns, per the May 2026 federal NPPES registry. That is 110.8 providers per 100,000 residents, against a national rate of 88.7.
California ranks 6th of 51 for dental providers per capita in the U.S. Dental Access Report 2026. For pediatric access it ranks 27th of 51, with 17.9 pediatric providers per 100,000 children.
California has 1,503 NPI-registered pediatric dental providers, roughly one for every 5,596 children in the state. The national average is one for every 5,775 children.
Counts are NPI registrations (organizations and individuals) from the May 2026 NPPES vintage, not licensure data, and can include registrants no longer practicing. Denominators: Census ACS 2024 1-year estimates. Full methodology in the national report.
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