2026 dental access report card
Dental access in Michigan
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
15th of 51
87.1 dentists per 100k people (national: 80.2)
Pediatric access rank
46th of 51
8.7 pediatric dentists per 100k children (national: 14.9)
Pediatric desert
Michigan sits in the bottom ten states for pediatric dental access, with roughly one pediatric dentist for every 11,464 children. Families here often rely on general dentists for kids' care, and the right pediatric specialist may be a city or two away.
8,829
Registered dentists
6,444
Practice addresses
502
Cities and towns
13.5%
Specialist share
Specialty coverage
Dentists in Michigan by primary registered specialty, with the per-100k rate next to the national rate.
| Specialty | Dentists | Per 100k | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentistry | 184 | 1.8 | 3.2 |
| Orthodontics | 335 | 3.3 | 4 |
| Oral surgery | 253 | 2.5 | 2.7 |
| Endodontics | 178 | 1.8 | 2 |
| Periodontics | 166 | 1.6 | 1.9 |
| Prosthodontics | 80 | 0.8 | 1.1 |
Where Michigan's dentists concentrate
| City | Dentists | Pediatric |
|---|---|---|
| Ann Arbor | 622 | 16 |
| Detroit | 393 | 8 |
| Grand Rapids | 365 | 14 |
| Dearborn | 201 | 5 |
| Livonia | 200 | 2 |
frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in Michigan?
Michigan has 8,829 NPI-registered dentists practicing at 6,444 addresses in 502 cities and towns, per the federal NPPES registry (October 2026). That is 87.1 dentists per 100,000 residents, against a national rate of 80.2.
How does Michigan rank for dental access?
Michigan ranks 15th of 51 for dentists per capita in the U.S. Dental Access Report 2026. For pediatric access it ranks 46th of 51, with 8.7 pediatric dentists per 100,000 children.
How many pediatric dentists does Michigan have?
Michigan has 184 NPI-registered pediatric dentists, roughly one for every 11,464 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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