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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
24th of 51
86.9 providers per 100k people (national: 88.7)
Pediatric access rank
44th of 51
11.9 pediatric providers per 100k children (national: 17.3)
Pediatric desert
New Mexico sits in the bottom ten states for pediatric dental access, with roughly one pediatric provider for every 8,374 children. Families here often rely on general dentists for kids' care, and the right pediatric specialist may be a city or two away.
1,851
Registered providers
1,329
Practice locations
120
Cities and towns
16.7%
Specialist share
NPI-registered specialists in New Mexico, with the per-100k rate next to the national rate.
| Specialty | Providers | Per 100k | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentistry | 53 | 2.5 | 3.7 |
| Orthodontics | 113 | 5.3 | 5.4 |
| Oral surgery | 62 | 2.9 | 4.1 |
| Endodontics | 43 | 2 | 2.6 |
| Periodontics | 27 | 1.3 | 2.5 |
| Prosthodontics | 16 | 0.8 | 1.3 |
| City | Providers | Pediatric |
|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque | 811 | 19 |
| Santa Fe | 168 | 12 |
| Las Cruces | 141 | 7 |
| Farmington | 101 | 6 |
| Rio Rancho | 83 | 3 |
New Mexico has 1,851 NPI-registered dental providers across 1,329 unique practice locations in 120 cities and towns, per the May 2026 federal NPPES registry. That is 86.9 providers per 100,000 residents, against a national rate of 88.7.
New Mexico ranks 24th of 51 for dental providers per capita in the U.S. Dental Access Report 2026. For pediatric access it ranks 44th of 51, with 11.9 pediatric providers per 100,000 children.
New Mexico has 53 NPI-registered pediatric dental providers, roughly one for every 8,374 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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Match with a dentist in New Mexico
Dee reads verified specialty registrations across 1,329 New Mexico practice locations and matches you to the one that fits.