2026 dental access report card
Dental access in South Dakota
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
39th of 51
69.2 dentists per 100k people (national: 80.2)
Pediatric access rank
44th of 51
9.5 pediatric dentists per 100k children (national: 14.9)
Pediatric desert
South Dakota sits in the bottom ten states for pediatric dental access, with roughly one pediatric dentist for every 10,510 children. Families here often rely on general dentists for kids' care, and the right pediatric specialist may be a city or two away.
640
Registered dentists
468
Practice addresses
80
Cities and towns
13.1%
Specialist share
Specialty coverage
Dentists in South Dakota by primary registered specialty, with the per-100k rate next to the national rate.
| Specialty | Dentists | Per 100k | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentistry | 21 | 2.3 | 3.2 |
| Orthodontics | 22 | 2.4 | 4 |
| Oral surgery | 20 | 2.2 | 2.7 |
| Endodontics | 13 | 1.4 | 2 |
| Periodontics | 7 | 0.8 | 1.9 |
| Prosthodontics | 1 | 0.1 | 1.1 |
Where South Dakota's dentists concentrate
| City | Dentists | Pediatric |
|---|---|---|
| Sioux Falls | 173 | 9 |
| Rapid City | 116 | 8 |
| Watertown | 30 | 0 |
| Aberdeen | 26 | 0 |
| Brookings | 18 | 0 |
frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in South Dakota?
South Dakota has 640 NPI-registered dentists practicing at 468 addresses in 80 cities and towns, per the federal NPPES registry (October 2026). That is 69.2 dentists per 100,000 residents, against a national rate of 80.2.
How does South Dakota rank for dental access?
South Dakota ranks 39th of 51 for dentists per capita in the U.S. Dental Access Report 2026. For pediatric access it ranks 44th of 51, with 9.5 pediatric dentists per 100,000 children.
How many pediatric dentists does South Dakota have?
South Dakota has 21 NPI-registered pediatric dentists, roughly one for every 10,510 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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Match with a dentist in South Dakota
Dee reads verified specialty registrations across 468 South Dakota practice addresses and matches you to the one that fits.