2026 metro dental report
Dental care in Atlanta, by the numbers
How many dentists the 6,411,149 people of the Atlanta metro have, where they cluster, which specialties run thin, and who is joining the workforce.
Part of the Metro Dental Reports 2026 by Pete Johnson, founder of dentalist.ai. Sources: federal NPPES registry, CMS Open Payments and U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
Dentist access
49th of 50
62.9 dentists per 100k residents (U.S.: 80.2)
Pediatric access
30th of 50
14.8 pediatric dentists per 100k children (U.S.: 14.9)
4,034
Registered dentists
3,450
Practice addresses
21.6%
Specialists
29
Counties
Key findings
- Atlanta has 4,034 registered dentists for 6,411,149 residents: 62.9 per 100,000 people, 22% below the national rate of 80.2. That ranks 49th of the 50 largest U.S. metros.
- Where you live inside the metro matters. Fayette County has 126.3 dentists per 100,000 residents; Newton County has 21. That is a 6x gap within one metro area.
- There is one pediatric dentist for every 6,735 children here (14.8 per 100,000 kids, in line with the national rate).
- 279 dentists now practicing here received their NPI in 2023 to 2025, 4.4 per 100,000 residents (national: 6).
- 40.7% of Atlanta's registered dentists are women, against 35.8% nationally.
- In 2025, 41.9% of the metro's dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company, $1.1 million in total. For most it was small: 63% received nothing but meals, and the typical recipient got $100 for the year. The top 10% of recipients took 80% of the money.
Dentists per person, county by county
Every county in the metro, largest first. Rates for counties under 50,000 people swing on a handful of dentists, so read those loosely.
| County | Population | Dentists | Per 100k | Pediatric per 100k kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fulton County | 1,090,354 | 986 | 90.4 | 22.9 |
| Gwinnett County | 1,003,869 | 662 | 65.9 | 14.6 |
| Cobb County | 787,538 | 636 | 80.8 | 12.8 |
| DeKalb County | 770,307 | 549 | 71.3 | 17.5 |
| Clayton County | 297,703 | 78 | 26.2 | 11.8 |
| Cherokee County | 293,513 | 169 | 57.6 | 26.7 |
| Forsyth County | 280,096 | 124 | 44.3 | 15.9 |
| Henry County | 259,315 | 97 | 37.4 | 4.7 |
| Paulding County | 188,549 | 44 | 23.3 | 8.5 |
| Coweta County | 158,233 | 74 | 46.8 | 5.6 |
| Douglas County | 151,887 | 75 | 49.4 | 24 |
| Carroll County | 129,911 | 53 | 40.8 | 0 |
| Fayette County | 125,107 | 158 | 126.3 | 22.1 |
| Newton County | 124,010 | 26 | 21 | 3.3 |
| Bartow County | 117,508 | 40 | 34 | 30.2 |
| Walton County | 109,792 | 52 | 47.4 | 11.6 |
| Rockdale County | 97,610 | 84 | 86.1 | 13.3 |
| Barrow County | 96,294 | 24 | 24.9 | 0 |
| Spalding County | 70,292 | 28 | 39.8 | 6.2 |
| Pickens County | 36,580 | 12 | 32.8 | 0 |
| Lumpkin County | 36,016 | 7 | 19.4 | 0 |
| Dawson County | 33,748 | 20 | 59.3 | 14.6 |
| Haralson County | 32,404 | 8 | 24.7 | 0 |
| Butts County | 27,127 | 4 | 14.7 | 0 |
| Morgan County | 21,940 | 11 | 50.1 | 0 |
| Meriwether County | 21,439 | 4 | 18.7 | 0 |
| Pike County | 20,669 | 5 | 24.2 | 0 |
| Jasper County | 17,219 | 4 | 23.2 | 0 |
| Heard County | 12,119 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Specialists
Dentists whose primary registered specialty is one of the six below, with the national rate for comparison.
| Specialty | Dentists | Atlanta rate | U.S. rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentists | 218 | 14.8 per 100k children | 14.9 |
| Orthodontists | 252 | 3.9 per 100k residents | 4 |
| Oral surgeons | 159 | 2.5 per 100k residents | 2.7 |
| Periodontists | 99 | 1.5 per 100k residents | 1.9 |
| Endodontists | 93 | 1.5 per 100k residents | 2 |
| Prosthodontists | 52 | 0.8 per 100k residents | 1.1 |
Who is practicing
40.7%
Women (U.S.: 35.8%)
279
New NPIs, 2023 to 2025
6.9%
Share of all dentists (U.S.: 7.5%)
A dentist keeps one NPI for life, so most new NPIs belong to dentists early in their careers. By that measure Atlanta ranks 48th of the 50 largest metros for new dentists per resident.
Industry payments to dentists
Drug, device and dental supply companies must report what they pay dentists to CMS Open Payments. In 2025, 1,692 Atlanta dentists (41.9%) received at least one payment, $1,051,795 in all. 63% of them received only meals; the top 10% of recipients took 80% of the dollars. A payment does not mean anything improper, and you can look up your own dentist at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
| Company | Paid to Atlanta dentists, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Hu-Friedy | $193,856 |
| ZimVie | $182,625 |
| Align Technology | $102,927 |
| Hiossen | $97,642 |
| A-dec | $64,728 |
Where Atlanta's dentists practice
The cities in the metro with the most registered dentists. Each links to the practices there.
- Atlanta727 dentists
- Marietta338 dentists
- Alpharetta158 dentists
- Decatur156 dentists
- Lawrenceville127 dentists
- Cumming123 dentists
- Duluth121 dentists
- Roswell108 dentists
- Suwanee98 dentists
- Norcross93 dentists
Frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in the Atlanta area?
The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area has 4,034 dentists registered in the federal NPI registry, about 62.9 per 100,000 residents, or one for every 1,589 people. The U.S. rate is 80.2 per 100,000.
Which part of Atlanta has the fewest dentists per person?
Among counties with at least 50,000 residents, Newton County has the fewest: 21 dentists per 100,000 people. Fayette County has the most, at 126.3.
How many pediatric dentists does Atlanta have?
218 dentists in the metro register pediatric dentistry as their primary specialty, roughly one for every 6,735 children. Nationally the figure is one for every 6,705 children.
Do dentists in Atlanta get paid by dental companies?
Federal Open Payments data shows 41.9% of Atlanta's registered dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company in 2025, $1.1 million in total. 63% of those recipients received only meals. You can look up any individual dentist at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Metro = the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metropolitan statistical area (OMB 2023 delineation). Dentists are individual NPI registrations with a dental taxonomy in the NPPES registry (October 2026), with deactivated NPIs removed; counts are registry-based, not licensure-based, and can include dentists who have retired. Practices are placed in a county by ZIP code. Population: Census Vintage 2024 estimates. Industry payments: CMS Open Payments, general payments, program year 2025. Full methodology on the report index.
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