2026 metro dental report
Dental care in Baltimore, by the numbers
How many dentists the 2,859,024 people of the Baltimore 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
23rd of 50
84.5 dentists per 100k residents (U.S.: 80.2)
Pediatric access
20th of 50
17.8 pediatric dentists per 100k children (U.S.: 14.9)
2,415
Registered dentists
1,780
Practice addresses
21.4%
Specialists
7
Counties
Key findings
- Baltimore has 2,415 registered dentists for 2,859,024 residents: 84.5 per 100,000 people, 5% above the national rate of 80.2. That ranks 23rd of the 50 largest U.S. metros.
- There is one pediatric dentist for every 5,604 children here (17.8 per 100,000 kids, 19% above the national rate).
- 188 dentists now practicing here received their NPI in 2023 to 2025, 6.6 per 100,000 residents (national: 6).
- 40.7% of Baltimore's registered dentists are women, against 35.8% nationally.
- In 2025, 34.4% of the metro's dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company, $676,000 in total. For most it was small: 62% received nothing but meals, and the typical recipient got $99 for the year. The top 10% of recipients took 87% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore County | 852,425 | 737 | 86.5 | 16.3 |
| Anne Arundel County | 602,350 | 503 | 83.5 | 15.8 |
| Baltimore city | 568,271 | 530 | 93.3 | 23.7 |
| Howard County | 339,668 | 330 | 97.2 | 25.5 |
| Harford County | 265,514 | 180 | 67.8 | 13.7 |
| Carroll County | 177,108 | 107 | 60.4 | 2.6 |
| Queen Anne's County | 53,688 | 28 | 52.2 | 27.1 |
Specialists
Dentists whose primary registered specialty is one of the six below, with the national rate for comparison.
| Specialty | Dentists | Baltimore rate | U.S. rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentists | 111 | 17.8 per 100k children | 14.9 |
| Orthodontists | 129 | 4.5 per 100k residents | 4 |
| Oral surgeons | 89 | 3.1 per 100k residents | 2.7 |
| Periodontists | 74 | 2.6 per 100k residents | 1.9 |
| Endodontists | 71 | 2.5 per 100k residents | 2 |
| Prosthodontists | 44 | 1.5 per 100k residents | 1.1 |
Who is practicing
40.7%
Women (U.S.: 35.8%)
188
New NPIs, 2023 to 2025
7.8%
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 Baltimore ranks 27th 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, 830 Baltimore dentists (34.4%) received at least one payment, $675,763 in all. 62% of them received only meals; the top 10% of recipients took 87% 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 Baltimore dentists, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Align Technology | $230,839 |
| Stryker | $129,117 |
| ZimVie | $55,511 |
| Envista Holdings | $37,506 |
| Convergent Dental | $36,419 |
Where Baltimore's dentists practice
The cities in the metro with the most registered dentists. Each links to the practices there.
- Baltimore733 dentists
- Columbia145 dentists
- Annapolis137 dentists
- Towson102 dentists
- Ellicott City100 dentists
- Glen Burnie83 dentists
- Bel Air75 dentists
- Owings Mills72 dentists
- Westminster56 dentists
- Catonsville55 dentists
Frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in the Baltimore area?
The Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area has 2,415 dentists registered in the federal NPI registry, about 84.5 per 100,000 residents, or one for every 1,184 people. The U.S. rate is 80.2 per 100,000.
Which part of Baltimore has the fewest dentists per person?
Dentist density is fairly even across the metro's large counties. The full county table on this page shows each one.
How many pediatric dentists does Baltimore have?
111 dentists in the metro register pediatric dentistry as their primary specialty, roughly one for every 5,604 children. Nationally the figure is one for every 6,705 children.
Do dentists in Baltimore get paid by dental companies?
Federal Open Payments data shows 34.4% of Baltimore's registered dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company in 2025, $676,000 in total. 62% of those recipients received only meals. You can look up any individual dentist at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Metro = the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 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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