2026 metro dental report
Dental care in Birmingham, AL, by the numbers
How many dentists the 1,192,583 people of the Birmingham, AL 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
32nd of 50
77.5 dentists per 100k residents (U.S.: 80.2)
Pediatric access
17th of 50
18.6 pediatric dentists per 100k children (U.S.: 14.9)
924
Registered dentists
705
Practice addresses
24.1%
Specialists
7
Counties
Key findings
- Birmingham, AL has 924 registered dentists for 1,192,583 residents: 77.5 per 100,000 people, 3% below the national rate of 80.2. That ranks 32nd of the 50 largest U.S. metros.
- Where you live inside the metro matters. Jefferson County has 98.7 dentists per 100,000 residents; Blount County has 15. That is a 6.6x gap within one metro area.
- There is one pediatric dentist for every 5,381 children here (18.6 per 100,000 kids, 25% above the national rate).
- 118 dentists now practicing here received their NPI in 2023 to 2025, 9.9 per 100,000 residents (national: 6).
- 35.8% of Birmingham, AL's registered dentists are women, against 35.8% nationally.
- In 2025, 46.5% of the metro's dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company, $247,000 in total. For most it was small: 69% received nothing but meals, and the typical recipient got $100 for the year. The top 10% of recipients took 79% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County | 664,744 | 656 | 98.7 | 21.2 |
| Shelby County | 235,969 | 177 | 75 | 28.7 |
| St. Clair County | 96,927 | 34 | 35.1 | 0 |
| Walker County | 65,260 | 31 | 47.5 | 13.1 |
| Blount County | 60,163 | 9 | 15 | 7.3 |
| Chilton County | 47,262 | 12 | 25.4 | 0 |
| Bibb County | 22,258 | 5 | 22.5 | 0 |
Specialists
Dentists whose primary registered specialty is one of the six below, with the national rate for comparison.
| Specialty | Dentists | Birmingham, AL rate | U.S. rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentists | 50 | 18.6 per 100k children | 14.9 |
| Orthodontists | 64 | 5.4 per 100k residents | 4 |
| Oral surgeons | 39 | 3.3 per 100k residents | 2.7 |
| Periodontists | 25 | 2.1 per 100k residents | 1.9 |
| Endodontists | 26 | 2.2 per 100k residents | 2 |
| Prosthodontists | 19 | 1.6 per 100k residents | 1.1 |
Who is practicing
35.8%
Women (U.S.: 35.8%)
118
New NPIs, 2023 to 2025
12.8%
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 Birmingham, AL ranks 2nd 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, 430 Birmingham, AL dentists (46.5%) received at least one payment, $247,037 in all. 69% of them received only meals; the top 10% of recipients took 79% 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 Birmingham, AL dentists, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Align Technology | $123,211 |
| Solventum | $19,911 |
| Straumann USA | $16,897 |
| Peter Brasseler Holdings | $9,994 |
| Dentsply Sirona | $9,982 |
Where Birmingham, AL's dentists practice
The cities in the metro with the most registered dentists. Each links to the practices there.
- Birmingham446 dentists
- Hoover68 dentists
- Bessemer67 dentists
- Jasper26 dentists
- Alabaster22 dentists
- Vestavia21 dentists
- Homewood20 dentists
- Gardendale20 dentists
- Vestavia Hills20 dentists
- Trussville16 dentists
Frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in the Birmingham, AL area?
The Birmingham, AL metro area has 924 dentists registered in the federal NPI registry, about 77.5 per 100,000 residents, or one for every 1,291 people. The U.S. rate is 80.2 per 100,000.
Which part of Birmingham, AL has the fewest dentists per person?
Among counties with at least 50,000 residents, Blount County has the fewest: 15 dentists per 100,000 people. Jefferson County has the most, at 98.7.
How many pediatric dentists does Birmingham, AL have?
50 dentists in the metro register pediatric dentistry as their primary specialty, roughly one for every 5,381 children. Nationally the figure is one for every 6,705 children.
Do dentists in Birmingham, AL get paid by dental companies?
Federal Open Payments data shows 46.5% of Birmingham, AL's registered dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company in 2025, $247,000 in total. 69% of those recipients received only meals. You can look up any individual dentist at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Metro = the Birmingham, AL 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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