2026 metro dental report
Dental care in Cincinnati, by the numbers
How many dentists the 2,302,815 people of the Cincinnati 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
48th of 50
64.9 dentists per 100k residents (U.S.: 80.2)
Pediatric access
28th of 50
16.1 pediatric dentists per 100k children (U.S.: 14.9)
1,495
Registered dentists
1,085
Practice addresses
18.4%
Specialists
15
Counties
Key findings
- Cincinnati has 1,495 registered dentists for 2,302,815 residents: 64.9 per 100,000 people, 19% below the national rate of 80.2. That ranks 48th of the 50 largest U.S. metros.
- Where you live inside the metro matters. Hamilton County, OH has 85.6 dentists per 100,000 residents; Dearborn County, IN has 21.4. That is a 4x gap within one metro area.
- There is one pediatric dentist for every 6,216 children here (16.1 per 100,000 kids, 8% above the national rate).
- 117 dentists now practicing here received their NPI in 2023 to 2025, 5.1 per 100,000 residents (national: 6).
- 33% of Cincinnati's registered dentists are women, against 35.8% nationally.
- In 2025, 31.9% of the metro's dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company, $174,000 in total. For most it was small: 60% received nothing but meals, and the typical recipient got $60 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton County, OH | 837,359 | 717 | 85.6 | 25.3 |
| Butler County, OH | 399,542 | 231 | 57.8 | 13.2 |
| Warren County, OH | 256,059 | 127 | 49.6 | 5 |
| Clermont County, OH | 214,123 | 107 | 50 | 13 |
| Kenton County, KY | 174,862 | 99 | 56.6 | 17.6 |
| Boone County, KY | 144,135 | 107 | 74.2 | 16.7 |
| Campbell County, KY | 94,008 | 59 | 62.8 | 10.6 |
| Dearborn County, IN | 51,435 | 11 | 21.4 | 0 |
| Brown County, OH | 44,292 | 13 | 29.4 | 0 |
| Grant County, KY | 25,722 | 11 | 42.8 | 0 |
| Franklin County, IN | 23,136 | 4 | 17.3 | 0 |
| Pendleton County, KY | 14,844 | 3 | 20.2 | 0 |
| Gallatin County, KY | 8,805 | 1 | 11.4 | 0 |
| Bracken County, KY | 8,497 | 3 | 35.3 | 0 |
| Ohio County, IN | 5,996 | 2 | 33.4 | 0 |
Specialists
Dentists whose primary registered specialty is one of the six below, with the national rate for comparison.
| Specialty | Dentists | Cincinnati rate | U.S. rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentists | 84 | 16.1 per 100k children | 14.9 |
| Orthodontists | 73 | 3.2 per 100k residents | 4 |
| Oral surgeons | 51 | 2.2 per 100k residents | 2.7 |
| Periodontists | 34 | 1.5 per 100k residents | 1.9 |
| Endodontists | 26 | 1.1 per 100k residents | 2 |
| Prosthodontists | 7 | 0.3 per 100k residents | 1.1 |
Who is practicing
33%
Women (U.S.: 35.8%)
117
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 Cincinnati ranks 42nd 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, 477 Cincinnati dentists (31.9%) received at least one payment, $173,907 in all. 60% 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 Cincinnati dentists, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Align Technology | $61,945 |
| Nusmile | $20,733 |
| Envista Holdings | $20,233 |
| Ultradent Products | $13,719 |
| Straumann USA | $8,162 |
Where Cincinnati's dentists practice
The cities in the metro with the most registered dentists. Each links to the practices there.
- Cincinnati, OH670 dentists
- Florence, KY79 dentists
- West Chester, OH76 dentists
- Fairfield, OH49 dentists
- Mason, OH45 dentists
- Hamilton, OH43 dentists
- Middletown, OH41 dentists
- Loveland, OH30 dentists
- Milford, OH30 dentists
- Lebanon, OH24 dentists
Frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in the Cincinnati area?
The Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN metro area has 1,495 dentists registered in the federal NPI registry, about 64.9 per 100,000 residents, or one for every 1,540 people. The U.S. rate is 80.2 per 100,000.
Which part of Cincinnati has the fewest dentists per person?
Among counties with at least 50,000 residents, Dearborn County, IN has the fewest: 21.4 dentists per 100,000 people. Hamilton County, OH has the most, at 85.6.
How many pediatric dentists does Cincinnati have?
84 dentists in the metro register pediatric dentistry as their primary specialty, roughly one for every 6,216 children. Nationally the figure is one for every 6,705 children.
Do dentists in Cincinnati get paid by dental companies?
Federal Open Payments data shows 31.9% of Cincinnati's registered dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company in 2025, $174,000 in total. 60% of those recipients received only meals. You can look up any individual dentist at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Metro = the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 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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