2026 metro dental report
Dental care in Columbus, OH, by the numbers
How many dentists the 2,225,377 people of the Columbus, OH 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
25th of 50
83 dentists per 100k residents (U.S.: 80.2)
Pediatric access
13th of 50
20 pediatric dentists per 100k children (U.S.: 14.9)
1,846
Registered dentists
1,203
Practice addresses
22%
Specialists
10
Counties
Key findings
- Columbus, OH has 1,846 registered dentists for 2,225,377 residents: 83 per 100,000 people, 3% above the national rate of 80.2. That ranks 25th of the 50 largest U.S. metros.
- Where you live inside the metro matters. Franklin County has 102.4 dentists per 100,000 residents; Union County has 37.6. That is a 2.7x gap within one metro area.
- There is one pediatric dentist for every 5,001 children here (20 per 100,000 kids, 34% above the national rate).
- 194 dentists now practicing here received their NPI in 2023 to 2025, 8.7 per 100,000 residents (national: 6).
- 38.5% of Columbus, OH's registered dentists are women, against 35.8% nationally.
- In 2025, 34.7% of the metro's dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company, $261,000 in total. For most it was small: 65% received nothing but meals, and the typical recipient got $66 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin County | 1,356,303 | 1,389 | 102.4 | 27.6 |
| Delaware County | 237,966 | 159 | 66.8 | 15.9 |
| Licking County | 184,898 | 75 | 40.6 | 2.4 |
| Fairfield County | 167,762 | 114 | 68 | 12.7 |
| Union County | 71,721 | 27 | 37.6 | 0 |
| Pickaway County | 62,158 | 32 | 51.5 | 0 |
| Madison County | 45,531 | 19 | 41.7 | 11.3 |
| Morrow County | 35,927 | 16 | 44.5 | 0 |
| Perry County | 35,682 | 12 | 33.6 | 0 |
| Hocking County | 27,429 | 3 | 10.9 | 0 |
Specialists
Dentists whose primary registered specialty is one of the six below, with the national rate for comparison.
| Specialty | Dentists | Columbus, OH rate | U.S. rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentists | 102 | 20 per 100k children | 14.9 |
| Orthodontists | 92 | 4.1 per 100k residents | 4 |
| Oral surgeons | 60 | 2.7 per 100k residents | 2.7 |
| Periodontists | 54 | 2.4 per 100k residents | 1.9 |
| Endodontists | 48 | 2.2 per 100k residents | 2 |
| Prosthodontists | 50 | 2.2 per 100k residents | 1.1 |
Who is practicing
38.5%
Women (U.S.: 35.8%)
194
New NPIs, 2023 to 2025
10.5%
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 Columbus, OH ranks 7th 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, 641 Columbus, OH dentists (34.7%) received at least one payment, $261,077 in all. 65% 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 Columbus, OH dentists, 2025 |
|---|---|
| ZimVie | $50,686 |
| Envista Holdings | $39,959 |
| Straumann USA | $34,589 |
| Dentsply Sirona | $19,359 |
| Align Technology | $17,962 |
Where Columbus, OH's dentists practice
The cities in the metro with the most registered dentists. Each links to the practices there.
- Columbus909 dentists
- Westerville104 dentists
- Dublin91 dentists
- Worthington65 dentists
- Hilliard63 dentists
- Reynoldsburg55 dentists
- Lancaster53 dentists
- Gahanna51 dentists
- Grove City47 dentists
- Delaware41 dentists
Frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in the Columbus, OH area?
The Columbus, OH metro area has 1,846 dentists registered in the federal NPI registry, about 83 per 100,000 residents, or one for every 1,206 people. The U.S. rate is 80.2 per 100,000.
Which part of Columbus, OH has the fewest dentists per person?
Among counties with at least 50,000 residents, Union County has the fewest: 37.6 dentists per 100,000 people. Franklin County has the most, at 102.4.
How many pediatric dentists does Columbus, OH have?
102 dentists in the metro register pediatric dentistry as their primary specialty, roughly one for every 5,001 children. Nationally the figure is one for every 6,705 children.
Do dentists in Columbus, OH get paid by dental companies?
Federal Open Payments data shows 34.7% of Columbus, OH's registered dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company in 2025, $261,000 in total. 65% of those recipients received only meals. You can look up any individual dentist at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Metro = the Columbus, OH 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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