2026 metro dental report
Dental care in Fresno, by the numbers
How many dentists the 1,189,557 people of the Fresno 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
43rd of 50
70.4 dentists per 100k residents (U.S.: 80.2)
Pediatric access
50th of 50
5 pediatric dentists per 100k children (U.S.: 14.9)
838
Registered dentists
705
Practice addresses
13.7%
Specialists
2
Counties
Key findings
- Fresno has 838 registered dentists for 1,189,557 residents: 70.4 per 100,000 people, 12% below the national rate of 80.2. That ranks 43rd of the 50 largest U.S. metros.
- There is one pediatric dentist for every 20,138 children here (5 per 100,000 kids, 66% below the national rate).
- 92 dentists now practicing here received their NPI in 2023 to 2025, 7.7 per 100,000 residents (national: 6).
- 34.8% of Fresno's registered dentists are women, against 35.8% nationally.
- In 2025, 39.4% of the metro's dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company, $207,000 in total. For most it was small: 68% received nothing but meals, and the typical recipient got $97 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresno County | 1,024,125 | 739 | 72.2 | 5.8 |
| Madera County | 165,432 | 99 | 59.8 | 0 |
Specialists
Dentists whose primary registered specialty is one of the six below, with the national rate for comparison.
| Specialty | Dentists | Fresno rate | U.S. rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentists | 16 | 5 per 100k children | 14.9 |
| Orthodontists | 35 | 2.9 per 100k residents | 4 |
| Oral surgeons | 27 | 2.3 per 100k residents | 2.7 |
| Periodontists | 11 | 0.9 per 100k residents | 1.9 |
| Endodontists | 22 | 1.8 per 100k residents | 2 |
| Prosthodontists | 4 | 0.3 per 100k residents | 1.1 |
Who is practicing
34.8%
Women (U.S.: 35.8%)
92
New NPIs, 2023 to 2025
11%
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 Fresno ranks 13th 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, 330 Fresno dentists (39.4%) received at least one payment, $207,494 in all. 68% 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 Fresno dentists, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Straumann USA | $69,128 |
| Dentsply Sirona Orthodontics | $35,511 |
| Envista Holdings | $25,899 |
| Dentsply Sirona | $20,472 |
| Ultradent Products | $8,617 |
Where Fresno's dentists practice
The cities in the metro with the most registered dentists. Each links to the practices there.
- Fresno555 dentists
- Madera76 dentists
- Clovis74 dentists
- Reedley18 dentists
- Selma17 dentists
- Sanger16 dentists
- Parlier13 dentists
- Chowchilla10 dentists
- Oakhurst9 dentists
- Mendota9 dentists
Frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in the Fresno area?
The Fresno, CA metro area has 838 dentists registered in the federal NPI registry, about 70.4 per 100,000 residents, or one for every 1,420 people. The U.S. rate is 80.2 per 100,000.
Which part of Fresno 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 Fresno have?
16 dentists in the metro register pediatric dentistry as their primary specialty, roughly one for every 20,138 children. Nationally the figure is one for every 6,705 children.
Do dentists in Fresno get paid by dental companies?
Federal Open Payments data shows 39.4% of Fresno's registered dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company in 2025, $207,000 in total. 68% of those recipients received only meals. You can look up any individual dentist at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Metro = the Fresno, CA 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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