2026 metro dental report
Dental care in Houston, by the numbers
How many dentists the 7,796,182 people of the Houston 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
42nd of 50
70.6 dentists per 100k residents (U.S.: 80.2)
Pediatric access
40th of 50
13.1 pediatric dentists per 100k children (U.S.: 14.9)
5,503
Registered dentists
5,130
Practice addresses
19.4%
Specialists
10
Counties
Key findings
- Houston has 5,503 registered dentists for 7,796,182 residents: 70.6 per 100,000 people, 12% below the national rate of 80.2. That ranks 42nd of the 50 largest U.S. metros.
- Where you live inside the metro matters. Harris County has 78.1 dentists per 100,000 residents; Waller County has 23. That is a 3.4x gap within one metro area.
- There is one pediatric dentist for every 7,614 children here (13.1 per 100,000 kids, 12% below the national rate).
- 409 dentists now practicing here received their NPI in 2023 to 2025, 5.2 per 100,000 residents (national: 6).
- 46% of Houston's registered dentists are women, against 35.8% nationally.
- In 2025, 43.2% of the metro's dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company, $1.3 million in total. For most it was small: 73% received nothing but meals, and the typical recipient got $66 for the year. The top 10% of recipients took 85% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris County | 5,009,302 | 3,911 | 78.1 | 14.4 |
| Fort Bend County | 958,434 | 630 | 65.7 | 15.3 |
| Montgomery County | 749,613 | 418 | 55.8 | 11.6 |
| Brazoria County | 413,224 | 251 | 60.7 | 10.7 |
| Galveston County | 367,407 | 216 | 58.8 | 5.9 |
| Liberty County | 115,042 | 31 | 26.9 | 0 |
| Waller County | 65,109 | 15 | 23 | 6.5 |
| Chambers County | 56,179 | 13 | 23.1 | 0 |
| Austin County | 32,546 | 17 | 52.2 | 0 |
| San Jacinto County | 29,326 | 1 | 3.4 | 0 |
Specialists
Dentists whose primary registered specialty is one of the six below, with the national rate for comparison.
| Specialty | Dentists | Houston rate | U.S. rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentists | 260 | 13.1 per 100k children | 14.9 |
| Orthodontists | 285 | 3.7 per 100k residents | 4 |
| Oral surgeons | 162 | 2.1 per 100k residents | 2.7 |
| Periodontists | 132 | 1.7 per 100k residents | 1.9 |
| Endodontists | 122 | 1.6 per 100k residents | 2 |
| Prosthodontists | 104 | 1.3 per 100k residents | 1.1 |
Who is practicing
46%
Women (U.S.: 35.8%)
409
New NPIs, 2023 to 2025
7.4%
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 Houston ranks 41st 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, 2,375 Houston dentists (43.2%) received at least one payment, $1,294,955 in all. 73% of them received only meals; the top 10% of recipients took 85% 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 Houston dentists, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Envista Holdings | $315,278 |
| Align Technology | $190,506 |
| Dentsply Sirona | $92,862 |
| Straumann USA | $58,906 |
| ZimVie | $57,571 |
Where Houston's dentists practice
The cities in the metro with the most registered dentists. Each links to the practices there.
- Houston2,770 dentists
- Katy293 dentists
- Spring240 dentists
- Sugar Land217 dentists
- Cypress148 dentists
- Pearland135 dentists
- Conroe132 dentists
- The Woodlands131 dentists
- Humble115 dentists
- Pasadena115 dentists
Frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in the Houston area?
The Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area has 5,503 dentists registered in the federal NPI registry, about 70.6 per 100,000 residents, or one for every 1,417 people. The U.S. rate is 80.2 per 100,000.
Which part of Houston has the fewest dentists per person?
Among counties with at least 50,000 residents, Waller County has the fewest: 23 dentists per 100,000 people. Harris County has the most, at 78.1.
How many pediatric dentists does Houston have?
260 dentists in the metro register pediatric dentistry as their primary specialty, roughly one for every 7,614 children. Nationally the figure is one for every 6,705 children.
Do dentists in Houston get paid by dental companies?
Federal Open Payments data shows 43.2% of Houston's registered dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company in 2025, $1.3 million in total. 73% of those recipients received only meals. You can look up any individual dentist at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Metro = the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX 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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