2026 metro dental report
Dental care in Indianapolis, by the numbers
How many dentists the 2,174,833 people of the Indianapolis 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
29th of 50
81.2 dentists per 100k residents (U.S.: 80.2)
Pediatric access
19th of 50
18 pediatric dentists per 100k children (U.S.: 14.9)
1,766
Registered dentists
1,354
Practice addresses
22.1%
Specialists
11
Counties
Key findings
- Indianapolis has 1,766 registered dentists for 2,174,833 residents: 81.2 per 100,000 people, in line with the national rate of 80.2. That ranks 29th of the 50 largest U.S. metros.
- Where you live inside the metro matters. Marion County has 101.8 dentists per 100,000 residents; Hancock County has 31.5. That is a 3.2x gap within one metro area.
- There is one pediatric dentist for every 5,564 children here (18 per 100,000 kids, 21% above the national rate).
- 148 dentists now practicing here received their NPI in 2023 to 2025, 6.8 per 100,000 residents (national: 6).
- 39.6% of Indianapolis's registered dentists are women, against 35.8% nationally.
- In 2025, 36.2% of the metro's dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company, $382,000 in total. For most it was small: 59% received nothing but meals, and the typical recipient got $83 for the year. The top 10% of recipients took 82% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion County | 981,628 | 999 | 101.8 | 21.4 |
| Hamilton County | 379,704 | 305 | 80.3 | 27 |
| Hendricks County | 190,629 | 110 | 57.7 | 21.6 |
| Johnson County | 170,614 | 124 | 72.7 | 4.9 |
| Madison County | 134,222 | 86 | 64.1 | 7 |
| Hancock County | 88,810 | 28 | 31.5 | 0 |
| Boone County | 78,773 | 43 | 54.6 | 10.2 |
| Morgan County | 73,825 | 37 | 50.1 | 6.3 |
| Shelby County | 45,654 | 24 | 52.6 | 0 |
| Brown County | 15,650 | 1 | 6.4 | 0 |
| Tipton County | 15,324 | 9 | 58.7 | 0 |
Specialists
Dentists whose primary registered specialty is one of the six below, with the national rate for comparison.
| Specialty | Dentists | Indianapolis rate | U.S. rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentists | 94 | 18 per 100k children | 14.9 |
| Orthodontists | 99 | 4.6 per 100k residents | 4 |
| Oral surgeons | 74 | 3.4 per 100k residents | 2.7 |
| Periodontists | 43 | 2 per 100k residents | 1.9 |
| Endodontists | 43 | 2 per 100k residents | 2 |
| Prosthodontists | 37 | 1.7 per 100k residents | 1.1 |
Who is practicing
39.6%
Women (U.S.: 35.8%)
148
New NPIs, 2023 to 2025
8.4%
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 Indianapolis ranks 22nd 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, 639 Indianapolis dentists (36.2%) received at least one payment, $382,495 in all. 59% of them received only meals; the top 10% of recipients took 82% 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 Indianapolis dentists, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Straumann USA | $111,168 |
| Align Technology | $50,352 |
| Teleflex | $36,516 |
| Stryker | $28,108 |
| Kyowa Kirin | $22,878 |
Where Indianapolis's dentists practice
The cities in the metro with the most registered dentists. Each links to the practices there.
- Indianapolis1,011 dentists
- Carmel127 dentists
- Greenwood93 dentists
- Fishers87 dentists
- Anderson66 dentists
- Noblesville54 dentists
- Avon36 dentists
- Zionsville32 dentists
- Plainfield27 dentists
- Brownsburg21 dentists
Frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in the Indianapolis area?
The Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN metro area has 1,766 dentists registered in the federal NPI registry, about 81.2 per 100,000 residents, or one for every 1,232 people. The U.S. rate is 80.2 per 100,000.
Which part of Indianapolis has the fewest dentists per person?
Among counties with at least 50,000 residents, Hancock County has the fewest: 31.5 dentists per 100,000 people. Marion County has the most, at 101.8.
How many pediatric dentists does Indianapolis have?
94 dentists in the metro register pediatric dentistry as their primary specialty, roughly one for every 5,564 children. Nationally the figure is one for every 6,705 children.
Do dentists in Indianapolis get paid by dental companies?
Federal Open Payments data shows 36.2% of Indianapolis's registered dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company in 2025, $382,000 in total. 59% of those recipients received only meals. You can look up any individual dentist at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Metro = the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, 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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