2026 metro dental report
Dental care in Los Angeles, by the numbers
How many dentists the 12,927,614 people of the Los Angeles 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
4th of 50
112.2 dentists per 100k residents (U.S.: 80.2)
Pediatric access
16th of 50
19.3 pediatric dentists per 100k children (U.S.: 14.9)
14,506
Registered dentists
12,191
Practice addresses
17.2%
Specialists
2
Counties
Key findings
- Los Angeles has 14,506 registered dentists for 12,927,614 residents: 112.2 per 100,000 people, 40% above the national rate of 80.2. That ranks 4th of the 50 largest U.S. metros.
- There is one pediatric dentist for every 5,186 children here (19.3 per 100,000 kids, 30% above the national rate).
- 908 dentists now practicing here received their NPI in 2023 to 2025, 7 per 100,000 residents (national: 6).
- 41.2% of Los Angeles's registered dentists are women, against 35.8% nationally.
- In 2025, 31% of the metro's dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company, $5.2 million in total. For most it was small: 63% received nothing but meals, and the typical recipient got $75 for the year. The top 10% of recipients took 91% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County | 9,757,179 | 10,341 | 106 | 18.4 |
| Orange County | 3,170,435 | 4,165 | 131.4 | 21.9 |
Specialists
Dentists whose primary registered specialty is one of the six below, with the national rate for comparison.
| Specialty | Dentists | Los Angeles rate | U.S. rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentists | 499 | 19.3 per 100k children | 14.9 |
| Orthodontists | 681 | 5.3 per 100k residents | 4 |
| Oral surgeons | 382 | 3 per 100k residents | 2.7 |
| Periodontists | 366 | 2.8 per 100k residents | 1.9 |
| Endodontists | 365 | 2.8 per 100k residents | 2 |
| Prosthodontists | 204 | 1.6 per 100k residents | 1.1 |
Who is practicing
41.2%
Women (U.S.: 35.8%)
908
New NPIs, 2023 to 2025
6.3%
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 Los Angeles ranks 18th 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, 4,502 Los Angeles dentists (31%) received at least one payment, $5,223,397 in all. 63% of them received only meals; the top 10% of recipients took 91% 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 Los Angeles dentists, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Align Technology | $896,974 |
| Straumann USA | $867,096 |
| Tulsa Dental Products | $767,755 |
| Envista Holdings | $296,713 |
| KLS Martin | $290,239 |
Where Los Angeles's dentists practice
The cities in the metro with the most registered dentists. Each links to the practices there.
- Los Angeles2,287 dentists
- Irvine434 dentists
- Torrance427 dentists
- Long Beach377 dentists
- Beverly Hills334 dentists
- Anaheim329 dentists
- Glendale317 dentists
- Santa Ana312 dentists
- Orange297 dentists
- Huntington Beach262 dentists
Frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in the Los Angeles area?
The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area has 14,506 dentists registered in the federal NPI registry, about 112.2 per 100,000 residents, or one for every 891 people. The U.S. rate is 80.2 per 100,000.
Which part of Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles have?
499 dentists in the metro register pediatric dentistry as their primary specialty, roughly one for every 5,186 children. Nationally the figure is one for every 6,705 children.
Do dentists in Los Angeles get paid by dental companies?
Federal Open Payments data shows 31% of Los Angeles's registered dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company in 2025, $5.2 million in total. 63% of those recipients received only meals. You can look up any individual dentist at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Metro = the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, 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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