2026 metro dental report
Dental care in Nashville, by the numbers
How many dentists the 2,150,553 people of the Nashville 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
37th of 50
73 dentists per 100k residents (U.S.: 80.2)
Pediatric access
11th of 50
21.7 pediatric dentists per 100k children (U.S.: 14.9)
1,570
Registered dentists
1,307
Practice addresses
23.4%
Specialists
14
Counties
Key findings
- Nashville has 1,570 registered dentists for 2,150,553 residents: 73 per 100,000 people, 9% below the national rate of 80.2. That ranks 37th of the 50 largest U.S. metros.
- Where you live inside the metro matters. Williamson County has 98.8 dentists per 100,000 residents; Robertson County has 40.8. That is a 2.4x gap within one metro area.
- There is one pediatric dentist for every 4,607 children here (21.7 per 100,000 kids, 46% above the national rate).
- 132 dentists now practicing here received their NPI in 2023 to 2025, 6.1 per 100,000 residents (national: 6).
- 34.8% of Nashville's registered dentists are women, against 35.8% nationally.
- In 2025, 37.8% of the metro's dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company, $314,000 in total. For most it was small: 63% received nothing but meals, and the typical recipient got $57 for the year. The top 10% of recipients took 79% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davidson County | 729,505 | 681 | 93.4 | 22.7 |
| Rutherford County | 376,996 | 248 | 65.8 | 27.2 |
| Williamson County | 269,136 | 266 | 98.8 | 28.4 |
| Sumner County | 211,721 | 112 | 52.9 | 18.8 |
| Wilson County | 169,948 | 81 | 47.7 | 20.3 |
| Maury County | 113,411 | 82 | 72.3 | 15.6 |
| Robertson County | 78,459 | 32 | 40.8 | 16 |
| Dickson County | 57,641 | 39 | 67.7 | 23.6 |
| Cheatham County | 42,604 | 5 | 11.7 | 0 |
| Macon County | 27,189 | 4 | 14.7 | 0 |
| Hickman County | 25,859 | 6 | 23.2 | 0 |
| Smith County | 20,783 | 6 | 28.9 | 0 |
| Cannon County | 15,142 | 6 | 39.6 | 0 |
| Trousdale County | 12,159 | 2 | 16.4 | 0 |
Specialists
Dentists whose primary registered specialty is one of the six below, with the national rate for comparison.
| Specialty | Dentists | Nashville rate | U.S. rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentists | 105 | 21.7 per 100k children | 14.9 |
| Orthodontists | 91 | 4.2 per 100k residents | 4 |
| Oral surgeons | 78 | 3.6 per 100k residents | 2.7 |
| Periodontists | 31 | 1.4 per 100k residents | 1.9 |
| Endodontists | 48 | 2.2 per 100k residents | 2 |
| Prosthodontists | 15 | 0.7 per 100k residents | 1.1 |
Who is practicing
34.8%
Women (U.S.: 35.8%)
132
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 Nashville ranks 35th 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, 594 Nashville dentists (37.8%) received at least one payment, $313,749 in all. 63% of them received only meals; the top 10% of recipients took 79% 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 Nashville dentists, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Sonendo | $78,377 |
| Align Technology | $58,534 |
| Septodont | $32,816 |
| Straumann USA | $27,859 |
| A-dec | $18,565 |
Where Nashville's dentists practice
The cities in the metro with the most registered dentists. Each links to the practices there.
- Nashville509 dentists
- Murfreesboro155 dentists
- Franklin131 dentists
- Brentwood110 dentists
- Smyrna82 dentists
- Hendersonville75 dentists
- Hermitage48 dentists
- Columbia47 dentists
- Goodlettsville46 dentists
- Madison38 dentists
Frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in the Nashville area?
The Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN metro area has 1,570 dentists registered in the federal NPI registry, about 73 per 100,000 residents, or one for every 1,370 people. The U.S. rate is 80.2 per 100,000.
Which part of Nashville has the fewest dentists per person?
Among counties with at least 50,000 residents, Robertson County has the fewest: 40.8 dentists per 100,000 people. Williamson County has the most, at 98.8.
How many pediatric dentists does Nashville have?
105 dentists in the metro register pediatric dentistry as their primary specialty, roughly one for every 4,607 children. Nationally the figure is one for every 6,705 children.
Do dentists in Nashville get paid by dental companies?
Federal Open Payments data shows 37.8% of Nashville's registered dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company in 2025, $314,000 in total. 63% of those recipients received only meals. You can look up any individual dentist at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Metro = the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 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.
Take the next step
Match with a dentist in Nashville
Tell Dee what matters to you and get matched to Nashville practices that fit, with the reasons shown.