2026 metro dental report
Dental care in New York, by the numbers
How many dentists the 19,940,274 people of the New York 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
8th of 50
100.7 dentists per 100k residents (U.S.: 80.2)
Pediatric access
3rd of 50
25.3 pediatric dentists per 100k children (U.S.: 14.9)
20,073
Registered dentists
15,136
Practice addresses
23%
Specialists
22
Counties
Key findings
- New York has 20,073 registered dentists for 19,940,274 residents: 100.7 per 100,000 people, 26% above the national rate of 80.2. That ranks 8th of the 50 largest U.S. metros.
- Where you live inside the metro matters. New York County, NY has 205.9 dentists per 100,000 residents; Bronx County, NY has 63.3. That is a 3.3x gap within one metro area.
- There is one pediatric dentist for every 3,956 children here (25.3 per 100,000 kids, 70% above the national rate).
- 1,053 dentists now practicing here received their NPI in 2023 to 2025, 5.3 per 100,000 residents (national: 6).
- 38.4% of New York's registered dentists are women, against 35.8% nationally.
- In 2025, 33.9% of the metro's dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company, $7.1 million in total. For most it was small: 61% received nothing but meals, and the typical recipient got $93 for the year. The top 10% of recipients took 89% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, NY | 2,617,631 | 1,902 | 72.7 | 22.1 |
| Queens County, NY | 2,316,841 | 1,809 | 78.1 | 14.8 |
| New York County, NY | 1,660,664 | 3,420 | 205.9 | 72.1 |
| Suffolk County, NY | 1,535,909 | 1,332 | 86.7 | 25.4 |
| Nassau County, NY | 1,392,438 | 1,825 | 131.1 | 33.8 |
| Bronx County, NY | 1,384,724 | 876 | 63.3 | 21.7 |
| Westchester County, NY | 1,006,447 | 1,160 | 115.3 | 33.1 |
| Bergen County, NJ | 978,641 | 1,385 | 141.5 | 40.7 |
| Middlesex County, NJ | 890,119 | 894 | 100.4 | 21.9 |
| Essex County, NJ | 881,527 | 857 | 97.2 | 17.5 |
| Hudson County, NJ | 736,185 | 555 | 75.4 | 17 |
| Ocean County, NJ | 666,434 | 424 | 63.6 | 12 |
| Monmouth County, NJ | 647,520 | 707 | 109.2 | 28.6 |
| Union County, NJ | 594,160 | 538 | 90.5 | 18 |
| Passaic County, NJ | 526,597 | 418 | 79.4 | 12.9 |
| Morris County, NJ | 523,053 | 627 | 119.9 | 28.2 |
| Richmond County, NY | 498,212 | 344 | 69 | 19.9 |
| Somerset County, NJ | 357,467 | 362 | 101.3 | 20.4 |
| Rockland County, NY | 348,144 | 350 | 100.5 | 16.1 |
| Sussex County, NJ | 147,444 | 102 | 69.2 | 10.5 |
| Hunterdon County, NJ | 131,708 | 119 | 90.4 | 16 |
| Putnam County, NY | 98,409 | 67 | 68.1 | 21.2 |
Specialists
Dentists whose primary registered specialty is one of the six below, with the national rate for comparison.
| Specialty | Dentists | New York rate | U.S. rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentists | 1,045 | 25.3 per 100k children | 14.9 |
| Orthodontists | 1,103 | 5.5 per 100k residents | 4 |
| Oral surgeons | 774 | 3.9 per 100k residents | 2.7 |
| Periodontists | 697 | 3.5 per 100k residents | 1.9 |
| Endodontists | 535 | 2.7 per 100k residents | 2 |
| Prosthodontists | 468 | 2.3 per 100k residents | 1.1 |
Who is practicing
38.4%
Women (U.S.: 35.8%)
1,053
New NPIs, 2023 to 2025
5.2%
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 New York ranks 40th 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, 6,796 New York dentists (33.9%) received at least one payment, $7,131,015 in all. 61% of them received only meals; the top 10% of recipients took 89% 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 New York dentists, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Align Technology | $2,481,070 |
| Milestone Scientific | $1,203,594 |
| Straumann USA | $679,423 |
| Hiossen | $323,117 |
| ZimVie | $299,964 |
Where New York's dentists practice
The cities in the metro with the most registered dentists. Each links to the practices there.
- New York, NY3,355 dentists
- Brooklyn, NY1,893 dentists
- Bronx, NY866 dentists
- Flushing, NY362 dentists
- Staten Island, NY338 dentists
- Newark, NJ248 dentists
- Jersey City, NJ193 dentists
- Forest Hills, NY153 dentists
- Clifton, NJ144 dentists
- Toms River, NJ144 dentists
Frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in the New York area?
The New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area has 20,073 dentists registered in the federal NPI registry, about 100.7 per 100,000 residents, or one for every 993 people. The U.S. rate is 80.2 per 100,000.
Which part of New York has the fewest dentists per person?
Among counties with at least 50,000 residents, Bronx County, NY has the fewest: 63.3 dentists per 100,000 people. New York County, NY has the most, at 205.9.
How many pediatric dentists does New York have?
1,045 dentists in the metro register pediatric dentistry as their primary specialty, roughly one for every 3,956 children. Nationally the figure is one for every 6,705 children.
Do dentists in New York get paid by dental companies?
Federal Open Payments data shows 33.9% of New York's registered dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company in 2025, $7.1 million in total. 61% of those recipients received only meals. You can look up any individual dentist at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Metro = the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ 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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