2026 metro dental report
Dental care in Portland, OR, by the numbers
How many dentists the 2,537,904 people of the Portland, OR 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
15th of 50
95.5 dentists per 100k residents (U.S.: 80.2)
Pediatric access
8th of 50
23.1 pediatric dentists per 100k children (U.S.: 14.9)
2,423
Registered dentists
1,655
Practice addresses
20.2%
Specialists
7
Counties
Key findings
- Portland, OR has 2,423 registered dentists for 2,537,904 residents: 95.5 per 100,000 people, 19% above the national rate of 80.2. That ranks 15th of the 50 largest U.S. metros.
- Where you live inside the metro matters. Multnomah County, OR has 110.2 dentists per 100,000 residents; Columbia County, OR has 55.5. That is a 2x gap within one metro area.
- There is one pediatric dentist for every 4,334 children here (23.1 per 100,000 kids, 55% above the national rate).
- 115 dentists now practicing here received their NPI in 2023 to 2025, 4.5 per 100,000 residents (national: 6).
- 34.5% of Portland, OR's registered dentists are women, against 35.8% nationally.
- In 2025, 33.1% of the metro's dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company, $569,000 in total. For most it was small: 65% received nothing but meals, and the typical recipient got $85 for the year. The top 10% of recipients took 84% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multnomah County, OR | 795,897 | 877 | 110.2 | 32.5 |
| Washington County, OR | 611,272 | 640 | 104.7 | 25.3 |
| Clark County, WA | 527,269 | 398 | 75.5 | 20 |
| Clackamas County, OR | 425,857 | 391 | 91.8 | 17.4 |
| Yamhill County, OR | 110,886 | 76 | 68.5 | 4.5 |
| Columbia County, OR | 54,063 | 30 | 55.5 | 0 |
| Skamania County, WA | 12,660 | 11 | 86.9 | 0 |
Specialists
Dentists whose primary registered specialty is one of the six below, with the national rate for comparison.
| Specialty | Dentists | Portland, OR rate | U.S. rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentists | 115 | 23.1 per 100k children | 14.9 |
| Orthodontists | 123 | 4.8 per 100k residents | 4 |
| Oral surgeons | 83 | 3.3 per 100k residents | 2.7 |
| Periodontists | 63 | 2.5 per 100k residents | 1.9 |
| Endodontists | 76 | 3 per 100k residents | 2 |
| Prosthodontists | 29 | 1.1 per 100k residents | 1.1 |
Who is practicing
34.5%
Women (U.S.: 35.8%)
115
New NPIs, 2023 to 2025
4.7%
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 Portland, OR ranks 46th 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, 802 Portland, OR dentists (33.1%) received at least one payment, $569,080 in all. 65% of them received only meals; the top 10% of recipients took 84% 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 Portland, OR dentists, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Envista Holdings | $93,535 |
| Straumann USA | $86,904 |
| Align Technology | $77,531 |
| Convergent Dental | $60,676 |
| Hiossen | $37,200 |
Where Portland, OR's dentists practice
The cities in the metro with the most registered dentists. Each links to the practices there.
- Portland, OR928 dentists
- Vancouver, WA340 dentists
- Beaverton, OR156 dentists
- Hillsboro, OR130 dentists
- Tigard, OR95 dentists
- Gresham, OR94 dentists
- Oregon City, OR75 dentists
- Lake Oswego, OR67 dentists
- Milwaukie, OR55 dentists
- Clackamas, OR54 dentists
Frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in the Portland, OR area?
The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metro area has 2,423 dentists registered in the federal NPI registry, about 95.5 per 100,000 residents, or one for every 1,047 people. The U.S. rate is 80.2 per 100,000.
Which part of Portland, OR has the fewest dentists per person?
Among counties with at least 50,000 residents, Columbia County, OR has the fewest: 55.5 dentists per 100,000 people. Multnomah County, OR has the most, at 110.2.
How many pediatric dentists does Portland, OR have?
115 dentists in the metro register pediatric dentistry as their primary specialty, roughly one for every 4,334 children. Nationally the figure is one for every 6,705 children.
Do dentists in Portland, OR get paid by dental companies?
Federal Open Payments data shows 33.1% of Portland, OR's registered dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company in 2025, $569,000 in total. 65% of those recipients received only meals. You can look up any individual dentist at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Metro = the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 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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