2026 metro dental report
Dental care in San Diego, by the numbers
How many dentists the 3,298,799 people of the San Diego 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
5th of 50
108.8 dentists per 100k residents (U.S.: 80.2)
Pediatric access
9th of 50
22.6 pediatric dentists per 100k children (U.S.: 14.9)
3,588
Registered dentists
2,802
Practice addresses
20.1%
Specialists
1
County
Key findings
- San Diego has 3,588 registered dentists for 3,298,799 residents: 108.8 per 100,000 people, 36% above the national rate of 80.2. That ranks 5th of the 50 largest U.S. metros.
- There is one pediatric dentist for every 4,418 children here (22.6 per 100,000 kids, 52% above the national rate).
- 210 dentists now practicing here received their NPI in 2023 to 2025, 6.4 per 100,000 residents (national: 6).
- 39.1% of San Diego's registered dentists are women, against 35.8% nationally.
- In 2025, 37.4% of the metro's dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company, $1.4 million in total. For most it was small: 57% received nothing but meals, and the typical recipient got $105 for the year. The top 10% of recipients took 87% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County | 3,298,799 | 3,588 | 108.8 | 22.6 |
Specialists
Dentists whose primary registered specialty is one of the six below, with the national rate for comparison.
| Specialty | Dentists | San Diego rate | U.S. rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentists | 152 | 22.6 per 100k children | 14.9 |
| Orthodontists | 188 | 5.7 per 100k residents | 4 |
| Oral surgeons | 121 | 3.7 per 100k residents | 2.7 |
| Periodontists | 90 | 2.7 per 100k residents | 1.9 |
| Endodontists | 113 | 3.4 per 100k residents | 2 |
| Prosthodontists | 56 | 1.7 per 100k residents | 1.1 |
Who is practicing
39.1%
Women (U.S.: 35.8%)
210
New NPIs, 2023 to 2025
5.9%
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 San Diego ranks 30th 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, 1,341 San Diego dentists (37.4%) received at least one payment, $1,352,387 in all. 57% of them received only meals; the top 10% of recipients took 87% 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 San Diego dentists, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Align Technology | $498,261 |
| Forestadent Usa | $190,043 |
| Straumann USA | $107,742 |
| Patterson Companies | $66,570 |
| Bernhard Foerster Gmbh | $66,490 |
Where San Diego's dentists practice
The cities in the metro with the most registered dentists. Each links to the practices there.
- San Diego1,560 dentists
- Chula Vista242 dentists
- Escondido161 dentists
- La Mesa152 dentists
- Vista145 dentists
- El Cajon134 dentists
- Oceanside126 dentists
- Encinitas126 dentists
- La Jolla120 dentists
- Carlsbad118 dentists
Frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in the San Diego area?
The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area has 3,588 dentists registered in the federal NPI registry, about 108.8 per 100,000 residents, or one for every 919 people. The U.S. rate is 80.2 per 100,000.
Which part of San Diego 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 San Diego have?
152 dentists in the metro register pediatric dentistry as their primary specialty, roughly one for every 4,418 children. Nationally the figure is one for every 6,705 children.
Do dentists in San Diego get paid by dental companies?
Federal Open Payments data shows 37.4% of San Diego's registered dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company in 2025, $1.4 million in total. 57% of those recipients received only meals. You can look up any individual dentist at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Metro = the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, 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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