2026 metro dental report
Dental care in San Jose, by the numbers
How many dentists the 1,995,484 people of the San Jose 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
2nd of 50
131.4 dentists per 100k residents (U.S.: 80.2)
Pediatric access
22nd of 50
17.4 pediatric dentists per 100k children (U.S.: 14.9)
2,622
Registered dentists
1,893
Practice addresses
14.6%
Specialists
2
Counties
Key findings
- San Jose has 2,622 registered dentists for 1,995,484 residents: 131.4 per 100,000 people, 64% above the national rate of 80.2. That ranks 2nd of the 50 largest U.S. metros.
- Where you live inside the metro matters. Santa Clara County has 134 dentists per 100,000 residents; San Benito County has 57.8. That is a 2.3x gap within one metro area.
- There is one pediatric dentist for every 5,748 children here (17.4 per 100,000 kids, 17% above the national rate).
- 124 dentists now practicing here received their NPI in 2023 to 2025, 6.2 per 100,000 residents (national: 6).
- 50.6% of San Jose's registered dentists are women, against 35.8% nationally.
- In 2025, 36.2% of the metro's dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company, $1.2 million in total. For most it was small: 61% received nothing but meals, and the typical recipient got $86 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara County | 1,926,325 | 2,582 | 134 | 17.7 |
| San Benito County | 69,159 | 40 | 57.8 | 11.7 |
Specialists
Dentists whose primary registered specialty is one of the six below, with the national rate for comparison.
| Specialty | Dentists | San Jose rate | U.S. rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentists | 68 | 17.4 per 100k children | 14.9 |
| Orthodontists | 121 | 6.1 per 100k residents | 4 |
| Oral surgeons | 53 | 2.7 per 100k residents | 2.7 |
| Periodontists | 53 | 2.7 per 100k residents | 1.9 |
| Endodontists | 64 | 3.2 per 100k residents | 2 |
| Prosthodontists | 24 | 1.2 per 100k residents | 1.1 |
Who is practicing
50.6%
Women (U.S.: 35.8%)
124
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 San Jose ranks 34th 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, 949 San Jose dentists (36.2%) received at least one payment, $1,197,846 in all. 61% 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 San Jose dentists, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Align Technology | $910,773 |
| Hiossen | $76,650 |
| Straumann USA | $47,715 |
| Acumed | $41,661 |
| Dentsply Sirona | $24,199 |
Where San Jose's dentists practice
The cities in the metro with the most registered dentists. Each links to the practices there.
- San Jose1,163 dentists
- Sunnyvale284 dentists
- Palo Alto175 dentists
- Milpitas170 dentists
- Cupertino154 dentists
- Mountain View134 dentists
- Santa Clara126 dentists
- Los Gatos85 dentists
- Saratoga57 dentists
- Gilroy56 dentists
Frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in the San Jose area?
The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area has 2,622 dentists registered in the federal NPI registry, about 131.4 per 100,000 residents, or one for every 761 people. The U.S. rate is 80.2 per 100,000.
Which part of San Jose has the fewest dentists per person?
Among counties with at least 50,000 residents, San Benito County has the fewest: 57.8 dentists per 100,000 people. Santa Clara County has the most, at 134.
How many pediatric dentists does San Jose have?
68 dentists in the metro register pediatric dentistry as their primary specialty, roughly one for every 5,748 children. Nationally the figure is one for every 6,705 children.
Do dentists in San Jose get paid by dental companies?
Federal Open Payments data shows 36.2% of San Jose's registered dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company in 2025, $1.2 million in total. 61% of those recipients received only meals. You can look up any individual dentist at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Metro = the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, 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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