2026 metro dental report
Dental care in Virginia Beach, by the numbers
How many dentists the 1,794,278 people of the Virginia Beach 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
26th of 50
82.8 dentists per 100k residents (U.S.: 80.2)
Pediatric access
35th of 50
13.6 pediatric dentists per 100k children (U.S.: 14.9)
1,485
Registered dentists
1,020
Practice addresses
20.3%
Specialists
18
Counties
Key findings
- Virginia Beach has 1,485 registered dentists for 1,794,278 residents: 82.8 per 100,000 people, 3% above the national rate of 80.2. That ranks 26th of the 50 largest U.S. metros.
- Where you live inside the metro matters. Portsmouth city, VA has 182.4 dentists per 100,000 residents; York County, VA has 51.8. That is a 3.5x gap within one metro area.
- There is one pediatric dentist for every 7,341 children here (13.6 per 100,000 kids, 9% below the national rate).
- 134 dentists now practicing here received their NPI in 2023 to 2025, 7.5 per 100,000 residents (national: 6).
- 33.3% of Virginia Beach's registered dentists are women, against 35.8% nationally.
- In 2025, 34.6% of the metro's dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company, $303,000 in total. For most it was small: 68% received nothing but meals, and the typical recipient got $86 for the year. The top 10% of recipients took 82% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Beach city, VA | 454,808 | 396 | 87.1 | 17.5 |
| Chesapeake city, VA | 254,997 | 143 | 56.1 | 16.5 |
| Norfolk city, VA | 231,105 | 220 | 95.2 | 12.9 |
| Newport News city, VA | 183,056 | 164 | 89.6 | 11.9 |
| Hampton city, VA | 137,596 | 138 | 100.3 | 13.5 |
| Suffolk city, VA | 103,105 | 55 | 53.3 | 8.3 |
| Portsmouth city, VA | 96,482 | 176 | 182.4 | 31.9 |
| James City County, VA | 82,797 | 103 | 124.4 | 12.5 |
| York County, VA | 71,410 | 37 | 51.8 | 0 |
| Isle of Wight County, VA | 40,942 | 14 | 34.2 | 0 |
| Gloucester County, VA | 40,154 | 17 | 42.3 | 0 |
| Currituck County, NC | 32,278 | 8 | 24.8 | 0 |
| Williamsburg city, VA | 16,030 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Poquoson city, VA | 12,854 | 10 | 77.8 | 0 |
| Camden County, NC | 11,184 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gates County, NC | 10,299 | 1 | 9.7 | 0 |
| Mathews County, VA | 8,602 | 3 | 34.9 | 0 |
| Surry County, VA | 6,579 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Specialists
Dentists whose primary registered specialty is one of the six below, with the national rate for comparison.
| Specialty | Dentists | Virginia Beach rate | U.S. rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric dentists | 53 | 13.6 per 100k children | 14.9 |
| Orthodontists | 74 | 4.1 per 100k residents | 4 |
| Oral surgeons | 67 | 3.7 per 100k residents | 2.7 |
| Periodontists | 40 | 2.2 per 100k residents | 1.9 |
| Endodontists | 40 | 2.2 per 100k residents | 2 |
| Prosthodontists | 28 | 1.6 per 100k residents | 1.1 |
Who is practicing
33.3%
Women (U.S.: 35.8%)
134
New NPIs, 2023 to 2025
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 Virginia Beach ranks 14th 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, 514 Virginia Beach dentists (34.6%) received at least one payment, $303,002 in all. 68% of them received only meals; the top 10% of recipients took 82% 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 Virginia Beach dentists, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Align Technology | $101,378 |
| ZimVie | $67,591 |
| Dentsply Sirona | $61,049 |
| Straumann USA | $11,107 |
| Ultradent Products | $6,055 |
Where Virginia Beach's dentists practice
The cities in the metro with the most registered dentists. Each links to the practices there.
- Virginia Beach, VA387 dentists
- Norfolk, VA222 dentists
- Portsmouth, VA174 dentists
- Chesapeake, VA142 dentists
- Newport News, VA126 dentists
- Hampton, VA123 dentists
- Williamsburg, VA102 dentists
- Suffolk, VA55 dentists
- Fort Eustis, VA36 dentists
- Yorktown, VA33 dentists
Frequently asked questions
How many dentists are in the Virginia Beach area?
The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area has 1,485 dentists registered in the federal NPI registry, about 82.8 per 100,000 residents, or one for every 1,208 people. The U.S. rate is 80.2 per 100,000.
Which part of Virginia Beach has the fewest dentists per person?
Among counties with at least 50,000 residents, York County, VA has the fewest: 51.8 dentists per 100,000 people. Portsmouth city, VA has the most, at 182.4.
How many pediatric dentists does Virginia Beach have?
53 dentists in the metro register pediatric dentistry as their primary specialty, roughly one for every 7,341 children. Nationally the figure is one for every 6,705 children.
Do dentists in Virginia Beach get paid by dental companies?
Federal Open Payments data shows 34.6% of Virginia Beach's registered dentists received at least one payment from a drug, device or dental supply company in 2025, $303,000 in total. 68% of those recipients received only meals. You can look up any individual dentist at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Metro = the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC 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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