Dental specialists per capita by state: orthodontists, pediatric dentists and oral surgeons

How many people does each orthodontic, pediatric or oral surgery practice serve in your state? The table below uses Dentagraphics' verified practice counts to show residents per specialty practice in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Lower numbers mean more practices for the population, so more competition. Higher numbers mean fewer practices for each resident. For general dentists, see dentists per capita by state.

The national picture

Specialty	Verified US practices	US residents per practice
Orthodontics	10,581	about 32,200
Pediatric dentistry	7,116	about 10,400 residents under 18
Oral and maxillofacial surgery	4,659	about 73,200
General dentistry, for comparison	88,428	about 3,860

Pediatric practices are measured against residents under 18, because that is who they serve.

By state

State	Orthodontic practices	Residents per orthodontic practice	Pediatric practices	Residents under 18 per pediatric practice	Oral surgery practices	Residents per oral surgery practice
Alabama	169	31,400	92	12,200	53	100,100
Alaska	17	44,700	20	8,900	8	95,100
Arizona	204	38,900	199	8,200	86	92,300
Arkansas	75	42,100	57	12,400	32	98,700
California	1,246	32,600	1,126	7,700	535	75,900
Colorado	244	25,300	194	6,600	112	55,200
Connecticut	149	25,700	87	8,700	73	52,400
Delaware	27	40,700	18	12,200	19	57,900
District of Columbia	17	44,200	17	7,300	12	62,700
Florida	657	38,100	438	10,200	307	81,500
Georgia	363	32,100	253	10,100	165	70,500
Hawaii	34	43,500	39	7,600	25	59,200
Idaho	88	23,700	57	8,500	34	61,400
Illinois	369	35,300	157	17,800	156	83,500
Indiana	197	36,100	99	16,200	79	90,000
Iowa	92	36,200	49	15,100	31	107,500
Kansas	91	33,600	50	14,200	45	67,900
Kentucky	130	36,400	87	11,800	64	73,900
Louisiana	166	28,100	74	14,200	46	101,500
Maine	42	34,000	18	14,400	15	95,200
Maryland	213	30,300	151	9,100	100	64,500
Massachusetts	256	29,000	144	9,600	113	65,600
Michigan	290	35,800	107	20,200	131	79,300
Minnesota	208	28,700	62	21,400	74	80,500
Mississippi	84	35,300	47	14,300	34	87,200
Missouri	184	34,700	105	13,200	67	95,400
Montana	33	35,200	25	9,400	15	77,400
Nebraska	60	34,700	38	12,900	23	90,400
Nevada	90	38,000	102	7,000	36	95,100
New Hampshire	55	26,100	31	8,500	37	38,800
New Jersey	378	26,300	252	8,100	177	56,200
New Mexico	56	38,900	33	14,000	19	114,600
New York	598	34,300	370	10,900	299	68,600
North Carolina	322	35,900	227	10,500	161	71,800
North Dakota	19	43,800	7	26,200	14	59,400
Ohio	362	33,600	142	18,300	137	88,700
Oklahoma	99	42,600	53	18,600	39	108,200
Oregon	136	32,000	89	9,700	50	87,100
Pennsylvania	444	30,100	194	13,700	207	64,500
Rhode Island	40	28,600	17	12,500	15	76,100
South Carolina	172	33,300	134	8,600	82	69,900
South Dakota	25	38,100	8	27,700	10	95,400
Tennessee	206	36,300	162	9,800	115	65,100
Texas	819	40,600	824	9,200	349	95,400
Utah	188	19,800	117	8,300	68	54,600
Vermont	19	34,500	5	23,900	10	65,500
Virginia	307	29,600	224	8,500	146	62,300
Washington	294	28,200	218	7,800	136	61,000
West Virginia	35	50,700	17	20,800	22	80,600
Wisconsin	185	33,000	66	19,400	66	92,500
Wyoming	27	22,300	14	9,500	9	67,000

Source: Dentagraphics practice counts verified by hand by our research team, October 2026. Population from Census ACS ZIP code data, rounded to the nearest 100. Residents under 18 are ages 0 to 17. State figures use ZIP code population totals, which differ slightly from the national total used above.

How to read this table

A state average hides a lot. Specialists cluster in metro areas. A state with plenty of orthodontists overall can still have suburbs and small cities with very few.
Compare like with like. Measure the area around your site against its county and metro, not just the state.
Different specialties need different measures. Orthodontic and pediatric practices depend on children and families nearby. Oral surgeons, endodontists and periodontists depend on referrals from general dentists. See specialist vs general dentist: how location analysis differs.

Frequently asked questions

Which state has the most orthodontists per person? Among states with more than 500,000 residents, Utah has the most, with about 19,800 residents per orthodontic practice. West Virginia has the fewest, at about 50,700.

Which state has the most pediatric dentists per child? Among states with at least 10 pediatric practices, Colorado has the most, with about 6,600 residents under 18 per pediatric practice, and Minnesota the fewest, with about 21,400. North Dakota, South Dakota and Vermont have fewer than 10 pediatric practices each and higher figures still.

Where can I see specialist counts for a county or address? Dentagraphics shows verified general and specialty practices for every state and county, and a membership adds any address or drawn area.

How Dentagraphics helps

Free plan: state and county demographics and competition.
Start/Buy membership ($149 per month): unlimited address and area searches, with verified general and specialty practices around each site.
Single-Site Study ($695) or Area Analysis ($745): a demographer studies the market for your specialty and writes the analysis.

Our competition data covers 118,330 US dental practices verified by hand. We do not broker practices and hold no stake in any location.