HPI: Dental practice ownership rates are declining

HPI graphic on declining practice ownership

Source: ADA Health Policy Institute analysis of Distribution of Dentists Survey and Survey of Dental Graduates.

Dental practice ownership rates consistently skew toward older dentists. However, dentist ownership across all age groups has been declining since 2005, according to the ADA Health Policy Institute.

As of 2021, fewer than 1 in 10 dentists under age 30 were practice owners. In 2005, more than half of dentists aged 30-34 were owners of their practices, yet only one-third of dentists in that age group were practice owners in 2021.

Visit ADA.org/HPI for a full representation of these trends.