Dental education

Findings from the ADA Health Policy Institute on demographic trends among dental students, the impact of student debt, and more.
Enrollment trends dental education programs U.S. graph
Education enrollment and graduate trends by program type

See enrollment and graduate trend data for predoctoral, advanced and allied dental education programs, with breakdowns by student demographics.

View 2021-22 report (XLSX)

Trends in Dental Education Programs

Five-year enrollment and graduate trends data for predoctoral, advanced and allied dental education programs. Data include breakdowns by student gender and race/ethnicity. School-level data is also available for predoctoral dental education programs.

Survey of Dental Education Series

Report 1: Programs, Enrollment, and Graduates

National and program-level survey information on accredited programs, admission requirements, financial assistance, instruction methods, patient care, and support personnel at U.S. dental schools. Also features trends in applications, enrollment, and graduates by gender and race/ethnicity.

Report 2: Tuition, Admission, and Attrition

Program-level and national data on tuition and fees as well as admissions criteria and policies of dental schools, including academic qualifications of first-year students, advanced placement and international dental school graduates, and student attrition and withdrawal information.

Report 3: Finances

Financial information from the previous fiscal year from accredited U.S. dental school, including revenue and expenditures per student and comparisons between public and private schools. School-level data is presented anonymously.

Report 4: Curriculum

The curriculum survey conducted every other year offers an internal benchmarking tool monitoring compliance to CODA. The report features national-level data on instructional methods, evaluation methods, curriculum format, clock hours of instruction, and data on patient care in dental schools.

Survey of Advanced Dental Education

Advanced Dental Education

Survey of accredited advanced dental education programs, including advanced education in general dentistry (AEGD), general practice residency (GPR), dental anesthesiology, orofacial pain, oral medicine, dental public health (DPH), endodontics, oral and maxillofacial pathology, oral and maxillofacial radiology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, and prosthodontics.

Features data on program directors; student enrollment and graduates by gender, race/ethnicity, and program type; tuition and stipends; instruction methods; international dental school graduates; off-campus training; and non-accredited programs offered by dental schools.

Survey of Allied Dental Education

Dental Hygiene

Survey of accredited dental assisting, dental hygiene, and dental laboratory technology education programs. Includes program-level data on admission requirements, applications, student costs, enrollment and graduate levels, student and faculty characteristics, and curriculum. The report also features trend data on program capacity, applications, enrollment, graduates, and student costs.

More research and insights

Journal articles
Infographics for dental programs

Trends in advanced dental education programs (January 2022):

Infographics
Webinars

Dental education FAQs

How many dental schools are there in the U.S. and Canada?

There are 70 accredited dental schools in the U.S. and 10 in Canada.

Some of the most recent predoctoral dental education programs to gain accreditation by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) are Lincoln Memorial University College of Dental Medicine, Kansas City University College of Dental Medicine, California Northstate University College of Dental Medicine, and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

In August 2019, CODA granted accreditation to the predoctoral dental education program sponsored by King Abdulaziz University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is the first time an international predoctoral dental education program based outside the United States has been accredited by CODA.

Related item: Visit the CODA Search DDS/DMD Programs page.

How many students are enrolled in/graduate from dental schools?

During the 2021-22 academic year, there were 26,228 students enrolled in predoctoral dental education programs, up from 25,995 the prior year. The class of 2021 had 6,665 graduates, up from 6,609 in 2020.

Source: Dental Education Program Enrollment and Graduates Report: 2021-22 (XLSX).

How many dental students/graduates are female?

In 2021-22, 14,211 predoctoral dental students were female (54.2%), and 51.6% (3,436) of graduates of the class of 2021 were female. In comparison, the percentage of graduates who were female was 45.2% in 2011, 37.5% in 2001, 32.5% in 1991, and 13.6% in 1980.

Source: 2021-22 Survey of Dental Education – Report 1: Academic Programs, Enrollment and Graduates (XLSX).

Is dental school enrollment increasing or declining?

Total predoctoral enrollment is currently at its highest level historically, with 26,228 students enrolled in the 2021-22 academic year compared to 21,278 in 2011-12.

Source: 2021-22 Survey of Dental Education – Report 1: Academic Programs, Enrollment and Graduates (XLSX).

What is the average first-year cost of dental school?

In 2021-22, the average first-year cost of dental school (including tuition and mandatory general fees) was $56,698 for residents and $74,866 for non-residents. Results also vary by institution type. In 2021-22, the average resident first-year cost of public dental school programs was $41,927 while the cost of private dental school programs was $78,581.

Source: 2021-22 Survey of Dental Education – Report 2: Tuition, Admission and Attrition (XLSX).

What is the average debt carried by dental school graduates?

Visit the American Dental Education Association's (ADEA) page for free data reports on dental graduate debt.

How many international students attend or graduate from U.S. dental schools?

In 2021-22,  704 graduates of international dental schools were admitted to U.S. dental schools with advanced standing, up from 655 the previous year.

In 2021-22, non-resident aliens made up 3.5% of first-year students and 6.4% of graduates.

Source: 2021-22 Survey of Dental Education – Report 2: Tuition, Admission and Attrition (XLSX).