ADA.org: Future of Dentistry Full Report

FUTURE OFDENTISTRY

THE DENTAL WORKFORCE

Numbers of Practicing Dentists

The American Dental Association (ADA) Future
of Dentistry report of 1983 predicted two changes
in the composition of the nation's dental workforce.
First, that report anticipated that declining first-year
enrollments in dental schools would result in fewer grad-
uates beginning in 1983. Second, it anticipated that the
total number of practicing dentists would increase
throughout the remainder of the century––despite the
declining number of graduating dental students. Both of

these changes have occurred (ADA, 1983).

The number of dental school graduates declined

from a high of 5,756 in 1982 to a low of 3,778 in

1993, a decrease of 34%. Since 1993, graduates

increased steadily to 4,041 in 1999 (ADA, Surveys

of Predoctoral Dental Education). The decline of

graduates during the 1980s slowed the rate of

growth of practitioners. As shown in Table 3.2, the

number of professionally active dentists and private

practitioners increased during the 1990s. However,

their growth rates were slightly less than the growth in

the United States population. As a result, dentist-to-

population ratios started declining around 1995 and

Clinical Dental Practice and Management

Census Counts and Projections of U.S. Resident Population, Professionally Active

Dentists, Active Private Practitioners, Professionally Active Dentists and Active

Private Practitioners per 100,000 U.S. Resident Population, 1976-2020

• Preliminary estimates for 2000, 200 5 , 2010, and 2020.
  Source: ADA, 2001b; and U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1990 and 2000 Census.

Year

1976

1978

1982

1987

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

217 , 563

222 , 095

231 , 664

242 , 289

251 , 802

254 , 933

258 , 103

261 , 312

264 , 561

267 , 850

271 , 180

274 , 552

277 , 966

281 , 422

294 , 108

306 , 524

319 , 205

332 , 145

U.S. Resident

Population

(in thousands)

TABLE 3. 2

110 , 276

117 , 044

12 6, 985

137 , 817

15 0, 762

15 2, 925

15 5, 087

157 , 228

15 8, 641

160 , 388

160 , 781

163 , 291

164 , 664

166 , 049 *

17 0, 476 *

173 , 942 *

177 , 076 *

17 9, 930 *

Professionally

Active

Dentists

50. 7

52. 7

54. 8

56. 9

59. 9

60. 0

60. 1

60. 2

60. 0

59. 9

59. 3

59. 5

59. 2

59. 0

58. 0

56. 7

55. 5

54. 2

Professionally

Active Dentists

Per 100 , 000 U.S.

Resident Population

46. 0

48. 0

50. 2

52. 2

54. 8

55. 1

55. 3

55. 3

55. 2

55. 0

54. 5

55. 1

54. 7

54. 5

54. 5

53. 3

52. 0

50. 7

Active Private

Practitioners

Per 100 , 000 U.S.

Resident Population

100 , 051

106 , 672

116 , 208

12 6, 357

13 8, 094

140 , 349

142 , 603

14 4, 581

146 , 089

147 , 247

147 , 778

151 , 309

15 2, 151

15 3, 431 *

160 , 318 *

163 , 328 *

166 , 088 *

168 , 528 *

Active

Private

Practitioners