Dental school enrollment up 10% since 2021
By Ariana Portalatin
Originally at beckersdental.com
Summary & scoring by The Bell Brief (Dr. Jennifer Bell) using the Drill-Down Protocol (Drill-Down Score) — not the original publisher.
Why it matters for dental
A 10.3 % rise in U.S. predoctoral dental enrollment over five years will expand the future dentist workforce and intensify competition for practice ownership, associate positions, and DSO recruitment pipelines.
Key points
- Total DDS/DMD enrollment rose from 26,228 in 2021-22 to 28,933 in 2025-26, according to ADA data.
- Increased graduate supply may moderate associate salary growth and lengthen partnership-track timelines for practice owners.
- DSOs and large groups will have a larger candidate pool for multi-site staffing, potentially lowering recruiting costs.
- Dental schools, residencies, and faculty-hiring markets may face capacity strain as class sizes grow.
Who should care
Read the original on Becker's Dental + DSO Review
Full reporting and any paywall content live on beckersdental.com. We summarize and score; we do not republish.
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