The dental specialty seeing the most growth
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
Practice owners and DSOs evaluating expansion or recruitment should note that pediatric dentistry has added more dentists than any other specialty since 2001, potentially reshaping referral patterns, payer mix, and staffing needs.
Key points
- TUSK Practice Sales’ Q4 2026 Dental Market Report states pediatric dentistry grew 126% between 2001 and 2025, adding 9,521 dentists.
- The same report lists endodontics at 42% growth (5,738 dentists added) and oral surgery at 18% growth (7,482 dentists added).
- Orthodontics added the largest absolute number of dentists (10,844) but posted only 17% growth over the same period.
- Overall U.S. dentist supply increased 25.5% from 2001 through 2025 according to the report.
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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