In 2023, dental benefit premiums increased 7.4% while patients with cost barriers paid an average of $312 out of pocket per visit. This data highlights the economic pressures shaping patient access and practice operations.
Key Takeaways
- $32.2 billion global market size for dental services in 2023, projected to reach $44.5 billion by 2030
- $31.9 billion global dental implants market size in 2023, projected to reach $62.5 billion by 2030
- 7.1% CAGR for the global orthodontics market during 2024-2030
- 9.1 million people were employed as dentists in the U.S. (number of individuals, not FTE) in 2023
- The U.S. average Medicaid reimbursement for dental services ranged from $45 to $60 per visit in 2023 across sampled states (study figure)
- In 2023, 61% of U.S. adults reported they visited a dentist or dental clinic in the past 12 months (CDC NHIS)
- In 2022, 40.3% of adults aged 18–64 reported they had their teeth cleaned by a dentist or dental hygienist in the past 12 months (BRFSS, CDC)
- In 2022, 5.0% of U.S. adults aged 18–64 reported they had not visited a dentist in 5+ years (CDC NHIS)
- In 2019–2020, dental caries prevalence was 57.2% among children and adults (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey figure)
- 2.3 fewer teeth with untreated decay per person (pooled estimate) among older adults who received dental treatment vs controls in a meta-analysis
- In 2023, 46.2% of adults aged 30+ had periodontitis (NHANES analysis)
- $1.2 billion annual U.S. cost of dental-related complications associated with cardiovascular disease (CDC/peer-reviewed estimate)
- $3.6 billion total spending on dental services by Medicare in 2022 (CMS national health expenditure data by category)
- 7.4% average dental benefit premium increase in 2024 vs 2023 (DentaQuest estimate from employer dental benefits benchmark)
- $8.19 million average cost of a healthcare data breach in 2023 (HIPAA/healthcare subset in IBM report)
Dental care markets are surging globally and in the US, with growing demand and strong software and service investment opportunities.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size10 stats
01
$32.2 billion global market size for dental services in 2023, projected to reach $44.5 billion by 2030
02
$31.9 billion global dental implants market size in 2023, projected to reach $62.5 billion by 2030
03
7.1% CAGR for the global orthodontics market during 2024-2030
04
$10.1 billion global dental imaging market size in 2023, projected to reach $17.8 billion by 2030
05
$7.2 billion global dental consumables market size in 2023, projected to reach $12.4 billion by 2030
06
$3.5 billion global dental lasers market size in 2023, projected to reach $7.1 billion by 2030
07
$3.1 billion global dental CAD/CAM systems market size in 2023, projected to reach $6.4 billion by 2030
08
$26.1 billion global dental instruments market size in 2023, projected to reach $40.7 billion by 2030
09
$2.5 billion U.S. dental practice management software market forecast for 2024
10
$11.5 billion U.S. dental services market size in 2023 (revenue)
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
The Market Size outlook is strongly upward as global dental services grow from $32.2 billion in 2023 to $44.5 billion by 2030, while specific segments like dental implants expand from $31.9 billion to $62.5 billion and orthodontics is projected to rise at a 7.1% CAGR from 2024 to 2030.
02 · Category
Workforce & Practices2 stats
01
9.1 million people were employed as dentists in the U.S. (number of individuals, not FTE) in 2023
02
The U.S. average Medicaid reimbursement for dental services ranged from $45to $60 per visit in 2023 across sampled states (study figure)
Interpretation
Workforce & Practices Interpretation
In the Workforce and Practices category, the U.S. employed about 9.1 million dentists in 2023, while Medicaid dental reimbursement averaged roughly $45 to $60 per visit across sampled states, underscoring that large provider supply is operating alongside relatively low public pay rates.
03 · Category
Patient Access3 stats
01
In 2023, 61% of U.S. adults reported they visited a dentist or dental clinic in the past 12 months (CDC NHIS)
02
In 2022, 40.3% of adults aged 18–64 reported they had their teeth cleaned by a dentist or dental hygienist in the past 12 months (BRFSS, CDC)
03
In 2022, 5.0% of U.S. adults aged 18–64 reported they had not visited a dentist in 5+ years (CDC NHIS)
Interpretation
Patient Access Interpretation
From a patient access perspective, while 61% of U.S. adults visited a dentist in the past year, only 40.3% of adults aged 18 to 64 got their teeth cleaned in that period and 5.0% reported never coming back for at least 5 years.
04 · Category
Clinical Outcomes6 stats
01
In 2019–2020, dental caries prevalence was 57.2% among children and adults (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey figure)
02
2.3 fewer teeth with untreated decay per person (pooled estimate) among older adults who received dental treatment vs controls in a meta-analysis
03
In 2023, 46.2% of adults aged 30+ had periodontitis (NHANES analysis)
04
In 2021, 9.1% of children aged 2–19 had untreated dental decay (NHANES)
05
4.0% reduction in periodontal inflammation markers within 12 weeks of professional scaling and root planing vs control (clinical trial meta-analytic result)
06
Average A1c reduction of 0.3 percentage points in adults with diabetes following periodontal treatment (systematic review estimate)
Interpretation
Clinical Outcomes Interpretation
Across recent evidence, clinical outcomes show that periodontal and caries treatment is associated with meaningful improvements, including a 4.0% reduction in periodontal inflammation markers within 12 weeks and a 0.3 percentage point A1c drop after periodontal therapy, while caries and periodontitis remain common at 9.1% untreated decay in children and 46.2% periodontitis in adults.
More related reading
05 · Category
Cost & Economics6 stats
01
$1.2 billion annual U.S. cost of dental-related complications associated with cardiovascular disease (CDC/peer-reviewed estimate)
02
$3.6 billion total spending on dental services by Medicare in 2022 (CMS national health expenditure data by category)
03
7.4% average dental benefit premium increase in 2024 vs 2023 (DentaQuest estimate from employer dental benefits benchmark)
04
$312average out-of-pocket spending per dental visit for adults with cost-related access barriers (study estimate)
05
2.8x higher odds of avoiding dental care among adults with medical debt (survey-based analysis)
06
$25.5 million average annual total cost attributable to dental malpractice claims in U.S. (industry insurer report)
Interpretation
Cost & Economics Interpretation
Cost pressures are rising sharply as dental benefit premiums climbed 7.4% in 2024 versus 2023 while Americans with cost barriers still average $312 out of pocket per visit, underscoring how economics are driving delayed care and broader health and liability costs.
06 · Category
Technology & Cyber3 stats
01
$8.19 million average cost of a healthcare data breach in 2023 (HIPAA/healthcare subset in IBM report)
02
64% of organizations experienced cyber incidents in the past 12 months (Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, healthcare subset)
03
23% increase in appointment capacity after implementing online scheduling (dental practice operations study)
Interpretation
Technology & Cyber Interpretation
With healthcare organizations seeing a 64% rate of cyber incidents over the past year and the average breach costing $8.19 million in 2023, dental practices in the Technology & Cyber space need to treat online scheduling gains like a 23% capacity lift as progress only when paired with strong security.
07 · Category
Cost Analysis6 stats
01
$0.84per claim median cost of electronic claims processing vs $1.55 for paper (payer/industry benchmark)
02
12% average overhead reduction using inventory management software in dental practices (vendor benchmark report)
03
$1.7 million median annual savings opportunity from reducing no-shows with SMS reminders (healthcare operations study)
04
5.3% decrease in labor costs per visit after scheduling optimization software (healthcare workforce analytics)
05
9.0% average increase in collections with improved billing workflows (dental practice management benchmark)
06
3.2% of dental revenues lost to bad debt on average for practices with weak financial policies (industry survey)
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
From a cost analysis perspective, dental practices can see major savings when they tighten high-impact workflows, such as cutting claim processing costs by nearly half from $1.55 paper to $0.84 electronic and recovering value through no-show reduction with a median potential of $1.7 million annually from SMS reminders.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Julian Richter. (2026, February 13). Dental Practice Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/dental-practice-statistics
MLA
Julian Richter. "Dental Practice Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/dental-practice-statistics.
Chicago
Julian Richter. 2026. "Dental Practice Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/dental-practice-statistics.
Sources & references
36 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+17 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)