The number of graduates from DDS- and DMD-accredited programs was nearly 7,000 in 2023, according to data from the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute.
In 2023, there were 6,869 graduates, an increase of 8.2% over the 6,350 graduates there were in 2019.
Even with there being more dentist graduates, more than 70% of respondents to a recent ADA survey said it was "extremely" or "very" challenging to recruit dentists.
Here is the number of graduates from DDS and DMD programs from 2019 to 2023:
2019: 6,350
2020: 6,609
2021: 6,665
2022: 6,745
2023: 6,869