The U.S. currently has 68 dental schools. Data from the American Dental Association gives insight into these schools and their student populations.
Here are nine key facts:
- Eleven schools recently were accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation in Texas, New York, Missouri, Main, Utah, Florida, North Carolina, Illinois, California and Arizona.
- According to the American Dental Association, there were 25,807 students enrolled in predoctoral dental education programs during the 2019-20 academic year. This is up from 25,381 students the prior year.
- Enrollment in predoctoral dental education programs is at the highest level it has been since the 1980-1981 academic year.
- The average first-year cost of dental school as of this most recent academic year is $55,395 for residents and $72,219 for non-residents. Additionally, the first year at a public dental school program costs on average $41,711 and $75,161 for a private dental school program.
- During the 2019-20 academic year, there were 708 graduates of international dental schools admitted to U.S. dental schools. The percentage of non-resident aliens made up 5.2 percent of first-year students.
- More than 88 percent of students who graduated from dental school in 2019 were doing dental-related activity approximately five months after graduation.
- Diversity of first-year dental school students has increased slightly between 2005 and 2020. In 2005, 65.1 percent of students were white and 34.9 percent were of other races. In 2020, the number of white students was 54 percent and students of other races made up 46 percent of first-year students.
- Black graduates reportedly had the highest average amount of debt in 2019, at $314,360. Meanwhile, Asian graduates were found to have the lowest average amount of debt at $225,750.
- More than half (51.6 percent) of predoctoral dental students during the 2019-20 academic year were female. That number has increased over the years; in 1979, 11.7 percent of dental students were women.