NC's Dentist Workforce Continues to Grow, But Mostly in 5 Counties
By Angela Seo, Evan Galloway
Jul 31, 2023
Where did NC dentists go?
- NC has moved up in national rankings of dentists per capita, from 37th in 2017 to 24th in 2021.
- Most of the dentist growth in the state occurred in 5 counties already well-supplied with dentists: Durham, Guilford, Mecklenburg, Pitt, and Wake. Another 90 counties gained only 20% of new dentists despite representing 60% of NC’s population.
Funding & Acknowledgements
The HPDS is maintained by the Program on Health Workforce Research and Policy at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in collaboration with the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers Program (AHEC), and the state’s independent health professional licensing boards. Ongoing financial support is provided by the NC AHEC Program Office. Although the NC HPDS maintains the data system, the data remain the property of their respective licensing board. This information or content and conclusions are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by NC AHEC. To learn more about NC AHEC please visit: https://www.ncahec.net.
