Tools for policymakers
National and state-level resources for policy reform
The ADA Health Policy Institute has developed a number of data-driven resources and reports, customizable at the state level, for policymakers focused on improving the oral health care system. These reports provide robust data collection and analysis along with policy implications to provide oral health initiatives the tools they need to understand and reform access to dental care.
Discover HPI's state-level data
HPI's interactive dentist demographics dashboard allows you to view current and historic demographics data for the dentist workforce in your state. See how the supply per capita and age, gender, and race/ethnicity balance has trended in your state since 2001.
See also HPI's annually updated Supply of Dentists in the U.S. report (XLSX) to see additional national data, including the number of dentists by specialty and dentist age distribution by gender.
Also available: HPI's workforce projection model (PDF) estimates the future supply of dentists in the United States and is available for specific states. Contact HPI to inquire about customizing this analysis for your state.
Curious where dentists are coming from when they settle to practice your state? Or where they go when the leave for another state? HPi's Dentist Migration dashboard in Tableau shows you the top five states new dentists (those less than 10 years out of dental school) move to or come from in relation to your state. See if your dentists gained or lost dentists between 2019-2022.
To see this same data as well as that for dentists of all experience levels, view the Dentist Migration data tables (XLSX).
Nationwide, dental offices generate a $487 billion economic annual impact and create 2.5 million jobs. HPI prepared an informative data report that breaks down the economic impact of dental offices by state. Measures include jobs in dental offices, other jobs supported by dental offices, direct and indirect dental spending, and the overall economic impact of all state dental offices and per dentist.
See the impact in your state. (XLSX)
To understand how dentists and beneficiaries interact with the Medicaid system in your state, see the latest data on:
- Dentist participation in Medicaid (PDF), which is measured by how many patients dentists see per year
- Reimbursement for child and adult services (XLSX), calculated as a percentage of dentist charges for commonly billed procedures
- Dental care utilization among child and adult beneficiaries (Tableau dashboard) as compared to children and adults with private insurance.
The resources above allow you to compare your state with others based robust HPI analysis of Medicaid claims data.
HPI partnered with the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health in the development of the Medicaid Adult Dental Coverage Checker.
Updated in 2023, the Coverage Checker is an interactive tool that identifies where each state’s Medicaid adult dental benefits package falls on a continuum from "no dental benefits" to "extensive benefits." The currently available data reflect 2022 coverage levels. Additional data will be released to track trends over time.
HPI prepared at-a-glance reports on self-reported oral health and well-being, attitudes toward oral health, and barriers to dental care for adults at the state and national levels.
See national results and request your state's infographic. (PDF)
HPI revised and improved its data collection and analysis methods when it comes to practice modality in the U.S. A new report based on 2022 data breaks down dentist affiliation by practice size (i.e., number of locations) and dental support organization (DSO) status.
The report (XLSX) includes state-level data and results by dentist experience.