New dental schools drive increasing enrollment

Enrollment in dental school has increased steadily since 1990 after dropping from a high point in 1980. The opening of new schools has driven this increase in enrollment, especially over the past few years.

In 2024, there were 73 accredited predoctoral dental education programs in the U.S. admitting students, up from 67 in 2020 and 55 in 2000.

With an increasing number of programs comes an increasing number of enrollees. Of the 7,013 first-year enrollees in 2024, 25% were enrolled in new schools.

In this graphic, new schools are those that have opened since a wave of closures in the late 1980s and early 1990s, beginning with Nova Southeastern University in 1997.