ADEA Releases Dentists of Tomorrow 2025: Research on Graduating Predoctoral Dental Students in the United States

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on February 10, 2026

In the 2024-25 academic year, a new generation of dentists graduated from 67 accredited U.S. dental schools, including Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine, which graduated its inaugural class in 2025. The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) surveyed them before graduation to capture their perceptions, motivations and plans that influenced their experience before, during and after dental school.

In January 2026, ADEA released the analysis of the journey of U.S. dental schools’ predoctoral senior class of 2025, from influences on and their motivations to pursue careers in dentistry, aspects of their dental school experiences, to plans upon graduation and the investment in their careers. This research includes findings from data collected through the ADEA Survey of U.S. Dental School Seniors, Class of 2025 (henceforth called “the ADEA 2025 Predoc Survey”) and for comparison reasons, the ADEA Survey of U.S. Dental School Seniors, Class of 2021.

A distinctive feature of the 2025 survey is the inclusion of data on parental education, enabling an examination of first-generation (first-gen) college students. For this report, first-gen college students are defined according to the Higher Education Act of 1965 and its 1998 amendments. This allows a better understanding of the first-gen college student journey and how they compare to other respondents.

Another first, the 2025 survey allowed respondents who applied to continue their dental education immediately upon graduation to select from 20 different types of advanced education programs and rank their choices—an option that was not available in the 2021 edition. General practice residency (GPR) was the most frequently applied program and the top first-choice selection among seniors continuing their education.

ADEA members can access the Dentists of Tomorrow 2025 summary report, accompanied by an online storyboard with interactive charts and downloadable data at ADEA.org/seniors2025.

Together with the national analysis, we also updated a series of dashboards with 2025 graduating predoc student data in the ADEA Data Portal:

  • “Preparedness to Practice of U.S. Predoctoral Students: Your School” (restricted access);
  • “Preparedness to Practice of U.S. Predoctoral Students: Advanced Dental Education Plans” (open to all ADEA members); and
  • “Preparedness to Practice of U.S. Predoctoral Students: Benchmarks” (open to all ADEA members).

All ADEA members have access to the ADEA Data Portal for free at dataportal.adea.org.

For any questions or comments about this project, contact Emilia Istrate, Ph.D., ADEA Senior Vice President of Policy and Education Research, at istratee@adea.org.

Published on February 11, 2026