ADEA Releases New Interactive Report on the 2025 Predoctoral Dental Education Entering Class
Washington, DC— The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) has released The 2025 Entering Class: Trends and Insights on Predoctoral Oral Health Applicants and First-time, First-year Enrollees (The 2025 Entering Class), a new interactive report examining national trends among applicants and first-time, first-year (ft, fy) enrollees at Commission on Dental Accreditation accredited U.S. dental schools from 2015 through 2025.
The report provides insight into the continued growth and changing composition of the predoctoral dental education applicant pool and entering classes over the past decade. Through interactive visualizations, users can explore applicant and enrollment trends, academic indicators and geographic patterns.
Among the report’s key findings:
- Interest in dental education reached a decade high. More than 13,600 individuals applied to dental school for the 2025 entering class, a 16% increase over the past decade. Ft, fy enrollment also reached its highest level during the 2015–2025 period.
- Applicant growth has outpaced enrollment growth. In recent entering classes, the number of applicants has grown more rapidly than ft, fy enrollment, resulting in a higher applicant-to-enrollee ratio.
- Geographic patterns remained relatively stable. The South and West recorded increases in applicant volume between 2015 and 2025, while the Midwest and Northeast declined marginally. Despite these differences in growth, applicant-to-enrollee ratios remained relatively stable across U.S. census regions.
“The continued growth in applications and enrollment is encouraging and demonstrates that we are making progress in attracting competitive and capable students who will become the next generation of oral health practitioners,” said Karen P. West, D.M.D., M.P.H., President and CEO of ADEA. “We are hopeful that this momentum will continue as the United States confronts growing oral health workforce needs. Building and sustaining a robust cadre of well-prepared oral health professionals is crucial to strengthening the workforce and meeting the needs of communities nationwide.”
The report comes at a critical time for the oral health workforce. Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) continue to increase nationwide. According to current data from the Health Resources and Services Administration, 75 million Americans live in dental HPSAs, with an estimated 12,388 additional oral health professionals needed to meet current demand.
By providing a comprehensive view of who is applying to and entering dental school, The 2025 Entering Class offers dental educators, institutional leaders, policymakers and other stakeholders important information to better understand the evolving pipeline into the profession and inform efforts to build and sustain the nation’s future oral health workforce.
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About ADEA: The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) is The Voice of Dental Education®. Our mission is to lead and support the health professions community in preparing future-ready oral health professionals. Our membership encompasses 89 U.S. and Canadian dental schools, more than 800 allied and advanced dental education programs, more than 65 corporations and approximately 15,000 individual members. As such, ADEA represents an estimated 65,000 faculty, staff, students, administrators, residents, and fellows throughout oral health education. Our activities encompass a wide range of research, advocacy, faculty development, meetings, and communications, including the esteemed Journal of Dental Education®, as well as the dental school application services ADEA AADSAS®, ADEA PASS®, ADEA DHCAS® and ADEA CAAPID®. For more information, visit adea.org.