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2024 Best Dentistry Schools

64 Colleges in the United States
6,770 Dentistry Degrees Awarded
$103,395 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in dentistry, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #105 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 64 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for dentistry students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 6,770 degrees in dentistry during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Dentistry School

Best Dentistry Schools Your choice of dentistry school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Dentistry School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Dentistry Rankings by Degree Level

Doctor's Degrees in Dentistry

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Dentistry Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Dentistry in the United States

The schools below may not offer all types of dentistry degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Schools in Dentistry

1
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
163 Dentistry Degrees Awarded
3.7% Growth in Graduates

University of Pennsylvania is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in dentistry. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.

There were approximately 163 dentistry students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the dentistry program report average early career wages of $71,965.

More information about a degree in dentistry from University of Pennsylvania

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
96 Dentistry Degrees Awarded
$102,392 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in dentistry needs to look into The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Located in the city of Houston, UTHealth is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.

There were about 96 dentistry students who graduated with this degree at UTHealth in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the dentistry program report average early career earnings of $102,392.

More information about a degree in dentistry from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
54 Dentistry Degrees Awarded
1.9% Growth in Graduates

It is difficult to beat University of Nebraska Medical Center if you want to pursue a degree in dentistry. Located in the large city of Omaha, UNMC is a public university with a small student population.

There were about 54 dentistry students who graduated with this degree at UNMC in the most recent data year. Dentistry degree recipients from University of Nebraska Medical Center receive an earnings boost of approximately $34,876 over the typical earnings of dentistry graduates.

More information about a degree in dentistry from University of Nebraska Medical Center

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
114 Dentistry Degrees Awarded
$125,712 Median Starting Salary

A T Still University of Health Sciences is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in dentistry. A T Still University of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit university located in the remote town of Kirksville.

There were roughly 114 dentistry students who graduated with this degree at A T Still University of Health Sciences in the most recent year we have data available. Dentistry degree recipients from A T Still University of Health Sciences receive an earnings boost of around $22,317 above the average income of dentistry majors.

More information about a degree in dentistry from A T Still University of Health Sciences

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
180 Dentistry Degrees Awarded
3.9% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 180 dentistry students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the dentistry program report average early career wages of $84,839.

More information about a degree in dentistry from University of Southern California

6
Loma Linda University crest
Loma Linda University
Loma Linda, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
132 Dentistry Degrees Awarded
$109,055 Median Starting Salary

Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Loma Linda.

There were about 132 dentistry students who graduated with this degree at Loma Linda University in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the dentistry major at Loma Linda University get $5,660 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in dentistry from Loma Linda University

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In AZ
145 Dentistry Degrees Awarded

Midwestern University - Glendale is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Glendale.

There were roughly 145 dentistry students who graduated with this degree at Midwestern University - Glendale in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in dentistry from Midwestern University - Glendale

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
89 Dentistry Degrees Awarded
4.5% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Las Vegas, UNLV is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 9 schools for overall quality in the state of Nevada.

There were about 89 dentistry students who graduated with this degree at UNLV in the most recent year we have data available. Dentistry degree recipients from University of Nevada - Las Vegas receive an earnings boost of approximately $12,440 over the average earnings of dentistry graduates.

More information about a degree in dentistry from University of Nevada - Las Vegas

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
130 Dentistry Degrees Awarded
$73,553 Median Starting Salary

UCSF is a small public university located in the city of San Francisco.

There were about 130 dentistry students who graduated with this degree at UCSF in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the dentistry program state that they receive average early career earnings of $73,553.

More information about a degree in dentistry from University of California - San Francisco

10
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
93 Dentistry Degrees Awarded
1.1% Growth in Graduates

UF is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville. This university ranks 1st out of 77 schools for overall quality in the state of Florida.

There were about 93 dentistry students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the dentistry program report average early career wages of $105,121.

More information about a degree in dentistry from University of Florida

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Dentistry Schools award.

Rank College Location
11 Western University of Health Sciences Pomona, CA
12 The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio San Antonio, TX
13 Midwestern University - Downers Grove Downers Grove, IL
14 New York University New York, NY
15 University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
16 Tufts University Medford, MA

Dentistry by Region

View the Best Dentistry Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

Dentistry is one of 34 different types of Health Professions programs to choose from.

Dentistry Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Dentistry 6,770

View All Dentistry Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Nursing 322,592
Health & Medical Administrative Services 89,359
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 84,492
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274
Allied Health Professions 82,308
Public Health 40,596
Health Sciences & Services 35,945
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 29,833
Mental & Social Health Services 29,053
Medicine 28,629

View All Dentistry Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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Degree Guides by Major
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