Texas Ranks Near the Bottom in Dentists Per Capita

At the end of July, WalletHub released a report on the “Best & Worst States for Health Care (2025).”  WalletHub is a personal finance website and mobile app that provides users with tools and resources to manage their credit and finances and make informed decisions about financial products.   Their goal is to provide top-notch content, data, and tools, including reports like this one.

Poor ranking in overall healthcare

Texas performed very poorly in its analysis, ranking 47th out of 51 states including the District of Columbia, as one of the worst for overall healthcare.

Part of WalletHub’s analysis includes the availability of dental care in each state. Becker’s Dental Review contacted WalletHub to obtain this information, which they published in a recent online post.  TDMR also contacted the company to confirm the numbers.

Poor ranking in dental care availability

The data shows that Texas has one of the lowest numbers of dentists per capita in the country. According to the figures, Texas ranks 43rd out of 50 states, including DC, with 25.94 dentists for every 100,000 residents.

For comparison, states at the top of the list, the District of Columbia, Colorado, and Connecticut, have over 50 dentists per 100,000 residents—roughly double Texas’s rate.

Impact on families and Medicaid-eligible children

This shortage also impacts Medicaid coverage for children. While Texas Medicaid provides dental benefits for those under 21, the low number of available providers can make it harder for families—especially in rural or underserved areas—to find a dentist who accepts Medicaid, potentially delaying preventive and restorative care.

For a state as economically strong and rapidly growing as Texas, ranking near the bottom in dentists per capita is a sobering result.

Regardless of income, many families will struggle to find timely dental care, and the problem is even more pronounced for Medicaid-eligible children.