There’s a lot of conflicting advice online on what a top DMD program really is. That’s why I met with our expert dental admissions experts and came up with this list of the top 20 dental schools in the U.S. I didn’t rank these schools on any single factor. I used many different factors to guide how I built this list.
Our Picks for the 20 Best Dental Schools in the US in 2026
Here are the top 20 dental schools in the U.S., according to our methodology:
| Our Dental School Ranking |
Dental School |
Acceptance Rate |
Average DAT |
Average Overall GPA |
Why This is an Elite DMD Program |
| #1 |
University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry |
6.55% |
23.3 |
3.72 |
Students are taught by world-renowned faculty researchers, who brought in $27.6 million in NIH grants in 2025. |
| #2 |
Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC |
14.02% |
21.2 |
3.76 |
Renowned for having the largest mobile clinic fleet outside the military and has operated a dental clinic on Skid Row at the Union Rescue Mission since 2000, treating about 1,380 patients a year. |
| #3 |
University of Michigan School of Dentistry |
13.23% |
22.4 |
3.82 |
Their Pathways Program lets students follow their interests by either completing an Immersion capstone project on a topic they choose or taking a Selectives track of advanced dental electives. |
| #4 |
University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine |
5.86% |
23.7 |
3.84 |
First-year students are placed in a Primary Care Unit in the clinic, where they're trained to assist D3 and D4 students on the clinic floor, so they learn in a real clinic setting from their first year. |
| #5 |
New York University College of Dentistry |
12.19% |
21.0 |
3.62 |
The largest US dental school and trains nearly 10% of the nation's dentists and handles roughly 300,000 patient visits a year from a highly multiethnic patient population. |
| #6 |
University of California, Los Angeles, School of Dentistry |
7.67% |
23.1 |
3.87 |
Students have access to over 13 specialty clinics and 25 affiliated health clinics, which saw 128,000 patients in 2025. |
| #7 |
University of Florida College of Dentistry |
7.14% |
22.7 |
3.86 |
Has 16 dental centers where DMD students rotate, serving patients from all 67 Florida counties. |
| #8 |
University of Maryland School of Dentistry |
13.23% |
21.7 |
3.71 |
The world's first dental college and played a foundational role in developing dental education. |
| #9 |
UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry |
18.83% |
21.9 |
3.81 |
Known for its Laredo Dental Clinic, run with Laredo Health, that trains predoctoral students and residents in care for all ages. |
| #10 |
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry |
9.12% |
21.8 |
3.76 |
As Virginia's only dental school, it handles about 100,000 patient visits a year and runs a nation-leading digital dentistry program. |
| #11 |
University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine |
6.01% |
21.8 |
3.77 |
Students uniquely begin patient care in their first year, treating patients in areas like the Center for Patients with Special Needs and the Interdisciplinary Implant Center before serving underserved communities in their final year. |
| #12 |
University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine |
3.87% |
22.5 |
3.76 |
Offers a one-of-a-kind integrated curriculum where dental students spend their first 18 months studying the basic medical sciences alongside UConn medical students. |
| #13 |
University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine |
5.81% |
21.1 |
3.70 |
Students begin patient care earlier than at most schools, in clinics with over 30,000 annual patient visits and about 6,500 patients at any given time. |
| #14 |
Oregon Health & Science University School of Dentistry |
12.86% |
20.7 |
3.68 |
Offer a distinct eight-week experiential rotation at an external Oregon site plus a one-week rotation at OHSU's Russell Street Dental Clinic. |
| #15 |
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry |
6.10% |
21.5 |
3.79 |
Every student completes and presents research, and the school serves as the administrative home of the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network. |
| #16 |
University of Minnesota School of Dentistry |
11.07% |
21.5 |
3.75 |
The first dental school in the nation to create a dental therapy program, and it educates dental therapists side by side with dental students. |
| #17 |
University of Louisville School of Dentistry |
17.15% |
19.9 |
3.66 |
Dental students have weekly rotations at the Red Bird Clinic, providing comprehensive care in Clay, Bell, and Leslie counties in Appalachia. |
| #18 |
UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry |
9.24% |
22.6 |
3.87 |
Sits in the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical complex. Students also practice on virtual patients with digital records, diagnostic images, and 3D models before treating real patients in the Clinical Simulation and Learning Center. |
| #19 |
University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics |
12.04% |
21.2 |
3.74 |
Their third-year curriculum is built around specialty clerkships. Its students graduate with more clinical experience than at any other US dental school. |
| #20 |
Adams School of Dentistry at UNC Chapel Hill |
9.17% |
22.7 |
3.72 |
All students join a clinic office with upperclassmen in the spring of their first year and take on their first patient as primary providers by that summer. |
To find the figures above, we used the latest available data from the American Dental Education Association (ADEA).
Expert dental admissions consultants at Inspira Advantage can help you build the strongest application to get into the top dental schools.
Methodology
We used several ranking criteria to build our list for the top dental school choices in the U.S. Here’s what we looked at to rank each school:
- NIH funding: Research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) looks at the scale and productivity of a school's research enterprise. It shows active investigators, laboratory infrastructure, and opportunities for students interested in academic dentistry or dual-degree tracks.
- Clinical training volume: We looked at how many procedures a student completes before graduation and how early in the curriculum patient care begins.
- INBDE pass rates: First-time pass rates on the Integrated National Board Dental Examination (INBDE) suggest how effectively a curriculum prepares students for licensure.
- Specialty match rates: We compared the number of graduates who get placed into residency programs in orthodontics, oral surgery, pediatric dentistry, endodontics, periodontics, and prosthodontics.
- Patient population: We also looked at the size and diversity of the patient pool a school works with. Urban schools with large clinics typically offer more case variety than programs in smaller markets.
Whether you're figuring out how many dental schools to apply to or mapping out your dental school application timeline, our ranking criteria ensure you choose the best dental school for your career.
How to Choose Which Dental Schools to Apply To
Compare Your GPA and DAT Score to Build a Balanced School List
Compare your average GPA and DAT score against the matriculant averages at the schools you're considering. If your DAT score falls three or four points below a school's average and your GPA is significantly under their median, that school is a reach, and stacking your list with reaches is a fast way to end up reapplying. Understanding dental school acceptance rates across programs helps you gauge where you're most competitive.
Build your school list with a mix of a few schools where your numbers land above the average, a solid number where you're right in range, and two or three where you'd need everything else on your application to carry extra weight.
Consider Residency Placement Rates
If you already know you're interested in a specialty like endodontics, orthodontics, or oral surgery, look at where each school's graduates match into residency programs. Some dental schools have a strong track record of placing students into competitive specialties, while others focus more heavily on producing general practitioners.
Researching the best dental residency programs now gives you a clearer picture of where you want to end up, and which dental schools are most likely to get you there. Understanding the highest-paid dental specialties can also help you weigh whether the extra years of training align with your financial and career goals.
Compare Dental School Tuition Against Long-Term Return on Investment
A $120,000-per-year program and a $30,000-per-year program both give you the same DDS or DMD upon completion. The difference is whether you graduate with $200,000 or $600,000 in debt.
Think carefully about whether a higher-cost school offers something concrete that justifies the price, like stronger clinical training, better specialty placement, or a location where you want to build your career. If two schools offer comparable outcomes and one costs a third as much, the math speaks for itself.
Consider the Dental School's Clinical Training Timeline
Not all dental schools introduce patients at the same point in the curriculum. Some programs get you into the clinic by the end of your first year. Others keep you in simulation labs until year three. If hands-on experience matters to you (and it should), explore each school's clinical timeline.
Ask how many patients students treat before graduation and what range of procedures they perform independently. A school that graduates students who've done 80 extractions and placed hundreds of restorations prepares you differently than one with limited clinical volume.
Assess the Dental School’s Location and How It Might Affect Your Future Practice and Professional Network
Where you attend dental school shapes your professional network for years. Many graduates end up practicing within driving distance of where they trained, because that's where they built relationships with mentors, referring dentists, and patients.
If you want to practice as a dentist in Texas, attending a dental school in Texas puts you closer to the licensing requirements, referral networks, and job market you'll eventually enter. Pick a state that aligns with where you actually see yourself building a practice, not just where the campus looks nicest.
Look Into the Dental School's Mission and Culture Fit to Ensure It Aligns With Your Goals
Every dental school has a personality. Some emphasize community health and serving underserved populations. Others lean heavily into research and innovation. A few pride themselves on producing private practice owners.
Read each school's mission statement, but more importantly, look at what their students actually do, like where they volunteer, what outreach programs exist, and what the school celebrates publicly.
When your personal statement and experiences align with what a school values, your application reads as a natural fit rather than a generic one. Building the right extracurricular profile for dental school well before you apply makes that alignment much easier to demonstrate.
Helina Tessema, a student at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and expert admissions consultant at Inspira Advantage, explains in the Your Guide to The Dental School Application Process webinar that you shouldn’t compare your journey to anyone else’s journey. Don’t get caught up in their journey; focus on choosing the right dental school for your long-term goals.
FAQs
What Are the Hardest Dental Schools to Get Into?
Based on acceptance rate, the hardest dental schools to get into are the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, and the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine. These programs combine extremely low acceptance rates with high average DAT scores and GPAs among matriculants.
What Is the #1 Dental School in the US?
The University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry is the number one dental school in the U.S. The school admitted just 6.55% of applicants, with an average DAT score of 23.3 and an average overall GPA of 3.72 among matriculants.
What Is the Average DAT Score for Top Dental Schools?
The average DAT score across the top 20 dental schools on our list is 21.9. However, the national average DAT score is roughly 18.5, according to the American Dental Association (ADA).
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