In plain English
General dentistry is all of dental practice that is not a recognised specialty: examinations, restorative work, crowns and bridges, extractions, root canal treatment in many practices, and increasingly implant and cosmetic work. Scope is set by the licence and by the dentist's own continuing training rather than by a specialty certificate.
On the public record general practice is a specialisation beneath the dentist classification. It is the right code when you want practice owners and the clinicians who refer cases out, and the wrong one when you want orthodontists or oral surgeons.
Because this is where ownership sits, a general dentist list doubles as a list of buyers - for equipment, materials, laboratory work and practice software.
Training and credentials
The same four-year DDS or DMD and state licence as any dentist, with continuing education in place of a specialty residency.
Where they practise
Private solo and group practice, dental support organisations, community clinics, public health.
General dentists on the public record
Counted from what providers file about themselves, with suppression applied before anything is counted, refreshed 2026-10-05. Names, specialties and practice locations are public; work email and phone are for signed-in customers.
| State | On record | With work email | With practice phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 24,905 | 17,336 70% | 24,904 |
| Texas | 15,963 | 9,808 61% | 15,962 |
| Florida | 10,442 | 6,853 66% | 10,440 |
| New York | 10,325 | 7,638 74% | 10,324 |
| Illinois | 7,722 | 5,099 66% | 7,721 |
| Pennsylvania | 6,318 | 4,471 71% | 6,317 |
| Michigan | 6,010 | 3,989 66% | 6,010 |
| North Carolina | 5,991 | 3,699 62% | 5,991 |
Closely related, and where to find them.
Closely related
- Dentist An independently licensed profession, two interchangeable degrees, nine recognised specialties.
- Orthodontist A recognised dental specialty, usually single-specialty and multi-site.
- Pediatric dentist A recognised specialty for children, concentrated in metropolitan group practice.
Find them
- General dentists list counts by state, the fields a record carries, a sample record.
- Dentists dentists and dental specialists, with the practices they own and work in.
Need the list, not the definition?
A free account builds this population with your own filters and shows what each record carries before anything is bought.