Dental Assistant providers in the U.S.
2,809 NPPES records list dental assistant as their primary taxonomy, about 0.8 per 100,000 residents; Oregon and Alaska have the most per resident. 5 of them appear in the Medicare Part D prescriber file: a registry record is not proof of an active practice.
What taxonomy code 126800000X means
126800000X is the National Uniform Claim Committee code for Dental Assistant, in the grouping Dental Providers. 2,809 NPPES records list it as their primary taxonomy (file of Aug 9, 2026).
An individual who may or may not have completed an accredited dental assisting education program and who aids the dentist in providing patient care services and performs other nonclinical duties in the dental office or other patient care facility. The scope of the patient care functions that may be legally delegated to the dental assistant varies based on the needs of the dentist the educational preparation of the dental assistant and state dental practice acts and regulations. Patient care services are provided under the supervision of a dentist. To avoid misleading the public, no occupational title other than dental assistant should be used to describe this dental auxiliary.
Source: NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy code set, definition as NUCC publishes it (nucc.org); counts from CMS NPPES.
Most per resident: the 8 highest
Source: CMS NPPES, primary taxonomy 126800000X by practice state, file of Aug 9, 2026; records per 100,000 residents, 2023 Census estimates.
Los Angeles has the most, 145
Source: CMS NPPES, primary taxonomy 126800000X by practice city, file of Aug 9, 2026.
All 50 states and D.C. with records, by state
| State | Records | Per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 7 | 0.1 |
| Alaska | 26 | 3.5 |
| Arizona | 31 | 0.4 |
| Arkansas | 8 | 0.3 |
| California | 969 | 2.5 |
| Colorado | 157 | 2.7 |
| Connecticut | 5 | 0.1 |
| Delaware | 3 | 0.3 |
| District of Columbia | 8 | 1.2 |
| Florida | 60 | 0.3 |
| Georgia | 91 | 0.8 |
| Hawaii | 21 | 1.5 |
| Idaho | 7 | 0.4 |
| Illinois | 4 | 0.0 |
| Indiana | 10 | 0.1 |
| Iowa | 11 | 0.3 |
| Kansas | 16 | 0.5 |
| Kentucky | 48 | 1.1 |
| Louisiana | 15 | 0.3 |
| Maine | 14 | 1.0 |
| Maryland | 11 | 0.2 |
| Massachusetts | 16 | 0.2 |
| Michigan | 24 | 0.2 |
| Minnesota | 27 | 0.5 |
| Mississippi | 1 | 0.0 |
| State | Records | Per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 29 | 0.5 |
| Montana | 13 | 1.1 |
| Nebraska | 7 | 0.4 |
| Nevada | 98 | 3.1 |
| New Hampshire | 1 | 0.1 |
| New Jersey | 20 | 0.2 |
| New Mexico | 31 | 1.5 |
| New York | 33 | 0.2 |
| North Carolina | 29 | 0.3 |
| North Dakota | 9 | 1.1 |
| Ohio | 182 | 1.5 |
| Oklahoma | 26 | 0.6 |
| Oregon | 295 | 7.0 |
| Pennsylvania | 23 | 0.2 |
| South Carolina | 10 | 0.2 |
| South Dakota | 6 | 0.7 |
| Tennessee | 47 | 0.7 |
| Texas | 126 | 0.4 |
| Utah | 4 | 0.1 |
| Vermont | 2 | 0.3 |
| Virginia | 20 | 0.2 |
| Washington | 182 | 2.3 |
| West Virginia | 4 | 0.2 |
| Wisconsin | 2 | 0.0 |
| Wyoming | 1 | 0.2 |
In federal data
- NUCC code126800000X
- Size rank173rd of 688 specialties by records (0.04% of all)
- Part D prescribers5 (0.2% of records)
- Part D claims191 a year per prescriber, on average (284th of 496)
- Industry payments11 physicians paid $2K in 2024, $149 each on average
- Concentration3 states hold half of all records
Source: CMS NPPES; Medicare Part D Prescriber PUF; CMS Open Payments 2024. Presence in these files is not a quality judgment.
A sample of dental assistant records
- Heidi Alexandra RoccoAnchorage, AK1871133405
- Holly LandisAnchorage, AK1548699358
- Julianna AuldAnchorage, AK1346925591
- Nikia DigginsJber, AK1336598291
- Christian RodriguezJber, AK1306297056
- Kayleigh Bay, EFDHAAnchorage, AK1346034816
- Amy Ogrinc, DENTAL ASSISTANTKodiak, AK1831268218
- Jamie CorderKodiak, AK1306984828
- Kimberly Britt, DENTAL ASSISTANTKodiak, AK1164612123
- Holly Craner, DENTAL ASSISTANTKodiak, AK1891961868
- Carolyn BustillosKodiak, AK1508008467
- Bernadette Charles, DHATSt Mary S, AK1952671539
- Michael Demoski, EFDHA1Fairbanks, AK1710234877
- Debra DaytonFairbanks, AK1023365186
- Tara DillowEielson Afb, AK1548809379
- Stephanie RoweEielson Afb, AK1346840329
Registry order, not a ranking. Search by name to find one provider.
Common questions
Where does the large Dental Assistant headcount concentrate?
2,809 Dental Assistant NPIs span 52 states; California alone holds 969. Top metros include Los Angeles, CA; Cincinnati, OH; Fort Carson, CO; Portland, OR. Nationally this is 173rd of 688 NUCC codes.
How large is Dental Assistant's Open Payments footprint?
CMS Open Payments 2024 lists 11 Dental Assistant physicians totaling $2K (20 payments; average $149, 380th of 470). Presence in Open Payments is not a quality judgment.
How heavy is Dental Assistant Part D prescribing at scale?
Among Dental Assistant NPIs, 5 appear in the Medicare Part D Prescriber PUF (average 191 claims and $828 drug cost per prescriber; 284th of 496 specialties by average claims). Non-prescribing clinicians in the same NUCC code are still in NPPES.
Source: CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), file of Aug 9, 2026 (NPPES files on CMS.gov); NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy (nucc.org); Medicare Part D Prescriber PUF; CMS Open Payments 2024. Counts are self-designated primary taxonomy, not board certification.
Figures on PlainDoctor are read from the federal files each page names (CMS NPPES, Medicare Part D, MIPS, Open Payments; the HHS-OIG exclusion list only as counts) and from Census population estimates, with the file date shown beside them. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of Aug 9, 2026.