15 Miss. Code. R. 8-90-01-104.02
The Mississippi State Board of Dental Examiners reported 1,620 licensed (1,450 "active" and 170 "inactive") dentists in the state as of April 2021, 74 new dentists licensed during calendar year 2020. Based on Mississippi's 2025 projected population of 3,095,026 the state has one active dentist for every 2,135 persons.
According to the Health Resources and Services Administration's Division of Policy and Shortage Designation (HRSA/DPSD), Mississippi currently has a total of 146 dental health professional shortage area (HPSA) designations. Seventy-nine of the designations are single county designations.
Mississippi's two major population centers contain the most active dentists. The Jackson area had a total of 409 active dentists in the fall of 2021, with 158 in Hinds County, 121 in Rankin County, and 130 in Madison County. The Gulf Coast region had the second largest count at 198, with 119 in Harrison County, 66 in Jackson County, and 13 in Hancock County. Combined, these two metropolitan areas contained forty-two percent of the state's total supply of active dentists.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, six counties - Greene, Kemper, Noxubee, Quitman, Tishomingo, and Tunica - had only one active dentist each and six counties - Claiborne, Franklin, Humphreys, Issaquena, Jefferson, and Sharkey - had no active dentist. Map 1-3 depicts the number of dentists per county and indicates the number of in-state, active, licensed dentists who have mailing addresses in the state.
15 Miss. Code. R. 8-90-01-104.02