The ongoing tariff war between the U.S. and other countries could have detrimental effects on the healthcare supply chain and patient care, affecting dental practice operations, according to Barry Lyon, DDS.
China recently imposed 125% tariffs on U.S. goods in retaliation to President Donald Trump imposing a 145% tariff rate on Chinese goods. While Mr. Trump temporarily lowered tariff rates for other U.S. trading partners to allow time for trade negotiations, lawmakers have continued pushing the Trump administration to shield medical supply chains from tariffs.
Dr. Lyon, the dental director for Main Street Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics and the chief clinical auditor for Dental Care Alliance, spoke with Becker’s about how these tariffs will impact dental practice owners and patients.
Editor’s note: This Q&A is part of a weekly series featuring Dr. Lyon focused on topics in the dental industry and DSO field. The views expressed are those of Dr. Lyon and do not necessarily reflect those of Main Street Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics or Dental Care Alliance.
This response was lightly edited for clarity and length.
Dr. Barry Lyon:
The American Dental Association recently warned President Donald Trump that tariffs would have significant negative impacts on dentists and patients if the proposed tariffs are enforced. The ADA urged Trump to exclude from the tariffs medical devices and those items used in dentistry.
Because 75% of U.S.-marketed medical devices are manufactured outside the U.S., the cost of essential healthcare and dental supplies will increase markedly. An increase on Chinese imports will impact the cost of personal protective equipment, imaging devices, patient bibs, high- and low-speed suction items, 20% of the world’s nitrile gloves, and a multitude of other items. Dentists can expect this to seriously affect their practice’s overhead. Adding insult to injury, tariffs can disrupt the supply chain, making these essential items hard to acquire.
The tariffs will have a snowball effect. Dentists will be forced to pass along these increased costs to patients, who may elect to postpone all but the most essential dental services. This loss of revenue may force dentists to reduce staff, which in turn affects unemployment rates. As unemployment rates increase, consumer confidence decreases, which will simply aggravate an already tenuous economy.
Donald Trump called April 2 “liberation day.” Unfortunately, it’s dentists’ standards of living and patients’ access to quality and safe dentistry that will be liberated.