A tax provision in the newly passed federal budget could cause further harm to dentists already struggling with staffing issues and rising costs.
President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 4.
Barry Lyon, DDS, is the dental director for Main Street Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics and the chief clinical auditor for Dental Care Alliance. He recently connected with Becker’s to discuss how the bill could affect dental practices.
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 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or the budget reconciliation bill, was passed by the House and signed July 4 by Trump. There’s little doubt a bill of this magnitude can have significant consequences for dentistry and the individual dentist.
There is a provision in the bill that would eliminate tax deductions for pass-through entities. Corporations are taxed at the corporate level, and then again when dividends are distributed to shareholders. On the other hand, most dental practices operate under partnerships or S corporations, who then report and pay taxes on their individual income tax returns. Eliminating this benefit would deny dental practice owners the ability to deduct state and local taxes at the entity level. This would be a blow to the tax relief upon which many dentists rely.
With operating costs likely rising as a result of the proposed tariffs, the continuation of staffing issues, the loss of patients and revenue through Medicaid cuts, having this unexpected tax burden could be the death knell for offices struggling to survive the Trump administration making America great again.
