Can I Deduct Dental Costs?

---

Dental care can be expensive, especially when dealing with major procedures, orthodontics, or extensive treatment plans. The good news is that most dental expenses qualify as deductible medical expenses under IRS rules. Understanding which dental costs are deductible, how they fit into the overall medical expense deduction, and what documentation you need can help reduce your tax burden during years with significant dental work.

Who Can Deduct Dental Expenses?

Any taxpayer who itemizes deductions can potentially deduct dental expenses. This includes individuals, married couples filing jointly, heads of household, and qualifying widow(er)s.

Like all medical expenses, dental costs are subject to the 7.5% adjusted gross income (AGI) threshold. You can only deduct total medical and dental expenses that exceed 7.5% of your AGI. If your AGI is $80,000, you need more than $6,000 in combined medical and dental expenses before receiving any tax benefit.

You can deduct dental expenses paid for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents. This includes children who need braces, elderly parents requiring dentures, or any other qualifying dependent claimed on your tax return.

What Dental Expenses Are Deductible?

The IRS allows deductions for dental care that prevents or treats diseases of the teeth and surrounding structures:

Preventive dental care including routine cleanings, examinations, X-rays, fluoride treatments, and sealants are fully deductible. These preventive services help maintain oral health and prevent more serious dental problems.

Fillings and restorations to treat cavities or damaged teeth are deductible dental expenses. This includes amalgam fillings, composite fillings, inlays, onlays, and other restorative work.

Root canals and endodontic treatment to save infected or damaged teeth qualify as deductible medical expenses. This includes the root canal procedure itself, follow-up visits, and any associated costs.

Tooth extractions when medically necessary are deductible, including surgical extractions, wisdom tooth removal, and extractions due to decay, infection, or crowding.

Crowns, bridges, and dentures to replace missing teeth or restore damaged teeth are deductible dental expenses. This includes temporary and permanent crowns, fixed bridges, partial dentures, and full dentures.

Dental implants to replace missing teeth are deductible as medical expenses. This includes the implant posts, abutments, crowns, and all surgical procedures involved in implant placement.

Periodontal treatment for gum disease including deep cleanings (scaling and root planing), gum surgery, bone grafts, and other treatments to address periodontal conditions are deductible.

Orthodontic treatment including braces, clear aligners (like Invisalign), retainers, and other orthodontic appliances are deductible when used to correct misalignment or treat dental health issues. Both children’s and adults’ orthodontic costs qualify.

Oral surgery for medical or dental health reasons is deductible. This includes jaw surgery to correct bite problems, treatment of oral injuries, removal of cysts or tumors, and surgery to address TMJ disorders.

Emergency dental care for accidents, injuries, or sudden dental problems qualifies as a deductible expense. This includes emergency room visits for dental trauma and urgent dental procedures.

Prescription medications related to dental treatment, such as antibiotics for infections or pain medication following dental surgery, are deductible medical expenses.

What Dental Expenses Are NOT Deductible?

Certain dental procedures do not qualify for tax deductions:

Cosmetic dentistry performed solely to improve appearance is not deductible. This includes teeth whitening, veneers for purely aesthetic purposes, and cosmetic bonding to enhance appearance rather than treat dental disease.

However, the line between cosmetic and medical can be unclear. If veneers are needed to restore teeth damaged by accident or disease, they may be deductible. If they’re purely for appearance enhancement, they’re not. The key is whether the procedure treats a dental health issue or merely improves aesthetics.

Dental work performed in future years cannot be deducted in the current year even if you prepay. You deduct dental expenses when they’re actually incurred, not when you pay deposits or make advance payments for future work.

Dental insurance premiums paid with pre-tax dollars through employer plans cannot be deducted—you’ve already received the tax benefit. Only premiums paid with after-tax money can potentially be included in medical expense deductions.

How Orthodontic Costs Are Deducted

Orthodontic treatment often spans multiple years with monthly payment plans, creating questions about when to deduct these expenses:

Upfront payments for orthodontic treatment are deductible in the year paid, even if treatment continues into future years. If you pay $5,000 down payment for braces in 2025, you deduct that amount in 2025.

Monthly payments for orthodontic treatment are deductible in the years you make the payments. If you pay $200 per month for three years, you deduct $2,400 each year ($200 × 12 months).

Insurance reimbursements for orthodontic treatment must be subtracted from your deduction. If your dental insurance pays $1,500 toward braces and you pay $4,500 out-of-pocket, you can only deduct the $4,500.

This timing creates tax planning opportunities. If you’re close to the 7.5% AGI threshold, consider prepaying orthodontic treatment before year-end to bunch deductions into one year rather than spreading them across multiple years.

Dental Implants: Full Deductibility

Dental implants are expensive but fully deductible as medical expenses. A single implant can cost $3,000 to $5,000, and full-mouth reconstruction can exceed $50,000.

All costs associated with dental implants are deductible:

∙ Initial consultation and examination

∙ CT scans and imaging

∙ Bone grafting if needed

∙ Implant post surgical placement

∙ Abutment and crown

∙ Follow-up visits and adjustments

If you need extensive implant work, these costs can easily push you over the 7.5% AGI threshold, making the medical expense deduction valuable.

Dental Work for Children and Dependents

Parents can deduct dental expenses paid for their children, even if the children are claimed as dependents by another parent following divorce. The parent who actually pays the dental bills can deduct those expenses.

Common deductible dental expenses for children include:

∙ Routine cleanings and checkups

∙ Cavity fillings

∙ Orthodontic braces or clear aligners

∙ Tooth extractions

∙ Emergency dental care following accidents

∙ Treatment for dental injuries from sports or falls

Many parents face significant orthodontic costs when their children need braces. These expenses, often $5,000 to $8,000 per child, can substantially increase your total medical expenses and help you exceed the 7.5% threshold.

Timing Your Dental Expenses

Since you deduct dental expenses in the year you pay them, timing can affect your tax benefit:

Bunching strategy: If you’re close to the 7.5% threshold, consider scheduling and paying for non-urgent dental work before year-end. Combining multiple family members’ dental work in one year can push you over the threshold.

Credit card timing: Dental expenses charged to a credit card are deductible when charged, not when you pay the credit card bill. Charging dental work in December but paying the credit card in January allows you to deduct the expense in the earlier year.

Payment plan considerations: If your dentist offers interest-free payment plans, consider whether bunching payments into one year or spreading them provides better tax results based on your AGI and other deductions.

Dental Insurance and Flexible Spending Accounts

Dental insurance reimbursements must be subtracted from your deduction. You can only deduct your actual out-of-pocket costs after insurance pays its portion.

If your dental insurance has a waiting period for major procedures and you pay entirely out-of-pocket in the first year, those expenses are fully deductible (subject to the 7.5% threshold). When insurance reimburses you in a later year, you may need to include that reimbursement as income if you deducted the expense and received a tax benefit.

Dental expenses paid with Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA) funds are already tax-advantaged. You cannot deduct expenses paid with pre-tax FSA or HSA money. Only out-of-pocket expenses paid with after-tax dollars qualify for the itemized medical deduction.

Documentation Requirements

Maintain thorough documentation for dental expense deductions:

Itemized bills and receipts from your dentist showing the date of service, procedures performed (with dental codes), and amount charged.

Explanation of Benefits (EOB) statements from dental insurance showing what portion insurance covered and what remained as your responsibility.

Payment records including canceled checks, credit card statements, or bank records proving you paid the expenses.

Treatment plans for major dental work, especially for procedures that might be questioned as cosmetic versus medical.

Orthodontic contracts showing total cost, payment schedule, and treatment timeline.

Keep all dental documentation for at least three years after filing your tax return in case of IRS audit.

Cosmetic vs. Medically Necessary Dental Work

The distinction between cosmetic and medically necessary dental work can be gray:

Clearly deductible: Crowns to restore broken teeth, fillings for cavities, implants to replace missing teeth, treatment for gum disease, and orthodontics to correct bite problems.

Clearly not deductible: Professional teeth whitening purely for appearance, veneers solely to improve smile aesthetics, and cosmetic bonding for appearance enhancement.

Gray areas: Veneers to restore teeth damaged by grinding or acid erosion may be deductible. Orthodontics primarily for cosmetic reasons but with some functional benefit may be partially deductible. When in doubt, get a letter from your dentist explaining the medical necessity of the treatment.

Dental Expenses While Traveling

Dental work performed while traveling, whether domestically or internationally, is deductible if the services would be deductible at home. Some people travel to other countries for less expensive dental work—these costs are deductible, though travel costs generally are not unless the primary purpose of the trip is medical care.

If you travel specifically for dental treatment available only in another location, your travel costs (transportation and lodging) may be deductible as medical travel expenses.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Don’t deduct dental expenses paid by insurance. Only your out-of-pocket costs qualify for deduction.

Don’t forget that dental expenses count toward the same 7.5% AGI threshold as all other medical expenses. Combine dental and medical costs to determine if you exceed the threshold.

Make sure you’re actually itemizing deductions. If you take the standard deduction, you receive no benefit from tracking dental expenses.

Don’t deduct cosmetic dental work performed solely for appearance. These expenses won’t survive IRS scrutiny unless you can demonstrate medical necessity.

Keep detailed receipts and documentation. Generic credit card charges labeled “dentist” without itemized procedures are insufficient for audit defense.

State Tax Benefits

Some states offer more generous medical and dental expense deductions than federal rules. Check your state’s tax laws—you might benefit from dental deductions at the state level even if you don’t exceed the federal 7.5% threshold.

Bottom Line

Dental expenses are tax deductible when they’re part of total medical expenses exceeding 7.5% of your adjusted gross income and you itemize deductions. Most dental care—including preventive services, fillings, crowns, implants, braces, and treatment for dental disease—qualifies as deductible. Cosmetic dentistry performed purely for appearance is not deductible. Track all dental expenses throughout the year, subtract insurance reimbursements, combine with other medical costs, and maintain detailed documentation. Dental deductions provide the most value during years with major dental work like implants or orthodontics that significantly increase your total medical expenses. For personalized advice on maximizing dental expense deductions, consult with a qualified tax professional.