How Dental Patient Financing Helps Support Patient Oral Health and Practice Health

How often do you encounter patients who refuse essential dental care because they think it’s too expensive? It's probably not uncommon, as cost can be an obstacle for patients who need dental treatment.¹ With dental patient financing, patients can overcome insurance coverage limitations and the increased costs of care. Treatments for oral health concerns can be within reach for patients when manageable payment options are available.

Preventive care, restorative dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, orthodontics and advanced dental treatments can be viable choices for previously uncertain patients when financing becomes an option. Friendly payment options have the potential to not only help improve patient oral health by providing a path to pay for timely treatment, but they can also help promote the health and reputation of your dental practice.

What Is Dental Patient Financing?

Dental patient financing offers patients ways to pay for the cost of their dental procedures. Payments can be made in monthly installments over an agreed-upon time for all types of dental work, from fillings to mouthguards, crowns to bridges, dentures to braces, veneers to dental implants.

There are different types of flexible financing for dental patients:

• In-house. This financing is offered directly to patients by your dental practice without the involvement of third-party lenders. It’s a courtesy option crafted to provide low- or no-interest payments.
• Installment plans. Patients can pay for in-house financing through affordable monthly installment plans. This option is attractive to patients who do not have dental insurance or need costly procedures not covered by insurance.
• Deferred payment option. Rather than paying up front for dental procedures, you can offer patients the option to pay over time through in-house plans or an outside lender.
• Third-party financing. Your dental practice can partner with a third-party lender that offers patient financing in dental care or healthcare. Patients work with that third-party lender to apply for financing. If approved, your practice is paid by the third party, and the third party works with the patient on paying back the loan.

Not all dental offices provide dental patient financing. Your practice may be more appealing to new and existing patients when you offer alternative ways to pay for essential oral healthcare and cosmetic upgrades. Adopting alternative payment options can help patients move forward with care and simplify the payment process. Getting set up with third-party financing is easy — companies like CareCredit provide resources and support to help practices start accepting payments quickly.

Dental Patient Financing Promotes Improved Oral Health

You want your dental patients to prioritize their oral health and recognize that tooth pain and dental deterioration may be inevitable if they choose not to pursue the dental care you recommend. However, you know that one of the biggest roadblocks to patients agreeing to important dental treatments is prohibitive costs.

Synchrony's Dental Lifetime of Care study found that 58% of respondents believe dental care is not affordable. This belief may be why 92% of respondents said they would consider holding off on general dental care. Doubts about emergency dental care are almost as high at 83%, with patients pausing on pursuing treatment because of cost.¹

Manageable payment options can help make the cost of addressing oral health problems and even basic preventive care easy to digest. There are many reasons dental patient financing can help patients move forward with care recommendations, minimize cost concerns and may reduce patient worries:

• Move forward with preventive care. Helps make paying for teeth cleanings, check-ups and X-rays between dental visits easy. Preventive care can stop many costly oral health complications from developing, and financing options can empower patients to move forward with early intervention recommendations.
• Confident about getting immediate care. When they feel confident about a reasonable payment method, patients also feel more comfortable about immediate treatment plan compliance rather than putting off critical dental care. You have the power to break down financial barriers in a meaningful way.
• Willing to invest in full treatment. Patients who feel supported and understood when it comes to their concerns about dental care costs are more likely to comply with the full, recommended course of treatment instead of partial treatments. This increase in acceptance rates can lead to better outcomes.

Boost Dental Practice Health With Third-Party Patient Financing

When patients are informed about the cost of care, it can help them make better decisions about both their oral and financial health. While in-house financing is one option, third-party patient financing offers unique advantages for both patients and dental practices:

• Patients say yes to more services. Whether it’s an expander and braces, veneers and teeth whitening or root canal therapy and a porcelain crown, patients often need or want multiple treatments. Dental patient financing can help make treatment acceptance easier.
• Minimize accounts receivable (AR) work. Dental practices often get paid faster with a third-party patient financing service. (For example, providers who accept CareCredit receive payment within two business days.) This streamlined process can help improve dental revenue cycle management.
• Help reduce administrative burden. When there isn’t extra work on the plate of your AR staff to collect on bills post-treatment, the money flow is predictable and employees can focus on the most important work at hand — serving patients.
• Improve staff morale. Financing from third-party dental financing companies instead of in-house dental care payment plans may be more beneficial and can help your staff put resources and energy toward what they love most: treating and helping patients.
• Increase patient satisfaction. Providing various patient payment solutions and flexible dental financing options can help increase patient satisfaction and boosts patient retention.

Average out-of-pocket costs over a lifetime for an adult aged 20 to 79 is $51,000 to $95,000+ for dental benefit premiums. These totals don't include specialized or complex care like orthodontics, dental implants, veneers or other cosmetic dentistry procedures. A person’s ability to pay for these premiums without financing impacts the decision to seek dental care.¹

The CareCredit credit card offers a revolving line of credit, which means patients apply once for the line of credit; if approved, they can it use again and again just like a general purpose credit card. Future visits to the dentist become easy for patients who know they have a way to manage the cost of their treatment.

With more than 35 years in the health and wellness space, CareCredit has an extensive provider network with more than 270,000 locations accepting the card — and this includes industries beyond dental, such as animal and pet care, cosmetic care, vision care, audiology and even Walgreens. Additionally, promotional financing options are available for purchases of $200 or more. Promoting these advantages to your patients can help make the dental patient financing option even more appealing.

Transform Your Dental Practice With Dental Patient Financing

You know that dental problems wait for no one, and they do not go away on their own. Your patients may wish their teeth could miraculously repair or beautify themselves, but they need your expertise and understanding. Dental patient financing can help them feel like their cost concerns are being addressed.

With different types of financing options, patients may feel relief that there are ways to help manage their dental costs, and they can confidently invest in their oral health. Your practice’s adoption of dental payment plans and alternative payment methods can help improve the patient experience and patient retention and can help transform your dental practice.

A Dental Patient Financing Solution for Your Practice

Want to help more patients move forward with the dental care they want or need? Consider offering CareCredit as a financing solution. CareCredit allows patients to pay for out-of-pocket dental care costs over time while helping enhance the payments process for your practice.

When you accept CareCredit, patients can see if they prequalify with no impact to their credit score, and those who apply, if approved, can take advantage of special financing on qualifying purchases.* Additionally, you will be paid directly within two business days.

Learn more about the CareCredit credit card as a dental patient financing solution or start the provider enrollment process by filling out this form.

Author Bio

Elizabeth Weiss is a freelance writer and editor with more than 20 years of experience in content development for dentistry, orthodontics and cosmetic dermatology. She focuses on making healthcare topics accessible to readers and contributes to many fields, from family and estate law to industrial services and landscape design.

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