The role of a dentist today is not just limited to braces and oral care. Today, thanks to technology and automation, a lot has changed in the realm of dentistry.
High-end digital restorations and high-tech comfort in your dental office – your patients are asking for uncompromised quality and advanced results. So, even the most crooked smile is getting restored in dental clinics with seamless results.
It’s true that none of these solutions are cheap, but patients these days do not mind the expense, even if they may not get viable dental insurance coverage for going under the knife.
The few treatments and solutions that insurance companies like Affirm cover have many criteria and guidelines that your patient needs to meet. These traditional bigwigs offer substantially fewer loan amounts compared to many contemporary lending companies.
Some of these offer limited refinancing options with a limited period to repay the loan. All of these can be highly challenging for the patient as well as commercial service providers like dentists.
Let us explore more and see the various dental financing methods that can make your patients comfortable and confident when they visit your clinic for treatment.
How Patients Can Finance Dental Procedures
Here are the various ways that patients can finance their dental care expenses:
1. Savings
It is the oldest known method. Until about a few decades back, most people would pay for their emergency expenses from the money they keep in the bank as a saving.
But it is not quite a wise move today because saving is a disciplined process that not many people our age can match capably. Also, dental treatments have become so very expensive that it is practically impossible to meet such expenses with one’s savings alone.
It should be noted here that many dentists are okay to take partial payments upfront and the rest paid as installments; many do no accept the arrangement. It also does not work for all kinds of treatments.
For orthodontic treatments, this kind of arrangement is absolutely fine, but not for treatments that require the patient to visit the dentist only once or twice.
Until and unless the patient knows the doctor well, most healthcare professionals will not accept such arrangements. What it necessarily means is that it is a loss for the dentist and the patient, both.
2. Financing
Of the two solutions, dental financing is the right way out that serves a dual purpose.
It helps patients get the best of treatments from the best of doctors on the one hand. On the other, it means good business for the dentist, knowing that their payment is safe and secured.
Different dental financing options include:
A Standard Credit Card
Just like every other service or product purchased, you can buy and pay for dental services using your standard credit card. The condition is that your dentist should be accepting credit card payments.
The pros are that the patient does not have to take a loan, but the downside is that the credit card gets tied up. It means that you cannot use the card for other general-purpose payments.
Also, the interest rates on the credit card are substantially higher than other refinancing plans.
Specialized Medical Credit Cards
There are credit cards offered specially for medical and dental expenses. There are many leading medical card providers in the US. Read Care Credit dental reviews to get insight into the big ones in the industry.
The bottom line is that patients can use the health care card for multiple dental treatments. There is a credit limit, for sure, but the interest rates are quite high in this case too.
Remember, if patients default on payments, they can be penalized, which might be too overbearing for them.
Moreover, some cards run promotional offers saying that they are interest-free, but they aren’t zero interest. To top it all off, the balance has to be returned within the promotional period. So pick your medical credit card provider wisely.
Healthcare Installment Loans
Patients can go in for financing their dental treatment by picking the best and the most optimized financing company.
It is a great source of relaxation and mental peace for the patient and the dentist.
As such, healthcare financing loans are usually given for a large amount vis-a-vis the medical credit card. As long as the patient has money on the card, they can use it to get procedures done.
But, once the limit is over, there is no more financing possible through the card – until and unless you pay it all up using your standard credit card or go in for another medical credit card with a higher credit limit.
Healthcare loans can be refinanced to cover expenses for additional procedures. The other advantage is that the interest rates are drastically low when compared with credit card interest rates.
Plus, you do not attract penalties in case of late payment. The loan term of such schemes is usually about 84 months, which gives the patient ample time to settle the amount comfortably.
Equity Loans
These are loans that patients can take by depositing collateral. The interest rates are usually lower than credit cards and installment loans.
However, patients and dental health care providers must understand this: there is a risk that the collateral is with the lender as long as the loan is not repaid. For example, if you deposit your home papers, the lender can sell the home to get his money back.
In Closing
Dental implants are making way into the lives of your patients to give them a picture-perfect appearance, look, and feel. Every issue with health and oral hygiene has a solution today due to sophisticated dental solutions and skilled dental professionals.
While these dental services are largely accessible by people today, for many of your clients, paying for these treatments out-of-pocket is a matter of concern.
Dental financing is an effective way to retain and empower these clients, giving them a charming smile and allowing you to boost your business and revenues in the process.
