Malavi Sivakanesan explains the benefits and challenges of patient finance that dental professionals need to know before offering financing options.
Dental practices today face monumental challenges because of soaring costs. Patients in particular are becoming increasingly frustrated with steep bills. However, innovative financial solutions are emerging to provide relief to both patients and practitioners. Here, Dr Malavi Sivakanesan, co-founder of the Complete Smiles dental clinic in Harrow, London, examines current dental financing options and how third-party financial solutions may help cut costs.
This article will explore the existing landscape of dental financing, including available payment plans, eligibility criteria, and associated challenges. For instance, patients comparing dental implant prices in London often prefer to split the cost of treatment to make it more affordable. Recognising such financial difficulties from the patients’ perspective is therefore essential for implementing effective care.
Major financial challenges patients face
Increased costs of dental insurance premiums
Many patients choose private insurance instead of the NHS for faster services and specialised care. However, the constantly rising cost of dental insurance premiums makes this more challenging.
Insurance reimbursement problems
Patients often face issues with insurance reimbursement. Prolonged delays in processing insurance claims or disputes over coverage usually result in unexpected out-of-pocket expenditures.
Limited sources of funding
The NHS typically doesn’t cover advanced dental treatments, leaving patients to pay out of pocket. Government funding is notably absent for popular cosmetic dental procedures, like veneers. The increasing Invisalign, single implant, and all-on-four dental implants cost is making even eager patients more hesitant. Some may forgo treatment altogether without access to affordable pricing options.
A look at patient finance eligibility
- Age: the patient must be of legal age to enter the contract
- Residency: must be a resident of the country or state where the financing plan is offered
- Income criteria: proof of income is required to assess the patient’s ability to repay
- Credit status: credit score and history affect the patient’s individual interest rates, as well as the overall cost of the financing plan.
- Required documents: documents for proving identity, income, and residency are required
- Co-application: certain financing plans permit co-applicants, which may increase the likelihood of approval.
How to choose or recommend a patient finance plan
Compare available financing plans
Evaluate different dental financing plans and compare them based on affordability, transparency, creditworthiness, flexibility, and approval rates to find what best suits the patient. To illustrate, patients researching ‘dental implants cost UK’ can secure the most cost-effective plan by comparing quotes from multiple financiers or clinics.
In-house vs third-party financing
In-house financial plans come directly from the dental provider, whereas third-party financing involves an external financial institution.
Ensure affordability
Encourage patients to assess their personal finances and choose the plan that best suits their budget.
Assess transparency
Advise patients to make sure there are no hidden fees. The financial plan and provider must be transparent in outlining what to expect in terms of interest, repayment terms, fees and all other costs involved.
Creditworthiness
Patients can become eligible for more favourable interest rates with good credit scores and evidence of financial stability.Therefore, patients should be encouraged to leverage their credit history to get a better plan.
Flexibility
Aim to offer financial plans that are flexible in terms of repayment, grace periods and features like an early repayment option.
Check the approval rate
Research and compare the approval rate of the lender to determine how easy it will be to qualify for affordable financing.
Evaluate interest rates and conditions
Examine the terms and conditions for repayment and compare the interest rates between all available financial plans. The goal should be to choose the most favourable terms that align with the patient’s current financial situation.
Other things to consider
Although minor, do make sure to consider factors such as customer support and reputation when choosing a financing partner or a plan.
Conclusion
Patients can effectively mitigate increasing dental costs with more involvement from clinicians and targeted education. For dental care providers, patient perspective should be the focus when offering financial solutions.
The implementation of dental financing heavily relies on the patient’s choice of dental clinic. Complete Smiles, a trusted and leading dental care clinic, helps make dental care affordable and accessible for patients who seek low-cost financing options.
With a primary focus on understanding the cost barriers to dental treatments, the clinic has come up with innovative solutions to make care accessible and reasonably affordable for all patients regardless of financial background.
This article is sponsored by Complete Smiles.
