Patient Financing: The Lender You're Leaving on the Table

Patient Financing: The Lender You're Leaving on the Table

Patient Financing: The Lender You're Leaving on the Table

Third-party financing (CareCredit, LendingClub for Dental, Proceed Finance) turns unaffordable cases into accepted cases. Studies show case acceptance rates jump from 45% to 72% when patients have payment options. But most practices sit with one vendor or none.

Here's the play: diversify. CareCredit charges you 2-3% but reaches more patients. Proceed Finance averages lower interest (good patient optics) and costs you nothing upfront. Each brings different customer profiles.

The ROI math is brutally simple. One additional case per week at $3,500 production = $182,000 annual production swing. Your margin on that? 65-75% after overhead. That's $120K to your bottom line. Your fintech integration takes two hours to set up.

Most practices run one lender half-heartedly. Integrate three, train front desk on which option suits each patient's creditworthiness, and watch your acceptance rate climb from 50% to 65% just from offering choice.

Source: "Case Acceptance Rates and Payment Options in General Dentistry" (Journal of Dental Practice Management, 2024)