The exam is done. Two crowns and a buildup, $3,800, and Sam nods through the whole explanation. Then the front desk reads out the total, and the nod turns into “call us when you're ready.” A consultant writing in Dental Economics hears that line, and its cousin “I'll wait until it hurts,” at front desks all the time. Most of those patients aren't saying no to the crowns. They're saying no to $3,800 today.
Owners see it too. In the ADA Health Policy Institute's Q3 2026 survey, one owner dentist put it plainly: “People are deferring treatment due to their personal financial constraints.” Dental patient financing doesn't change the fee. It changes the first number the patient hears: $3,800, or about $160 a month.
Lenders, in-house plans and membership plans
Three different things go by the name, and most practices offer at least two of them.
- Third-party lenders. CareCredit, Sunbit, Cherry and Affirm lend the patient the money. The practice is paid within days, minus the lender's fee, and the patient repays the lender.
- In-house payment plans. The practice splits the fee into set payments on a saved card. There's no lender and no fee, and the practice carries the risk.
- Membership plans for patients without insurance. A monthly or yearly fee pays for cleanings and exams, with a discount on treatment. It won't finance a big case, but it keeps those patients coming back for cleanings. Our post on in-house membership plans covers what to charge.
How the lenders differ
Each lender works a little differently, and the difference is what the patient remembers later.
- CareCredit is a health credit card. Many of its plans charge no interest if the balance is paid in full within a promotional period, commonly 6 to 24 months. If it isn't, interest is charged back to the purchase date. Say that part out loud at the counter.
- Sunbit and Cherry offer fixed monthly payments on a single treatment. The patient applies from a phone on the lender's page and sees the payment before agreeing.
- Affirm shows the total interest before the patient agrees, and it doesn't use deferred interest.
Many offices offer one card and one installment lender, so a patient one lender turns down still has a second option. Before you sign with any of them, ask three things: what it charges you for each plan length, how fast it pays out, and what the patient sees if the answer is no.
What financing costs the practice
Every lender charges the practice a fee on each financed case, taken out of what it pays you. Short plans tend to cost a few percent; long no-interest plans can cost well into double digits. Fees change by lender and by plan length, so ask each one for its current fee sheet.
Here's the math to bring to the next team meeting. Say the fee on a 12-month plan is 10%. On Sam's $3,800 case, the practice receives $3,420 within days. Without financing, the likely result is $0 this year and a broken tooth next year. A fee is worth paying when it decides whether the case happens at all. It isn't worth paying on a $300 filling the patient would pay for anyway.
When to bring up monthly payments
Bring it up with the total, before the patient reacts. Once Sam has said “I'll think about it,” a monthly number sounds like a sales move. Said in the same breath as the fee, it reads as part of the plan.
Three rules make the timing easy:
- The dentist explains the treatment and why it can't wait, and leaves the money to the desk.
- The treatment coordinator or front desk gives the total and the monthly figure together, in one sentence.
- Every patient whose plan is over a set amount, say $1,000, hears the options. Nobody feels singled out, and nobody gets skipped because they “didn't look like” they needed it.
The words in the chair
The dentist's job is the why. Keep it short and hand it off:
In the chair: “Sam, those two teeth are cracked, and crowns now keep them from splitting. Alex will go over the cost with you, including ways to pay monthly. You can decide today or take the plan home.”
The last sentence matters. It takes the pressure off, and patients who don't feel pushed are more likely to say yes at the counter.
The words at the counter
The coordinator gives the total and the choices in one breath:
At the counter: “The total for both crowns is $3,800. Patients usually pick one of three ways: pay today, split it with us over four months, or use a lender and pay about $160 a month. Which would you like to look at?”
If the patient chooses a lender: “I'm sending the link to your phone now. You fill it in there, and the lender decides. If it says yes, we can book your first visit before you leave.”
Applying before the patient leaves
Patients apply best before they leave, while the plan is fresh. The front desk texts the practice's own lender link, and the patient applies on the lender's page while the desk books the visit. A patient who walks out to “apply tonight” often doesn't.
Put the same links in every treatment plan text and on your site, so anyone who'd rather talk it over at home can apply from the couch.
When the answer is still “call us when you're ready”
Send the plan home in writing, the same day:
The text: “Hi Sam, here's the plan Dr. Lee went over today: two crowns, $3,800, or about $160 a month. You can sign it, pay the deposit or open the financing link from here: [link]. Reply with any question.”
Follow up on day 3, day 10 and day 30, each time with one new reason to book: an opening that fits, the monthly figure, the tooth itself. Stop when Sam books. FlossBooked sends treatment plans by text for the patient to review and e-sign, with a deposit or pay link, a payment plan and your lender links, and the follow-ups stop when the visit is booked.
In-house payment plans, with rules
An in-house plan has no fee and no credit check, which makes it the option for a patient a lender turns down, or a case too small for a lender fee. The practice carries the risk, so write the rules down:
- 25% to 50% down when the plan is signed.
- Payments on a saved card, on a set date each month.
- The balance paid before the final visit, such as the crown seat.
- A signed agreement on file for every plan.
Keep the plan short. Four to six months fits most crown and bridge cases, so the balance doesn't outlast the work.
FlossBooked charges each payment plan installment to the saved card on its date, so nobody keeps the plans in a spreadsheet.
When a patient stops paying
With a third-party lender, the patient owes the lender, not you. Most dental lenders pay the practice up front and take the loss if a patient defaults. Some agreements include recourse terms that put part of that loss back on the practice, so read that section before signing.
With an in-house plan, the loss is yours. The card declines, the desk calls, and the balance either gets paid, goes to collections or gets written off. That's why the deposit and the paid-before-the-final-visit rule matter: they keep the amount at risk small.
The risks, and how to keep them small
- Deferred interest surprises. A patient who misses the promotional deadline sees a large interest charge and blames the practice. Explain it at the counter and put it in the text.
- Fees on cases that would close anyway. Offer lenders above your set amount, not on every visit.
- Pushing too hard. One clear offer with the total is enough. The follow-up texts do the reminding.
- Different answers from different people. Write the scripts down, so the dentist, the coordinator and the front desk say the same thing.
FlossBooked
FlossBooked builds front desk software, websites and marketing for US dental practices. The lender details here come from each lender's public pages; the quotes come from dental forums and trade press.
