Dental Implants with Low Monthly Payments
When discussing your tooth replacement options with the dentist, you do not need to discount the option of dental implants because the initial price seems higher than you can afford. The cost of dental implants should not be the reason you are not taking care of your oral health and your future.
Dental Implant Financing & Bad Credit: Here Are Your Options
Depending on your individual case, dental implants average about $1,500 to $3,000 per tooth and the price can be higher if you need additional procedures like bone grafting or gum restoration. Even if you have dental insurance, your policy may not cover 100% of the cost. Even though most dentists recommend dental implants for tooth replacement and dental implants are the industry standard for tooth replacement, most dental insurance policies do not cover their full cost including additional necessary procedures.
After the dentist has talked to you about replacing your missing teeth with dental implants, the dentist may be able to give you an estimate for the cost of your specific case. If the dentist has determined that dental implants are the best treatment plan for you but you need to cover the cost of them out of your budget, the dentist may be able to offer you financing options. What can be more frustrating is the financing options seem to be limited to people with good credit scores. Without that prequalification for financing, nearly half of the people who need dental implants are not able to cover the cost. There is hope for those patients with lower credit scores now too! Here are a few common options that are available to look into in order to cover the cost of your dental implants:
Sub-Prime Lender Financing
The first option for people who are not able to secure financing through a credit-based medical loan lender is applying for a subprime lender loan. Primary lenders like CareCredit and GreenSky are limited to people with good credit scores or a minimum score of 640 to be approved for a medical loan. Subprime lenders look beyond credit scores. A deeper look into income, employment history and alternative source based other information will give the lenders a more complete portrait of your credit risk. With this additional information and consideration, people can secure financing for their medical needs.
Just because the subprime lender approved your loan, it is not all positive at this point. Subprime lender financing plan typically have high interest rates. They may even have high origination fees for the borrower. The patient may be able to pay for the dental implants and the necessary procedures, but the patient may experience additional financial strain from the added burden on their budget. The dental office does not benefit from subprime lender loans because the patient’s money ultimately goes to the lender not the office. Despite the fact that the terms of the loan are determined by the lender, the patient may have a poor impression of the dental practice because the terms of the loan are steep. After the patient is approved for a subprime lender financing option and the patient has the dental implant procedures, the patient will be paying for the treatment for a long time to come.
Personal Loans
After the patient has considered a subprime lender loan, the patient can look into a personal loan. Without a strong credit score, personal loans can be either secured or unsecured to cover the cost of the dental implants. A secured personal loan requires collateral; collateral can come in the form of a car or real estate. A personal loan secured with collateral improves the patient’s chance of approval for financing and can increase the amount of the approved loan. In the case where a person fails to pay off their secured personal loan, either defaulting or allowing the account to become delinquent, the lender can repossess the collateral. The other option of an unsecured loan does not require any collateral but it does increase the lender’s risk. If the patient already has bad credit, it may prove to be difficult to secure an unsecured personal loan as well. Like the credit-based repayment plan, the lender of an unsecured loan takes on risk the borrower will not be able to pay off the loan in full. When the borrower fails to pay off the unsecured loan, defaulted or delinquent accounts are sent to an outside agency. The collection agency will follow up with the borrower to resume payment.
Flexible Pay-Over-Time Plans
Another option for people looking for a medical loan but have been able to secure it due to a less than ideal credit score, is a pay-over-time loan. Lenders like Healthcare Finance Direct partners with the dental office to offer patients ways to pay for their dental procedures when they are not covered by their dental insurance policy. The dental office will be able to treat more patients and provide more people with improved long term dental health.
Healthcare Finance Direct uses data beyond credit scores and credit reports to determine a patient’s loan risk. The loan underwriting process considers not only how much the patient will be able to pay back but at what intervals are reasonable. The result is an installment loan agreement that the patient must provide a down payment to initiate.
Because pay-over-time loan lenders like Healthcare Finance Direct partner with the dental office, the lender will get the loan payment and the dental office will get the interest on the loan. The lender uses the gathered information to determine interest rates that will mitigate the risk of the dental office. Additionally, the lender secures the loan payments through setting up direct debit payments from the patient’s bank account. The patient does not need to worry about keeping up with mailing monthly checks and the lender does not need to worry about hunting down late or missing payments.
The benefits of using a pay-over-time lender will not only give the patient the option of improving their quality of life with dental implants, but the patient can use a payment portal to access payment and loan information. The patient will be able to access customer service support through the payment portal as well. The dental office will be able to improve the dental health of more patients and to earn income from the partnership. The office will be able to use the payment portal as well for service and loan information.