Dental finance: what are your options and how to know what’s right for you

At Dental as Anything, we have a lot of patients who ask about dental finance.

When I hear that question, it does more than make me smile, but not for the reasons you might think.

Here’s why.

Dental as Anything patients know we take a preventive approach to oral health. For us – and them – it just makes sense. But what does ‘preventive approach’ mean? If you’re not working in the dental world all the time, ‘preventive approach’ can sound a bit, well, dental, so let me explain it.

Taking a preventive approach means looking after teeth and gums in a way that catches small issues before they grow into big – and often expensive – problems. That regular hygiene check you’ve had every six months, together with daily brushing and flossing is all part of a taking a preventive approach. Go you!

If we think about teeth and oral health as an investment, it kind of means getting in before the ‘price rise’. When it comes to our dental health, this translates to: if we leave it too long before taking care of our teeth, we can end up paying a heavy cost, and I don’t just mean with our health. It can cost financially too. Delaying your dental care could mean more money long term.

So what do you do if your dentist prescribes a treatment plan and it requires a sizeable investment? My suggestion is this: ask about your finance options. While paying for treatment now might seem unnecessary, it could be saving you money in future, and in the meantime adding to your quality of life.

When Is Dental Finance a Good Option?

Dental finance is a good option for anyone who’s been prescribed a treatment plan for a condition or treatment that’s beyond the cover provided by their buffer account, private health insurance, or Medicare.

We started offering our patients finance options for dental treatment when it first became available through third party providers. When we decided to provide flexible finance to our patients, it wasn’t because we were innovators. The real reason was we understood something very important about dental treatment.

Here’s what it is: one of the biggest hurdles to receiving treatment is not having the money to pay for it when you need it.

Apart from being inspired by my wife, fast cars, and a mission to help people, my ‘big thing’ in dentistry is removing the barriers to our patients getting the right treatment at the right time. When they need it. When a person is able to leverage finance for dental treatment – and manage it within their budget – finance becomes a game (and life) changer. Ask anyone who’s invested in their teeth and felt confident enough to smile for the first time in decades.

Delaying dental treatment is rarely ideal.  Experience has taught me this usually results in the costs adding up. Certainly there are instances when it just isn’t possible or sensible to take action. Competing life circumstances could see you putting off important treatment, but hopefully only temporarily. That’s totally understandable, but I suggest if you elect to do that, put a sunset date on it.

What Are My Dental Finance Options?

Like most of my peers, Dental as Anything offers several flexible finance options to cover the cost of dental treatment. Before you ask, let me answer that burning question. Here’s what we do:

SuperCare

SuperCare allows patients early access to their superannuation to cover the cost of more expensive dental and orthodontic treatment, such as implants, root canals, crowns, periodontal, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and braces.

There are terms and conditions for all these finance options, so it’s important you read the fine print before you sign up. And keep this in mind too: an investment in your teeth isn’t just financial; it’s emotional and physical too.

GEM Visa

GEM Visa is a 0% interest^ credit card offering payment plans recommended for patients who require high priority dental treatment costing between $1,500 and $5,000. The bonus with GEM Visa? We pay your interest for you.

^ Interest free for six months

zipMoney

zipMoney is a line of credit, without the card. Funds are interest free and the application process is simple.

Look for a Smile Guarantee

Because dental treatment cover by finance is more expensive than the average hygiene clean, it would be nice to know you had a fallback position. Well, at Dental as Anything you do.

For a long time, we’ve offered our patients a Smile Guarantee . Providing you meet certain conditions – mainly around adhering to preventive dental  measures – we’ll stand by our work. You can read the full Smile Guarantee details here, and study our dental finance options here. But before you do, think about the kind of investment you want to make in yourself and know that it will pay you back more than interest.

Dr Mark Miller has been caring for the local Helensvale and broader Gold Coast community for over thirty years. His approach to dentistry is focused on helping people to understand the connection between their oral health and overall physical wellbeing. He is friendly, funny, and most of all, very caring. If you’d like to discuss our dental finance options for a prescribed treatment, we’d love to book a time to chat with one of our team. Tel 5573 0188 or email us on welcome@dentalasanything.com.au.