The future of oral health care is digital. How your financing partner can help

As a health-care practitioner, you encounter patients who are reluctant to accept recommended care and treatment plans, even when they know they need them. For patients, seeking and paying for dental care ultimately has a huge impact on final treatment decisions, and luckily, recent technology has transformed patient accessibility across the health-care industry. 

Most dental practices use independent software vendors (ISVs) in the form of practice management software and patient engagement software to facilitate their day-to-day work and patient communications. Yet, many dental offices have not upgraded to the latest versions of their software or may not be using all the latest functionality.   

In the latest versions, many ISVs have seamlessly integrated the best solutions offered by third-party partners for all practice needs. These include traditional functionality, such as managing patient records, to new functionality, such as elevating patient communications, processing payments, and offering alternative payment plans. 

Effectively working with these services takes the hassle out of managing these administrative operations while making the patient experience smoother. ISVs and their embedded solutions can empower practices to eliminate one of the largest industry challenges for providers and patients—cost.  

Identifying practice challenges during economic uncertainty 

Synchrony’s Dental Lifetime of Care found that 58% of surveyed adults believe that oral care is not affordable, with a majority of respondents (92%) saying they would consider holding off on general dental care due to cost, even for emergency dental care.¹ Further, recent research has shown that overall consumer economic sentiment is extremely low, with the second-lowest reading on record since 1952, translating heavily into consumer spending patterns.² 

These findings imply that now, more than ever, patients may be hesitant to seek out or adhere to necessary oral care recommendations. Such patient attitudes and behaviors ultimately impact dentists’ abilities to run their practices successfully as more patients delay treatments and appointments or choose to settle for lower-cost procedures that have less effective outcomes in the long term. 

From a provider’s perspective, in the six months between the start of Q4 2024 and the conclusion of Q1 2025, dentists have reported reduced confidence in their economic abilities and overall outlook.³ In fact, according to the data, dentists’ confidence in their own practices, and overall in the dental care sector, is decreasing significantly and is at an all-time low since the Health Policy Institute (HPI) began collecting data. To address these concerns, clinicians must leverage the value of financing to expand patient access and drive care decisions.

Equipping practices to tackle cost challenges 

Partnering with third-party financing solutions has long helped dentists with the patient experience by enhancing financing options. As more ISVs integrate financial solutions into their workflow, it’s become easier for dental staff to offer financing to their patients. While most dentists do use some form of ISV, their systems tend to be older, legacy systems, or they still rely on analog tasks such as paper billing and filing. 

As digitization transforms the dental landscape, some seasoned practitioners are hesitant to adopt new technologies and have voiced concerns about the learning curve and potential disruptions to their staff’s established workflows.⁴ This is where keeping pace with digital adoption can make a huge difference in the care journey, as many ISVs have expanded their services to include taking payments at the point of care, making credit access and payment acceptance nearly effortless.

Most dentists know CareCredit, a Synchrony solution, as the dental industry’s most trusted financing partner, with 30-plus years of expertise helping over 80% of dental offices and tens of millions of patients pay over time for their care. 

Few dentists know that CareCredit is directly integrated with more than 40 ISVs, including many of the dental industry’s leading practice management software. By leveraging the integrated financing capability, practitioners can offer much-needed financing to their patients seamlessly and easily, without ever leaving the software that supports their everyday workflow.

For example, practitioners can send patients custom links to apply for CareCredit and process CareCredit transactions with a just a few clicks. Some practice management software even includes a “quick screen” function, where the practitioner can view their patient schedule for the day and see an icon next to each patient’s name that indicates whether the patient is a CareCredit member, is prequalified for CareCredit, or needs more information to apply. Dental providers need solutions that are easy to adopt, while patients need financing that is available from the start of their cost discussions. 

Looking ahead to continued innovation

As dental practices evolve to meet patients where they are, seamless technology support will continue to be paramount to their success. By leveraging financial resources integrated with ISV offerings, providers can easily extend valuable payment options to patients, empowering them to feel confident in their ability to seek and accept care and drive treatment acceptance. 

Editor's note: This article appeared in the September 2025 print edition of Dental Economics magazine. Dentists in North America are eligible for a complimentary print subscription. Sign up here.

References

1. Dental lifetime of care study. Synchrony Bank. 2023 https://www.carecredit.com/sites/pc/pdf/dental-lifetime-of-care-study.pdf

2. Mena B. US consumer sentiment plummets to second-lowest level on records going back to 1952. CNN. April 11, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/11/economy/us-consumer-sentiment-april

3. Economic outlook and emerging issues in dentistry. CDC Health Policy Institute. 2025. https://www.ada.org/-/media/project/ada-organization/ada/ada-org/files/resources/research/hpi/q12025_hpi_economic_outlook_dentistry_slides.pdf

4. Kassim A, Alotaibi KF. Factors that influence the adoption of digital dental technologies and dental informatics in dental practice. Int J Online Biomed Eng. 2023. doi:10.3991/ijoe.v19i15.43015 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374949575_Factors_That_Influence_the_Adoption_of_Digital_Dental_Technologies_and_Dental_Informatics_in_Dental_Practice