Our Solution to Reduce the Stress of Paying for Dental Care

Sponsored Content: Sunbit

Sunbit helps dental group practices with case acceptance by making financing more accessible for patients.

People are understandably protective of their discretionary spending. Our founder and CEO, Dr. Michael Riccobene, often says, If money was never an issue, there would rarely, if ever, be any dental treatment declined, says Lorri Detrick, Chief Operations Officer at Riccobene Associates Family Dentistry, a dental service organization with about a thousand employees, including 120 dentists, across 50 locations in North Carolina and Virginia. Financing is an important piece.

Which means financing has become key to providing access to care. Riccobene recently sought a vendor that could provide financing options for patients, without burdening the organization with administrative tasks in order to do so. The DSO ultimately chose Sunbit, a buy now, pay later (BNPL) technology company that reduces the stress of buying everyday needs for everyone, everywhere. Sunbits technology is offered in-store and online at more than 12,000 locations, including 1 in 3 auto dealership service centers, optical practices, dentist offices, and specialty healthcare services.

Detrick says Sunbits solution was attractive because it offers an easier user experience for both staff and patients. The patients love it because there is no hard credit check to apply. Plus, theyre able to choose from flexible payment plans, anywhere from 6 to 72 months for dental care. All loans are made by Transportation Alliance Bank, Inc., dba TAB Bank, which determines qualifications for and terms of credit. The fact that over 85% of patients are approved-and in Riccobenes case, 89%-makes the financing conversation a lot more comfortable for everybody, Detrick says.

Sunbits system was easy to train on and implement for Riccobene, Detrick says. Sunbit did a great job of scheduling and coming out to every office to do the training in person. Sunbit also has a unique rewards program to recognize team members for their engagement. That keeps the staff excited, Detrick says. Thats done at Sunbits expense, not ours. Most of our offices have jumped on board and have been using it a lot.

Indeed, Sunbits platform has had a big impact on Riccobenes 2022 results through Q1. We have been able to provide care to many more people, Detrick says. Using the Sunbit platform, Riccobene closed 600 cases through the middle of March, with an average case amount of about $1,500. Its not that we wouldnt have converted any of those, says Detrick, but we certainly wouldnt have converted them all.

For more information about Sunbit visit sunbit.com/dental.