Financing Dental Work with Bad Credit

Financing dental with bad credit has given more options to consumers than ever before. This financial tool can help make your smile better and brighter, even with less-than-stellar credit history. Learn about these essential aspects of bad credit dental financing below:

What Exactly Is Bad Credit Dental Financing?
Does “No Credit Check” Mean the Same as “No Credit Needed”?
Where is Dental Financing for Bad Credit Available?
Who Can Get Dental Financing, and How Do I Apply?
FAQs About Bad Credit Dental Financing

Bad Credit Dental Financing – What Does It Really Mean?

Bad credit dental financing is a payment option for dental surgery if you have a less-than-stellar credit history. Dental care can be costly, and getting a personal loan with a bad credit score can be challenging.

Dental financing comes in handy when you can’t afford to pay for necessary dental care or cosmetic dental procedures. Bad credit financing is an alternative credit option offered by multiple lenders. After your bad credit financing is approved, you will make periodic payments until it’s paid off. Ensure that you review your loan agreement for specific repayment terms.

No Credit Check vs. No Credit Needed

Semantics matter when it comes to financing and the subtle nuance between no credit check and no credit needed financing is worth noting. Before you start shopping for different financing options, it’s crucial to understand how it works.

No credit check – Your credit will not be checked. A lender utilizes alternative measures of evaluating you as a borrower besides the standard credit score. Different lenders may have different methods of this. It’s always worth double-checking to ensure you know if and exactly how your credit is being used.
No credit needed – No credit needed means that your credit history will be checked when applying for financing, but it may not be the only factor considered in an approval decision.

elderly man consulting with dental hygienist

What Kind of Dental Services Can Be Financed with Bad Credit?

Bad credit dental financing is available for a variety of dental services. These include orthodontics, cosmetic dentistry, full mouth rehabilitation, and emergency dental care as determined by the credit approval process. However, if you have had major dental procedures in the past and have bad credit, it can be daunting to afford another financing for any cosmetic dentistry procedure.

Popular Dental Service Items

The most popular dental service items financed with bad credit are dental implants, teeth cleaning, tooth extractions, fillings and restorations, and root canals. However, any major credit-based financing service, including braces, can be considered for credit underwriting if deemed needed by credit providers for an individual case.

Type of Dental Service	Average Price**	Link
Dental Implants	$4,500	Find a Dentist*
Dentures	$1,800	Find a Dentist*
Tooth Extractions	$400	Find a Dentist*
Fillings and Restorations	$2,000	Find a Dentist*
Root Canals	$900	Find a Dentist*

**Please Note: Payment solutions vary based on the merchant and will be indicated at the beginning of the application process. Be sure to confirm that the merchant you select offers the lease, loan, or alternative payment solution you intend to apply for.

**Service pricing may vary based on extras and the type of services you purchase. For example, a simple procedure can have a price as low as $500. However, a more complex or comprehensive service may have a price upwards of $4,500.

Dental Implants

Dental implants are an expensive procedure that, on average, costs $3,000 to $4,500 per tooth, and that’s sometimes covered by dental insurance. The dental costs increase if the procedure requires jaw or gum restoration.

Fixing bad teeth is critical to improving your overall well-being since the state of your teeth impacts your dental health and self-esteem.

Implants fall into three categories:

Endosteal implants – These are placeholder posts that resemble screws and are drilled into a healthy jaw bone. It has the fastest healing time and is quite common.
Subperiosteal implants – Often used instead of Endosteal implants because the implants rest atop the jaw bone. It’s used if the patient doesn’t have a strong jawbone and doesn’t wish to incur the cost of jawbone reconstruction.
Zygomatic implants – This option is only available to patients who aren’t eligible for Endosteal implants. The implants are placed on your cheekbone instead of your jawbone.

close up of dentures with dentistry tools

Tooth Extraction

Tooth extraction is a costly dental procedure that may cost up to $400 per tooth, making it a critical need. As such, this makes dental financing with bad credit worth your while. Damaged or decayed teeth pose a severe health risk, while overcrowded teeth lower dental hygiene.

Tooth extraction falls into two categories:

Simple extraction – The dentist numbs the area using local anesthesia and pulls the teeth off with the help of an elevator and dental forceps.
Surgical extraction – involves removing a tooth that’s not readily accessible or one that’s impacted. The procedure uses general anesthesia, and complex equipment, and is usually performed by an oral surgeon.

Filling and Restoration

Tooth fillings help to protect your teeth and improve dental hygiene. Restoration improves both function and tooth appearance, making both procedures critical to your health and well-being and worth taking out a dental loan to cover the dental costs.

The cost of the filling procedure depends on the type, location, and severity of tooth decay and the filling. Popular filling materials include porcelain, gold, silver, amalgam, and composite resin.

Other forms of dental restoration include repairing damaged crowns, replacing missing teeth, filling gaps, and fixing malformations and misalignments.

Where Can I Use Bad Credit Dental Service Financing?

If you require dental care but can’t afford to pay for it out of pocket, you can turn to payment solution providers such as lenders for help. Sometimes people with dental insurance often need to get a dental payment option to cover the difference.

The Popularity of Financing Dental Work

Americans are increasingly turning to dental financing with bad credit to offset the high costs of dental work and procedures. Research shows a 23% rise in the cost of dental services between 1996 and 2015. To make matters worse, 29% of the American public lack dental work coverage, and 40% of adults in low-income households have up to three untreated cavities.

The high cost of dental procedures has spurred lenders into creating suitable financial products. They’re now offering dental loans to prime and markets, but the loan terms differ significantly. People with a good credit profile can often easily apply for dental loans at attractive rates or take out secured loans with high loan amounts.

However, people without stellar credit may have limited options, despite having a higher need for dental care. Most of them often turn to personal loans, which carry steep interest rates. Luckily, payment solution providers may help you get the dental care you need from a large network of healthcare providers. Dental care financing is preferable to taking out personal loans, which carry astronomical interest rates.

Bad Credit Dental Financing Options

Have pressing dental care needs but are short on money? Dental loans are a great way to cover the unexpectedly high costs of your dental procedures. Most people use dental loans or credit cards to pay their dentists. Some use personal loans, but the interest rate is usually too high, and the loan amounts too low.

Of course, these conventional methods won’t work if you have rough credit, as you may be ineligible for dental loans. But that’s not to say you shouldn’t have good teeth if your credit record isn’t spotless. Some payment solution providers offer flexible payment solutions that may help people with poor credit secure dental loan offers to pay their dental care bills and access regular dental checkups.

Options include:

Credit Card with Bad Credit
Using your credit score, in some instances, with bad credit, you can still access dental services with a credit card. A less-than-stellar credit score usually means a higher annual percentage rate, making purchasing dental treatments on a credit card an expensive endeavor depending on your current credit history situation.
Medical Credit Card for Dental Loans
Medical credit cards also cover dental treatment cards, but they aren’t as widely accepted. Hence, you should confirm if your dentists accept this card before applying for one. A medical credit card may use deferred interest financing, meaning you should pay off the card in full before the introductory period lapses. If you can’t pay off a medical card in time, the interest rate may be applied retroactively and may limit your ability to save money.

Applying for Dental Financing with Bad Credit?

A credit card issuer reviews your credit score to view your credit score on a scale of 300 to 850. You’re likely to secure loans if you have a fair credit score, 580 – 669, but the credit card issuer may charge you higher rates. You’re more likely to be excluded from traditional borrowing if you have poor credit – 300 to 579. You can check your credit score from one of the three major credit bureaus in the country for free each year, and they won’t charge you an annual fee.

People with low credit scores often grapple with money problems, and they have had trouble keeping up with payments. Late payments, debts in collection, bankruptcy, and other factors lead to bad credit. Young people often start with low credit scores because they lack a credit history or a bank account. Luckily, many payment solution providers have options that may help people finance dental work without piling on credit card debt.

Bad Credit Dental Financing in Summary

Dental financing with bad credit might be a reliable solution if you can’t pay for dental care because of poor credit. People with bad credit may have difficulties securing dental loans and could benefit from no credit-needed dental payment solutions.

Lenders may be a good dental payment option for people with bad credit. You can apply for a dental payment option through our website using the merchant locator option.*

Financing Dental Work With Bad Credit – FAQs

Financing dental services with bad credit is a complex subject with many nuances. A quick look through this section can help clear some of the sticky points on the subject.

Q: What Qualifies as “Bad Credit” Financing?

A: Bad credit financing is often a financial option specially designed for people without a spotless credit history. Bad credit may be caused by bills delinquency, unpaid loans and utility bills, and bankruptcy.

Q: What Credit Score Is Required to Get Financing?

A: The credit score requirement varies based on lender requirements. Typically, if you wish to obtain conventional financing, your credit score must be at least 580.

Q: Where’s the Best Place to Finance Dental implants?

A: The best place to finance your dental work depends on your individual needs and situation. Most people finance their dental procedures through in-house or third-party options.

Q: Where can I Apply for Dental Implants Financing?

A: You can apply for dental financing using our merchant search tool.*

While not all applicants will be approved, bad credit doesn’t mean you’ll be denied. While you may be assessed for your credit, having a low credit score doesn’t necessarily disqualify you. First, select your preferred dentist near you, and you can apply directly in minutes.