Paying For Treatment
Ways To PayFor Your Care
No one should put off a tooth because of how the bill is shaped.
Most people who wait on dental work are not avoiding the dentist. They are avoiding the bill. So before anything is scheduled, you get the number, and you get the ways to handle it.
Insurance, if you have it. A membership plan, if you do not. And for larger treatment, two financing companies we work with, so the cost is spread across months instead of landing all at once.
Dr. Cortes will tell you what the treatment costs before it starts. Nothing gets scheduled off a number you have not seen.
CareCreditHealthcare Credit Card
CareCredit is a healthcare credit card. People use it when a treatment is larger than they want to pay in one visit, and they want the cost spread across a promotional period.
Those promotional periods are commonly 6, 12, 18 or 24 months, depending on the size of the treatment. CareCredit sets the current terms, not this office.
If you pay the full promotional balance by the payoff date, you do not pay interest on that charge. If a balance remains after the promotional period ends, CareCredit charges deferred interest: interest is calculated from the original purchase date and added to the unpaid balance. That is not the same as a period with no interest. The payoff date is the date that matters.
You can apply from home or at the front desk. Ask Anaissa and she will walk you through it. Approval and terms are decided by CareCredit.
CherryHealthcare Payment Plans
Cherry is a healthcare payment plan, not a general credit card. They run a soft credit check to show you what you qualify for, and a soft check does not affect your credit score.
To apply you need to be 18 or older, live in the United States, use a bank-issued debit or credit card (not a prepaid card), and have a mobile phone. Plans run about 1 to 60 months. There is 0 percent APR for those who qualify, up to a maximum set by Cherry.
Ask us for the application link. Approval and terms are decided by Cherry, not by us.
ITINIs Accepted
You can apply for Cherry with an ITIN. A Social Security number is not required. If you file taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, you can apply.
We are saying this plainly because it is the question people are least likely to ask out loud. Plenty of patients assume financing is closed to them and never bring it up, and then they go without treatment they could have had.
Applying does not affect your credit score, so finding out where you stand costs you nothing. As with any application, approval and terms depend on your situation and are decided by Cherry, not by us. Ask Anaissa at the front desk and she will send you the link.
Which OneTo Ask About
If you already have a CareCredit card, use it. If you do not, and you are not sure where your credit stands, Cherry is the one to check first, because looking costs you nothing and does not affect your score. Either way, ask at the front desk. Anaissa does this every week and will walk you through it.
FinancingQuestions
No. You can apply at the front desk, and for most patients it takes a few minutes on a phone.
Cherry uses a soft credit check to show you what you qualify for, and a soft check does not affect your score. CareCredit's application is a credit card application, so ask them directly what kind of check it involves before you apply.
The membership plan is billed separately, either monthly or once a year. Ask us and we will lay out both.
Tell us. There is almost always a way to stage treatment so the urgent part happens now and the rest happens on a schedule you can carry. That conversation is a normal part of the job.