Our Solution to Reduce the Stress of Paying for Dental Care
DEO Magazine
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. Sunbit’s 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 Sunbit’s 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, they’re 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 Riccobene’s case, 89%—makes the financing conversation a lot more comfortable for everybody, Detrick says.
Sunbit’s 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. “That’s done at Sunbit’s expense, not ours. Most of our offices have jumped on board and have been using it a lot.”
Indeed, Sunbit’s platform has had a big impact on Riccobene’s 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. “It’s not that we wouldn’t have converted any of those,” says Detrick, “but we certainly wouldn’t have converted them all.”
