CareCredit celebrates 25th anniversary

2012 marks CareCredit's 25th year in business. Established in 1987, CareCredit was initially offered by practices as another way for patients to pay for new dental implants.

Since then, CareCredit has continued to focus solely on healthcare and has helped more than 20 million patients get care, according to the company. The CareCredit healthcare credit card is now accepted at 150,000 enrolled practices in the U.S., including veterinary, ophthalmology, cosmetic, audiology, podiatry, chiropractic, optometry, and other specialties.

Ross Drangsholt, DDS, MSD, of Lakewood, WA, was the 150,000th doctor to add CareCredit to his practice.

"Patients need another way to pay for their orthodontic care," he said. "We had tried another program, but were not getting the approval rates or service we needed."