The dawn of 2026 brings new opportunities and challenges within the dental industry and larger healthcare ecosystem. It is a critical time for providers to reevaluate how their dental practices are supporting patients and staff while also broadening access to care for overlooked communities.
The reality is, nearly half of U.S. adults (47%) worry about affording necessary care this year, and 92% of respondents to Synchrony’s Dental Lifetime of Care survey reported they considered delaying general dental care due to costs.
Max Axler.
The impact of care costs can be felt even more acutely by the estimated 45 million "credit invisible" Americans -- individuals who, despite often managing their finances responsibly, lack a sufficient credit history to be assessed by traditional lending models. Without established credit, these individuals often cannot access financing options for care and may have to choose between covering out-of-pocket costs themselves or forgoing treatment entirely.
These financial barriers demand practical solutions: to create clear financial pathways and seamless integration, making dental care more accessible to all. As leaders within the dental space, it’s vital that we consider not only the challenges faced by current patients but also those who may not be able to pursue the dental care they want due to financial limitations.
By partnering with specialized third-party financing solutions, dental providers can leverage tools to transform patient access to dental care and help empower the credit invisible to overcome traditional credit barriers. The question is, how can leaders practically implement this to expand community access? Let’s discuss.
Bringing credit invisibility to light
To understand the credit invisible, it’s essential to acknowledge that these individuals are not monoliths. This group comprises individuals who do not have sufficient credit histories and access to credit, but many have resources and assets to responsibly manage credit products.
Historically, traditional healthcare financing options, credit cards, and overall credit decisions generally have leaned heavily on a consumer's credit score and financial data. This can provide an incomplete and static image of their creditworthiness that could limit how they pursue dental care and services.
Creating accessible and clear financing pathways -- options that align with patients’ lifestyles and larger financial goals -- is paramount to enabling them to pursue dental care they desire.
A new pathway to care: The power of holistic credit assessment
Moving beyond the traditional credit score is the answer to reaching the credit invisible population and giving them access to the care they desire.
An example of this in action is Project Reach, a partnered effort with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of Currency, which focuses on expanding credit access for underserved communities. This effort shows the value of broadening opportunities for credit access, with 60% of Synchrony’s Reach participants achieving prime credit scores within a year.
Synchrony’s Prism is a prime example of a technology already making a real-world impact. I believe Prism fundamentally changes credit decisioning by redefining how we assess creditworthiness through a dynamic evaluation of financial health and history.
Prism conducts a deeper credit assessment, reviewing up to 9,000 diverse data attributes spanning credit bureau data to rich alternative data like cash flow patterns, rent payments, and other merchant or partner data, along with Synchrony’s 140 million tradelines, all reflecting a more complete financial picture. This is done with a prequalification check that has no impact on a patient’s credit score.
This approach transforms a static credit score into a dynamic, comprehensive financial profile, allowing the credit invisible -- individuals overlooked by traditional models -- to build their financial history and access the credit options they want to pay for care services.
Beyond just credit approvals, practices embracing third-party financing options built on a holistic credit assessment can experience tangible benefits. The right financing partner can help with:
- Streamlined workflows by integrating with leading practice management software platforms to simplify payment processing
- Faster payments and improved cash flow by facilitating billing and collections, ensuring providers receive payments promptly, mitigating delays and defaults
- Real-time credit decisions by supporting efficient patient flow through rapid, technology-enabled credit assessments, with no hard credit checks
- Reduced administrative burden by freeing up staff time previously spent managing payment collections
Beyond simply enabling patient access, dental practices can leverage advanced credit decisioning technology to significantly improve their operational efficiency. This becomes a cornerstone when selecting a financial partner capable of truly transforming practices’ financial management.
Transforming dental practice operations with integrated financial solutions
In today's dynamic healthcare landscape, the choice of a financial partner for dental practices is more critical than ever. To remain competitive, practices must continue to evolve and optimize for efficiency and cash flow. This strategy includes addressing larger challenges, like supporting the credit invisible, all while managing patient concerns and practice workloads.
A truly comprehensive credit assessment option, like Synchrony’s Prism, offers the concrete tools to help millions of credit invisible Americans pursue the dental care they want. This powerful approach can not only expand patient access, but it also can significantly optimize practice operations. By embracing comprehensive credit assessment, dental leaders can redefine financial responsibility, decisively bridge the gap to credit, and ensure countless more individuals receive the vital care they deserve.
Editor's note: References are available upon request.
Max Axler is Synchrony’s chief credit officer responsible for credit, fraud, collections, recovery and authentication analytics, and strategies deployed across Synchrony’s partners and Synchrony’s bank, as well as merchant and venture underwriting. Prior to joining, Axler helped lead the initial public offering of Synchrony Financial from General Electric.
The comments and observations expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DrBicuspid.com, nor should they be construed as an endorsement or admonishment of any particular idea, vendor, or organization.
