Recently, the Liberal government voted against a motion from the NDP that proposed dental coverage to millions of Canadians who struggle with the cost of dental care. According to the media release, the NDP proposal would have allowed 6.7 million Canadians with household income below $90,000 a year to access dental services they desperately need.

Recent statistics also backup the claim that a growing number of Canadians cannot afford to keep up with their oral health. Statistics Canada reports that 1 in 5 Canadians skip visiting the dentist because they cannot afford it. These statistics get even worse for low-income households, where nearly half of them avoid seeing the dentist due to the cost.

Left untreated, poor dental hygiene is linked to a number of serious health conditions like cardiovascular disease, respiratory infections and diabetic complications. Across Canada, people are going to emergency rooms for dental pain, when what they really need is to see a dentist. The estimated cost of these visits across Canada is more than $150 million per year.

Canadians without coverage

Regular dental cleaning and oral health services are covered by the insurance provided by a patient’s employer, but 1 in 3 Canadians are without coverage. More often than not, this puts seeing a dentist for routine care far out of reach. Canadians without dental insurance are three times more likely to avoid going to the dentist compared to those who have insurance.

So, what can dentists do to help ensure their patients and new patients have the financial ability to get the care they need?

Dental financing makes care easy for clinics and affordable for patients

LendCare partners with dentists and other healthcare providers across Canada to enable them to offer their patients affordable dental financing options.

Your patients can apply for dental care loans directly on your website, or you can text/email financing applications to them, on their own devices. We provide low-interest and no-interest payment plans with affordable bi-weekly or monthly payment options to help your patients get the dental care they need. Your clinic gets paid for the treatment or procedure in a matter of days after the appointment, and your customers pay us over time.

If you want to learn more about our dental care loans built for dentists, please visit our healthcare financing page, or you can signup today by emailing us at: [email protected]