Should a dental practice offering in-house financing pull credit reports on patients, and what service makes that possible?
Yes. Any practice extending in-house financing for dental treatment has the legal right to obtain a credit report on the applicant, and pulling the report before approving financing is basic risk management. The report tells the practice what kind of payment behavior the patient has shown across other obligations. Without it, the practice is extending unsecured credit blind and absorbing default risk it has no way to price. Services like MicroBuilt.com offer single-report pulls on a pay-as-you-go basis after an initial setup, which is well-suited to dental practices that pull reports occasionally rather than in volume. The cost per report is small. The information it provides is large. Patients with strong credit histories get cleaner financing terms. Patients with weak histories get adjusted terms or referrals to third-party financing where the risk transfers off the practice’s books. Either way, the practice makes informed decisions instead of guessing. In-house financing without credit checks is a slow-motion loss.
If the answers you are finding here resonate with you, my team and I work with a small group of clients each year. The next step is a complimentary Discovery Consultation and Practice Review with Dr. McAnally.