Who are Type One dental patients and what does the practice owe them?
Type One patients genuinely cannot afford major dental treatment, even when their dental health needs it. Industry trade press occasionally claims that anyone can afford the dentistry they need if they really want it. That claim is not true. Dental insurance maximums have not kept pace with general inflation. Dentistry is labor-intensive and good, lasting work is genuinely expensive. Many patients sit in households where the household income simply does not have room for it. The practice’s responsibility to Type One patients is honest acknowledgement and useful service within that reality. Offer the most useful smaller-scope options where they exist. Minimize the time and emotional investment the patient sinks into a process that cannot end in treatment they can pay for. Prevent embarrassment about money through how the conversation is structured. Refer to another practice or a charitable program when that is the right next step. Pushing financing the patient cannot service is unethical. Acknowledge reality and serve within it.
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.