Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

March 11-17, 201314 Money Matters United Kingdom Edition14 page 13DTß Follow us on: An impression & model scanner for every lab The D800 scanner, with two 5.0 MP cameras, provides high ac- curacy and captures textures and pencil markings. The fast and robust D700 is for productivity and the D500 for an easy entry into CAD/CAM. Implant Bar & Bridges and more Get a precise and productive tool for designing sophisticated im- plant bars and bridges for both removable and fixed prosthesis. Enjoy also Dentures, New Abutment Designer™, Post & Core, Orthodontic appliances and much more. TRIOS® Inbox & 3Shape Communicate™ Dental System™ includes free connectivity to TRIOS® systems in dental clinics so labs can receive impression scans directly. Smart communication tools enhance cooperation with the dentist. Model Builder, Create lab models directly from TRIOS® and 3rd party intraoral scans. Design implant models and all types of sec- tioned models ready for output on model-making machines. 3Shape Dental System™ A timeless solution that grows stronger rather than growing old See the whole new palate of our innovative products live Meet us at IDS - Hall 4.2 Booth N090 Sign up for our newsletter! Scan the QR code to register. Patient Co-ordinator, Patricia. He accompanied her to a private area where she explained that her job was to find out a little more about patients and explore concerns they had about their teeth before they saw the dentist. She also en- sured that patients understood any suggested treatments after they’d seen the dentist. Initially John became a little apprehensive – this was complete- ly different to what he was used to. However, she was very pleasant and within a couple of minutes he was telling her of his concerns about the colour and unevenness of his teeth. He had never dis- cussed such issues before and Dr Down had never asked him. As soon as they had finished, Patricia took him into the treat- ment room and introduced him to the dentist – Peter Johnson. Another smile and a pleasant ‘good morning’ – he had entered a whole new world! Peter explained that he would initially carry out an examination and then consider any specific concerns he had dis- cussed with Patricia. Having per- formed the examination and tak- en some X-rays, Peter considered the unevenness of John’s teeth as well as the discolouration. He explained that tooth whit- ening and an invisible brace on the top jaw could resolve these is- sues. These treatments were not available on the NHS but could be carried out on a private basis and the total cost would be £2,000. Whilst the treatment suggest- ed sounded great and he would love to have it done, John had been a bit taken aback by the cost and said he would need to think about it. He thought to himself that he would not be able to pay that sort of sum at the current time. As if reading John’s mind, Pe- ter said he didn’t need to pay all in one go as there were many op- tions for spreading the cost that Patricia would explain in detail. John recalled the message on the TV and thought it well worth con- sidering. Once Peter had finished, Pa- tricia took John back to the side room and after ensuring he didn’t have any further questions about the treatment itself, she explained the finance facilities. A range of options was available. Interest- free finance was available over twelve months and the monthly repayments would be £166.67. Alternatively, he could spread the cost over a longer term. If he did this John would need to pay inter- est at a rate of 9.9 per cent APR but the monthly payments would be lower. Over the longest term of 60 months the payments would be as low as £42 per month – less than £10 a week! Based on these figures John could easily finance the total cost of the treatment. In actual fact he was just paying off a loan for his furniture so a similar monthly re- payment would virtually go unno- ticed. Patricia also pointed out that if he paid a deposit the monthly repayments would be lower still. Suddenly John’s concerns re- garding affordability disappeared. He realised he could easily afford the treatment by spreading the cost and pictured looking into the mirror with straight white teeth. All those years of not being happy with his smile would be behind him – John would be able to smile without worrying about it! John decided to pay a £200 deposit and finance the balance on an interest-free basis over 12 monthswithamonthlypaymentof £150 – an amount that was readily affordable given his salary. John completed a straightforward ap- plication form for the finance and Patricia booked him in for his next appointment to get the treatment underway. It was all very painless. As he left the practice, John considered what a difference the whole experience had been – he would have to mention this to his friends! DT NB: Although this story is based on actual case studies, all names are fictitious. About the author Brian Carter has been a director at Dental Finance since 2001. The company provides consumer finance facilities, princi- pally in the dental sector. It offers finance plans to increase treatment take up, patient satisfaction and improve practice profitability. Previously, Brian worked at Barclays Bank and then First Na- tional Bank in various management roles. He is an Associate of the Char- tered Institute of Bankers (ACIB). For further information, please con- tact Brian Carter of Dental Finance on 07801 951921 (direct line) or visit www.financingfirst-dental.co.uk