Cost is consistently the number one reason people put off dental care, and it's also the most solvable part of the equation. The problem usually isn't that affordable options don't exist, it's that nobody's laid them all out side by side. So here they are: every real way to pay for dental treatment, what each one actually covers, and how to figure out which combination makes sense for you.
Start With What You Might Already Have
Before looking at financing, it's worth confirming what coverage you already have access to. A lot of patients assume they're paying entirely out of pocket when they're not.
- Dental insurance: most PPO plans cover preventive care (cleanings, exams) at little to no cost, and a percentage of restorative work like fillings and crowns
- Michigan Medicaid and the Healthy Michigan Plan: expanded significantly in 2023 to cover diagnostic, preventive, restorative, surgical, and even prosthetic care for adults, not just children
- Medicare Advantage: while Original Medicare doesn't cover routine dental care, many Medicare Advantage plans include dental benefits, typically cleanings, exams, and X-rays at minimum
The $79 New Patient Special
If you're starting fresh with a new dental home, the $79 New Patient Special bundles a comprehensive exam, digital X-rays, and a gentle cleaning into one affordable visit. It's a low-cost way to get a complete, honest picture of your oral health and a real treatment plan with actual numbers, rather than guessing at what you might need or owe.
Financing: Cherry vs. CareCredit
For treatment that isn't fully covered by insurance or Medicaid, financing turns a large bill into manageable monthly payments. We accept two of the most widely used dental financing options, and they work differently enough that it's worth understanding both before choosing.
Cherry Financing
Cherry is an installment loan built specifically for healthcare costs. It uses a soft credit check to determine your approval amount, meaning checking your eligibility doesn't affect your credit score at all. Approved applicants can qualify for APRs ranging from 0% up to 35.99% depending on credit profile, with true 0% APR available for qualified applicants. The application typically takes under 60 seconds, and treatment can often start the same day.
CareCredit
CareCredit is a healthcare credit card. It requires a hard credit check, which can have a small, temporary impact on your credit score, but offers promotional 0% interest periods (commonly 6, 12, 18, or 24 months) on qualifying purchases of $200 or more. The important detail: this is deferred interest, not true 0% APR. If the full balance isn't paid off by the end of the promotional period, interest is charged retroactively on the entire original purchase amount, not just what's left.
Using Medicaid or Medicare Dental Benefits
If you're on Michigan Medicaid or the Healthy Michigan Plan, no referral is needed, you can book directly, and coverage since the 2023 expansion includes far more than emergency extractions: exams, cleanings, fillings, crowns, extractions, and dentures in many cases. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan with dental benefits, coverage typically includes routine cleanings and exams at minimum, with many plans covering restorative work up to an annual cap. Either way, our team verifies your exact benefits before treatment so there are no surprises.
Putting It Together: A Realistic Example
Most patients end up combining more than one option rather than relying on just one. A common path looks like: insurance or Medicaid covers what it covers, the $79 special handles the initial exam and cleaning if you're a new patient, and Cherry or CareCredit financing covers whatever's left, spread into payments that actually fit a monthly budget. There's no single right combination, the goal is simply not letting cost be the reason a small problem turns into a bigger, more expensive one.