Best Dental Financing Loans of October 2024

Dental work is often essential to take care of your health and comfort, but paying for it can sometimes be worse than the drilling, especially if you don't have dental insurance. That's where a dental loan can come in handy. Dental loans are a type of unsecured personal loan that you use to help cover the cost of the dental work you need done.

Compare personal loan rates for dental work of October 2024

Best dental loans

The best dental loan for you depends, in large part, on fit. If you have excellent credit, expect most lenders to offer you their best rates. If you have fair credit, you might find what you need with Upgrade, Best Egg, or Lending Club. If you need a loan for bad credit, your options will be limited, but you could find financing through OneMain Financial, Universal Credit, or Avant. To find the best dental loan, prequalify with multiple lenders to see how your annual percentage rates (APRs) and loan terms might compare.

SoFi: Best overall

Methodology

Credible evaluated the best personal loan lenders for dental financing based on factors such as customer experience, minimum fixed rate, maximum loan amount, funding time, loan terms, fees, discounts, and whether cosigners are accepted. Credible’s team of experts gathered information from each lender’s website, customer service department, directly from our partners, and via email support. Each data point was verified by a third party to make sure it was accurate and up to date.

Learn more about how Credible rates lenders by exploring our Personal Loans Lender Rating Methodology.

How to compare dental loans

To find the right fit — and the best deal — for your situation, it's vital that you take the time to compare different lenders once you understand your loan needs. Here are some points of comparison to look out for as you evaluate dental loans:

• Lender requirements: Lenders generally have minimum requirements when it comes to your credit score, income, and debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Before applying, take a moment to get a sense of where you stand financially and what your FICO credit score is. Then, compare that against a lender's requirements to see if you're likely to qualify. 
• APR: A loan's APR represents the entire cost of borrowing, including interest and any upfront fees. The lower the APR you can secure, the lower your cost to borrow money. Generally speaking, those with higher credit scores qualify for lower APRs.
• Fees: Pay close attention to the fees a lender charges, as these may increase your total cost of borrowing. Different lenders have different fees, like late and insufficient funds fees. Some also charge origination fees, which are upfront fees that can reduce the loan amount you receive.
• Loan term: A loan's term represents how long you have to pay off a loan. You want to ensure that you'll be able to comfortably make your payments each and every month. A longer loan term allows for lower monthly payments, though you'll end up paying more in interest over the life of the loan. Loan terms frequently range from 1 year to 7 years, depending on the lender.
• Customer service and reputation: Do some research to get a sense of a lender's reputation as well as the customer service options it offers. If something goes wrong or a question comes up, you want to make sure you have a reliable company that you can reach out to. You can learn more by checking customer reviews on websites like the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). We consider BBB and Trustpilot reviews when assigning each company’s star rating.
• Time to fund: Check to see how long it typically takes to receive funds from a dental loan after approval — especially if the dental work you need done is pressing.

Learn More: Interest Rate vs. APR on a Personal Loan

How do dental loans work?

A dental loan is a type of unsecured personal loan that you use to pay for dental work. For instance, you may be able to use a dental loan to cover the cost of a root canal, wisdom teeth extraction, orthodontics, bridgework, or jaw reconstruction, among a range of other types of dental work. Because the loan is unsecured, you won't need to put up any collateral to back the loan. Instead, approval will depend on your credit and financial profile.

If approved, you will receive a lump sum upfront that you'll then repay in fixed monthly installments, with interest, over a set period of time. The interest rate and amount of a dental loan will vary depending on the lender as well as your financial specifics. Generally speaking, rates run from around 5% to 36% for personal loans.

It's likely you’ll receive funding within days — as soon as the same day in some cases — which can come in handy if the dental work you need done is urgent.

Check Out: Best Personal Loan Rates

Other options: Types of dental financing

A dental loan isn't your only option for paying for dental work. Here are some other types of dental financing to consider.

Dental insurance

If you have dental insurance, check your coverage first. Determine whether the procedure you need is covered, at what rate (this may be expressed as a percentage of the total approved cost), what your plan deductible is, whether there’s an additional deductible for the procedure, and whether the cost exceeds your plan’s annual maximum benefit (the maximum amount your provider will pay in one year).

You may pay a monthly or annual premium in exchange for this coverage, alongside a copay at your visit. If you’re unsure about your coverage, contact your insurance company before moving forward with any dental work. It’s likely that your dentist may do this for you. 

Even if you have insurance, you may want or need to use a personal loan to cover the deductible and/or any amounts not covered by your insurance.

CareCredit

CareCredit is a medical credit card that you can use to cover dental care, including costs that insurance doesn't cover. As a personal line of credit, you can repeatedly use your card up to the credit limit to cover costs at locations that accept CareCredit. 

Depending on how long you need to pay the amount off (and on your credit score), you may be able to secure interest-free financing for $200 or more. Purchases over $1,000 may be financed over a longer term, such as 5 years, though interest charges will apply.

Dental savings plans

With a dental savings plan, you can secure discounts on dental services via an annual membership. You'll owe a fee to join the annual membership program and then you'll pay reduced rates for dental services you receive at providers within the plan's network. The amount of the discount you receive will vary depending on the type of dental service you get.

0% APR credit card

Another way to pay for necessary dental care is by using a credit card that offers a 0% APR promotional period. You'll generally need good or excellent credit to qualify for these offers, but if you can, you'll avoid paying interest on your balance for up to 24 months.

To keep the promotional APR, you'll need to pay at least the minimum amount due each month. Once the promotional period is over, the standard APR will kick in (and sometimes apply retroactively to your remaining balance), so aim to pay off your full balance within that window.

Related: Personal Loan vs.0% APR Credit Card

In-house dental financing

You may also be able to secure financing directly through your dentist. Your dentist may allow you to set up a payment plan, spreading out the amount you owe for dental care over multiple months. Some plans may be interest-free. Speak with your dental provider to see what options it provides.

How to apply for a dental loan

If, after reviewing all of your options for dental financing, you've determined a dental loan is the right path for you, here's how you'll generally go about applying for one:

• Check your credit: Before you start shopping around, know where you stand credit-wise. This will give you an idea of your odds of approval with different lenders. If you're unsure whether you can get approved at all, take steps to improve your credit before applying. For instance, you might work to pay down existing debt or become more vigilant about consistently meeting payment due dates. That said, avoid delaying emergency dental work if you can’t get a loan — as that could turn into a serious (and expensive) health crisis.

1. Get prequalified: Prequalify to get an idea of how likely you are to get approved with individual lenders as well as what APRs you might qualify for. Lenders review your basic information, which results in a soft pull of your credit, and won't impact your score. Note that prequalification is not an offer of credit and the lender will conduct a hard pull once you apply (which could hurt your score).
2. Compare lenders: When comparing lenders, look at factors such as APR, fees, repayment terms, and time to fund.
3. Collect necessary documents: Prior to applying, take the time to gather the documents lenders usually request, such as a form of government-issued photo ID, pay stubs, tax documents like W-2s and recent tax returns, bank statements, and proof of address, such as a recent utility bill.
4. Submit your application. Once you have your information in order and a lender selected, it's time to complete the application. Note that applying will involve a hard credit check, which will temporarily lower your credit score.

Learn More: How To Get a Personal Loan
 

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