Practice Utilizes Sunbit’s “Buy Now, Pay Later” Technology to Accommodate More Patients

Oluyemi Workman, DDS, a general and cosmetic dentist, and her husband, Phil Workman, Director of Operations at their dental practice, Braselton Smile Studio, in Braselton, Ga., have a marital-working relationship that is easy to envy. Their systems and protocols have been so successful, in fact, that they are in the process of opening a second practice in nearby Buford, Ga.

Nevertheless, Phil, a self-described "numbers guy," believes there is always room for improvement, which is why he looked into Sunbit, a "buy now, pay later" technology company for dental practices. "Having patients with financial barriers is an obstacle for any dental practice, and what caught my eye was Sunbit's advertised 85% customer approval rate," he says. The practice launched the service in May 2021 and has seen a 92% patient approval rate with Sunbit.

"We are happy to be able to help patients who really need the treatment but don't have the finances or credit history necessary to get traditional financing. Sunbit has been a solid solution for patients from all walks of life," he says.

Sunbit's partner portal allows clinicians to see how much incremental revenue is being earned through the service. For patients, the application process literally takes 30 seconds and there is no hard credit check to check their options.

"With Sunbit, our practice gets paid right away. We're not responsible for the financing, which is a relief," Phil says. "Other payment plan options make the practice responsible for the lending. This can be a strain when people are late or delinquent. Sunbit removes this stress. They service the loan, and we move forward with more cash in the business, helping us pay our employees and invest in equipment. Sunbit also makes it a friendly payment experience for the patient. They don't charge late fees or penalty fees, and they work with our patients if they run into issues making payments."

Oluyemi says Sunbit allows the practice to treat many more patients, and do so immediately. This, she notes, is a vast improvement over the past, when patients often responded by saying they might do the treatment, "with my next paycheck."

"With Sunbit, patients can pre-qualify for a payment plan through an online application and receive an answer almost immediately, and we can start treatment that same day or schedule it right away rather than having a patient fall through the cracks due to finances," she explains. "It's a quick, convenient process."

According to Phil, Sunbit makes it easy to integrate its technology into the dental practice workflow by offering training, technical resources, and webinars for the staff. "Sunbit is simple to integrate via the web, and patients are now even coming into the office ‘pre-qualified' through Sunbit's online application, so they don't have to worry about how to pay the bill at the end of the visit."

The husband-and-wife team has found Sunbit to be one more critical piece of the picture that helps them increase profit through faster and easier treatment acceptance while protecting their patients from delaying necessary dental treatment.

"Six out of 10 people don't do dental work because of fear or finances," Phil says. "So Sunbit provides a huge value proposition to any dental practice. Patients can get the dental care they need today and pay over time while we get paid in full right away. It's a win-win."

Loans are made by Transportation Alliance Bank, Inc., dba TAB Bank, which determines qualifications for and terms of credit.

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