Credit Card for Teeth

An Alhambra dental practice has added a new service to the drilling and filling routine--its own credit card. The three-dentist group claims to be the first dental office in the country to offer proprietary plastic.

“I believe it’s an idea whose time has come,” said John Chao, the group’s founder. “There are credit cards for everything else; it’s time we had one for dentistry.

“It allows people to pay for their treatment in manageable installments over a reasonable period of time. The card is ideal for someone who’s been putting off cosmetic or preventive dentistry for financial reasons.”

The practice has something else that few dental offices can boast--a full-time marketing director. Stephen Smoke, a public-relations man, has signed on to handle patient inquiries and publicize the new credit program.

Smoke said the plan, introduced in April, will offer the group’s 3,000 patients an initial credit limit of $500, the equivalent of nine or 10 fillings. Its terms include no finance charges for the first 90 days and an 18% annual percentage rate, about the same as most bank credit cards.

The dental office will underwrite the debt itself, Smoke said, unlike many other medical-payment programs sponsored by banks and finance companies which pay the provider directly for his services, then bill the patient.

Jack Laskin, president of Clinicom Management Services in Santa Clara, runs such a billing service for dentists. He said the Alhambra group may be in for more than it bargained for.

“That’s going to make them a miniature bank. Good luck to them. I also run a separate business, which is a collection agency. I know what they’re going to get into--and they don’t seem to.”

Laskin is also in the dental credit business, with the card he issues accepted by about 400 dentists across California. The difference between his plan and Chao’s is that the Clinicom’s credit is underwritten by a large finance company.

Also, Clinicom’s customers get a larger initial line of credit. On approval, the card holder can charge up to $1,000--or three root canal jobs and a gold crown.