Having spent 10 years in their previous location, the team at multi-award-winning practice, YorDental began to feel they had outgrown the place. The vision of owners Deepa Vakil and Hitesh Panchal was to continue providing the same great standard of care to their patients but in a more luxurious environment. So, two years ago, they made the move to their swish new premises in Salford Quays.
As well as high-end cosmetic dentistry, the practice provides general dentistry and hygiene appointments, too. However, the bulk of their work concerns Invisalign©, bonding, implants, straightening and whitening. “A standard treatment plan for us works out at between £3,000 and £5,000,” explains Operations Manager, Laura Naylor. For that reason, offering patients a finance option is the norm for them now. As Laura says: “We just offer it as a matter of course. People expect to be able to spread the cost. In fact, I deal with most of the initial enquiries over the phone and, one of the first things a lot of people want to know is whether we have finance options!”
Although they had been offering patient finance for a number of years via another provider, the YORDental team chose to become Medenta customers about six months ago and have been delighted with how things have panned out. “The whole process of changing provider was completely painless,” Laura said. “A lot of that is thanks to the support we got from Andy Thomas, our Business Development Manager. He just came in and helped us with everything. I was really pleased and surprised at how easy it was.”
Since the change, Andy has continued to provide excellent support to YORDental and is a valued resource for them. As Laura explains: “If we need to know anything, we just give Andy a call and he sorts it straightaway for us. He really is very helpful and always quick to respond.”
Laura is also full of praise for the user-friendly nature of Medenta’s systems, too. “As I said earlier, it’s all been really easy to get used to and we feel comfortable with how things work.” As the practice has offered patient finance for a number of years now, she’s no stranger to its benefits. “Given the type of treatment plans we offer, patient finance is a no-brainer!” she says. “Especially 0%. And it isn’t just the increase in treatment uptake that makes it so great for us,“ she continues. “Being paid the whole cost of the treatment at the beginning helps us immensely with our cash flow. And not having to chase bad debts makes life so much easier for our admin team.”
She feels it also helps keep treatment plans on track. “I’ve noticed that patients who have taken up finance options are more likely to stick to the timetable for their treatment,“ she adds.” Whereas patients who are paying for the treatment themselves may have months when they’re struggling to find the money and may postpone the appointment which, of course, extends the length of the treatment. So patient finance offers us some benefits that aren’t always the ones you’d expect!”
Despite the squeeze on people’s incomes over the past few months, Laura has noticed little change in demand for cosmetic treatments. “We still have great footfall despite the fact people have less in the way of disposable income,” she says. “I suppose this is where patient finance can be a big help. It’s not about the overall cost, despite it being thousands of pounds in most cases. As long as they’re confident they can meet the monthly payments, then people are still happy to go ahead. So, our treatment uptake hasn’t really suffered, despite the economic climate.”
What would Laura’s advice be to a practice considering joining Medenta’s list of customers? “Just go ahead and do it,” she says. “For the type of practice we are, it just makes sense for us to be with them. We’re really happy with the service and the rates we get. Being able to offer patient finance means we can help more patients, and that makes everyone happy!”