CareCredit

For a practice, CareCredit is low-risk and familiar. For a patient, it is only as good as their ability to pay the balance on time. The card is widely held, the practice is paid in two business days with no recourse, and patients reuse it. Those are real advantages at the front desk.

The weakness is the product's structure. Short promotions are deferred interest at a high standard APR, and consumer reviews of CareCredit are overwhelmingly negative for that reason. We recommend offering it, explaining the payoff date clearly, and pairing it with an installment lender for patients it does not suit.

What CareCredit is

CareCredit is a health and wellness credit card issued by Synchrony Bank. Patients use it for dental, vision, veterinary and other care at enrolled providers. CareCredit reports more than 12 million open cardholder accounts and more than 290,000 enrolled provider locations.

It is a revolving credit line, not a one-off loan. Once approved, a patient can use the card again for later treatment, at your office or elsewhere. CareCredit now also lists a Pay Later installment loan for purchases from $500.

Patient terms

The key term is deferred interest. If the promotional balance is not fully paid by the end of the period, interest for the whole period is charged at the standard APR. A patient who puts $3,000 on a 12-month promotion and still owes $600 at the end would be charged roughly $630 in interest at once. The fixed-payment plans avoid this cliff but charge interest from the start.

What it costs the practice

There is no enrollment, annual or monthly fee. The practice pays a processing fee on each transaction, and CareCredit states that the rate depends on the financing option chosen. The schedule is not public.

The practical rule: the longer the no-interest period you offer, the more you pay. Decide which promotions you will offer at which treatment values, and ask your representative for the rate at each. Offering 24 months no-interest on every case is the most expensive way to use the program.

Where CareCredit is strong

• Patients already have it. No application at all for existing cardholders.
• No repayment risk. CareCredit describes the program as non-recourse and pays within two business days.
• Repeat use. CareCredit reports that 45% of cardholders who made a purchase in 2024 returned to the same provider within the year.
• Workflow. Custom application link and QR code, a payment calculator, and integrations with practice management systems including Dentrix, Open Dental and Curve Dental.
• Discovery. Its provider locator is visited by about 2.9 million people a month, according to CareCredit.

Where it falls short

• Deferred interest. The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported in 2023 that consumers paid $1 billion in deferred interest on medical credit cards and loans from 2018 to 2020. A patient surprised by that charge associates it with the practice that offered the card.
• Approvals. As a credit card, it declines more applicants with thin or damaged credit than soft-check installment lenders claim to.
• Consumer sentiment. Reviews from cardholders are very poor (see below).
• Opaque fees. You cannot compare the merchant rate with competitors without a quote.

How to use it responsibly

1. State the payoff date and the monthly amount needed to clear the balance, and write both on the treatment plan.
2. For larger cases, offer the fixed-payment plans so there is no retroactive interest.
3. Add a second lender for patients who are declined or who prefer an installment plan: see CareCredit vs Cherry vs Sunbit.
4. Do not let staff describe a deferred-interest promotion as “0% interest” without the condition.

Bottom line

CareCredit belongs in most practices because patients ask for it and the practice carries no credit risk. It should not be the only option, and it needs a careful explanation every time. Direct comparisons: CareCredit vs Cherry and CareCredit vs Sunbit.

What users say about CareCredit

These are consumer (cardholder) reviews, not practice reviews: 426 reviews on Trustpilot with a TrustScore of 1.1 out of 5, read on September 30, 2026. People with complaints are far more likely to post on such sites, so treat this as a list of what goes wrong rather than a typical experience. We found no substantial body of public reviews from dental practices. Themes are paraphrased, not quoted.