Question 1

Is SmileShop free for patients?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Browsing deals, reading guides, looking up prices, and using the financing check are all free. We never charge patients.

Question 2

Do I need to create an account?

Accepted Answer

No. There are no patient logins. You can browse, call an office, or start a financing check without signing up for anything.

Question 3

How do I know the prices are real?

Accepted Answer

Every deal is verified by a SmileShop reviewer against the office's own public website or promo page before it goes live. The source link is shown right on each deal page so you can confirm it yourself.

Question 4

What happens when I tap "Call" on a deal?

Accepted Answer

Your phone dials the office directly. We do not record, listen to, or route the call through a tracking number. The office gets a notification that someone tapped Call so they can be ready, but they don't see your number until you choose to share it.

Question 5

Can I finance my treatment through SmileShop?

Accepted Answer

If the office uses the SmileShop platform, yes. The office sends you a link; you connect your bank read-only through Stripe (we never see your login), and our AI sizes a monthly payment to your budget. There's no down payment — $0 due at sign-up. You review and e-sign the single plan, and your monthly bank payments start on schedule.

Question 6

Is there really no down payment?

Accepted Answer

Correct — $0 down. We removed the deposit requirement to remove friction. SmileShop fronts the office's Day-1 capital and recoups it from your monthly payments later, so you don't pay anything upfront to start.

Question 7

How do I pay each month?

Accepted Answer

By ACH bank transfer — the same rail your utility bills use. Payments auto-charge from the bank account you connected on the schedule in your signed plan. No credit card required.

Question 8

Can I pay extra or pay off early?

Accepted Answer

Yes, anytime, with no prepayment penalty. Extra payments reduce your remaining balance and shorten your plan. Contact your office to apply an additional payment to your card on file.

Question 9

What is the SmileShop platform?

Accepted Answer

A flat $75 per office, per month subscription — no per-lead fees, no revenue cut. A practice with 2 offices pays $150; a DSO with five pays $375. It includes the AI Financing Analyzer, Day-1 capital advances, automated ACH payment collection, a patient CRM from first contact to treated, invoicing, and conversion analytics. Your verified deals listing is included.

Question 10

How does financing close a case?

Accepted Answer

When a patient says "I can't afford it," send them a financing link from your dashboard. They connect their bank read-only via Stripe Financial Connections; our AI reads their income and obligations and scores affordability (green / yellow / red). SmileShop auto-selects one plan sized to their budget — $0 down, monthly ACH payments — and the patient e-signs it. That signed plan is what turns a deferred case into a started one.

Question 11

What is Day-1 capital?

Accepted Answer

When the patient signs, SmileShop advances roughly 20% of the treatment cost straight to your Stripe Connect account on Day 1 — so your materials and lab work are paid for before the patient sits down. The advance is tier-scaled by affordability: green tier funds the full 20%, yellow funds 80%, and red is rail-only (not funded). A tier-based funding fee applies on the net capital we actually wire: 5% green, 7% yellow. We recoup the capital plus fee by intercepting a portion of each monthly ACH payment — typically over about 3 months — after which 100% of each payment routes to you.

Question 12

How fast do I get paid?

Accepted Answer

The Day-1 capital advance transfers to your Stripe Connect account on Day 1, with bank payout following your Stripe payout schedule. Monthly patient ACH payments then auto-charge to your Connect account on schedule — no invoicing, no chasing.

Question 13

Does SmileShop hold my patient's money?

Accepted Answer

No. Every ACH payment flows directly from the patient to your Stripe Connect account — we never hold patient funds. We only advance capital to you up front and intercept a holdback portion of each installment until our capital plus funding fee are recouped. After that, the full payment routes to you.

Question 14

Is SmileShop a lender?

Accepted Answer

No. SmileShop is the payment rail and capital provider, not a consumer lender. We advance capital to your practice against the patient's signed plan and recoup it from their ACH installments — a B2B advance to the office, not consumer credit to the patient. The patient simply sees monthly payments to your office.

Question 15

Why ACH and not credit cards?

Accepted Answer

ACH costs roughly 0.8% with a $5 cap; cards cost 3.5% plus $0.30. ACH is what makes the spread work — lower processing on every payment means more of each installment reaches your account and the advance recoups faster. We default every plan to ACH bank payments.

Question 16

How do I list my office on SmileShop?

Accepted Answer

Go to the Submit a Deal page, paste the URL of your office's promo or pricing page, and fill in your contact info. Our AI pre-fills the details, then a SmileShop reviewer verifies and publishes it — usually within a business day. Listing is free and included with the platform.

Question 17

Can I edit my deal after it's approved?

Accepted Answer

No. Once a deal is verified and live, the listing is locked to protect patients. To change the price, expiry, or description, email hello@smileshop.ai — we re-verify against your public source before updating. This is what makes the verified badge mean something.

Question 18

Does paying for the platform affect what SmileShop writes editorially?

Accepted Answer

No. Cost guides and clinical articles are written and ranked independently of any subscription. The platform only affects the financing, capital, and CRM tools in your dashboard — not the editorial content patients read.

Question 19

Is SmileShop a dental practice?

Accepted Answer

No. SmileShop is an independent publisher, deal index, and financing platform. We are not a dental practice and do not provide dental, medical, or professional advice. Always confirm clinical questions with a licensed dentist.

Question 20

How does SmileShop make money?

Accepted Answer

A flat $75 per office, per month platform subscription (billed by office, so a multi-location practice pays for exactly the offices it runs), a tier-based funding fee on Day-1 capital advances (5% green, 7% yellow), and a small per-payment processing fee on ACH transactions. We do not sell leads, charge per click, or take a cut of treatment revenue. Listing a deal and browsing as a patient are always free.

Question 21

Do you sell my data?

Accepted Answer

No. See our Privacy Policy for the full breakdown — short version, we collect the minimum we need, we do not sell personal data, and we do not run third-party ad trackers across our editorial content.

How SmileShop works

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For dental offices

About SmileShop

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