No matter what your current financial situation, there’s a good chance that you’ve needed to (or wanted to) take out a loan to pay for a major expense. This could go for anything from buying a home to purchasing a car and anything in between. While it’s helpful to know that loans are an option, that doesn’t mean the process is any less stressful in practice.
This is especially true in situations where we may not traditionally consider loans to be the “answer,” to our problems, so to speak. For instance, if you’re planning on going to the dentist or having a procedure done any time soon, your first thought probably isn’t that you need to take out a loan. However, there are some circumstances where that may actually be the case.
You see, although many of us have access to coverage from HELFO (the Norwegian Health Economics Administration), this isn’t the case for everyone. In addition to that, sometimes the procedures we need aren’t covered by them. Dental work in particular can get pretty pricey without access to that, which can be problematic to say the least.
In these circumstances, what options do we have? One such solution is to utilize a dental loan, which you can read more about here: billigsteforbrukslån.com/lån-til-tannlegebehandling/ if you are curious. For now, let’s look at them from a practical perspective.
What are “Dental Loans”?
The first thing to address is simple: what really are dental loans, anyway? It’s not as though there are a bunch of banks or other financial institutions that are advertising their credit agreements geared towards people who need to visit the dentist. The reality is that when people borrow money for a dental procedure, they’re taking out a personal loan.
Personal Loans
If you aren’t familiar with them yet, we’ll offer you a brief rundown on what personal loans are as well as why they’re such an integral part of most people’s lives at this point. Essentially, they’re a type of credit agreement that folks make with lenders that involve a set amount of funds that can be used for nearly any purpose. That’s right – the money doesn’t have to go to something specific like a house or a car.
Of course, there are some limitations on this, and a few important caveats to be aware of. Most of these personal loans are unsecured, meaning that they don’t have any collateral. This isn’t a bad thing, but it tends to mean that we will end up paying more interest on them. Why is that?
When we borrow from a lender, that lender is inherently assuming the risk that we can’t pay that money back and that they could lose that money. Because of this, they’ve come up with a few ways to protect themselves from that risk. Collateral is one of them.
When a borrower can’t make repayments and there’s collateral, essentially, the lender is able to take that collateral. In unsecured loans, this isn’t an option. Thus, the lenderratesl charge a higher interest rate to compensate for the difference.
As we mentioned above, more often than not we’ll see that personal loans are unsecured. Unfortunately, this does mean that we have to contend with higher interest rates, especially if we don’t have a very high credit score. However, this isn’t to say that they’re a bad idea. Rather, it’s just some information so you know what you’re getting into.
Why Get a Dental Loan?
With all of this covered, you may be wondering why you’d want to borrow money for a dental procedure. There are a few answers to that, which may sound surprising. The thing is, the health of our teeth is deeply connected to our overall health, which means that we should be taking every chance we can get to improve our oral health.
Unfortunately, due to the way that our health system works, a lot of us will only have our procedures covered for us when we are age eighteen or younger. This is great while we are children, but once we become adults, we are in charge of our own dental care. This can be daunting to say the least, and quite stressful sometimes.
Coverage and Refunds
A lot of this process will really depend on the dentist that you visit. Some get coverage from HELFO, meaning that when you make an initial payment, you’ll get reimbursed down the line. This isn’t always the case, but it can help to call ahead to see which dentists offer this sort of thing.
The important thing remains that even if you end up getting reimbursed down the line, you will still have to pay for the dental procedures up front. A lot of us don’t have that kind of money, just laying around as pocket change. Therefore, taking out a loan may be the only workable way to afford it.
Of course, it will be important to ensure that the timing is correct. In explanation, if you take out a loan to cover a procedure, ideally, you’ll be able to get reimbursed by the time that you have to start making repayments. The hiccup tends to come when we end up with interest charges.
With this in mind, let’s briefly cover some of the procedures that are typically covered by HELFO. This way, you can plan accordingly. They’re as follows (though this list may not be comprehensive, so don’t hesitate to do your own research as well): dry mouth, gum diseases, cleft lip, jaw, or palate, tumors or cancer in the mouth, and accidental damage to the teeth that come from certain occupational injuries.
How it Works
What should you do once you’ve realized that you need to see a dentist and have a procedure done, but you aren’t exactly sure how to pay for it? Well, that’s where these loans can come into play, as we’ve mentioned. It’s worth noting that certain lenders here in Norway will be willing to work with you as far as interest rates are concerned if you mention that the credit agreement is for dental work.
This isn’t a guarantee of course but try to keep it in mind if you aren’t certain of the direction that you want to take and are considering several different lenders. This could certainly affect your decision as far as what lender to go with, so even if you don’t strictly have to share why you’re applying for a personal loan, it could help to mention what it’s for in scenarios like this one.
All in all, the application process will be pretty much the same as any other type of credit agreement out there. You’ll need to submit some personal information such as your credit score, the current list of repayments and bills you’re paying on a monthly basis, and your employment details. This helps lenders ensure that you’re a trustworthy borrower.
From there, it’s a matter of waiting for approval. Thankfully, most dentists will be happy to work with you as far as waiting for the funds, so don’t be afraid to initiate that process. Just be honest with your doctors and they should be able to help you.
Are Dental Loans Worth it?
The final question we have to consider is this one: is it really worth it to borrow money for dental procedures? Admittedly, it may seem like this isn’t the case at first glance. However, when you’re thinking about it, don’t forget how integral oral health is to our overall health. When something goes wrong with our teeth or gums, it can potentially harm our whole body.
Therefore, it’s probably not that surprising to hear that generally speaking, it does tend to be worthwhile. Sure, you’ll have to deal with interest rates and making repayments. However, this is a worthwhile trade when you consider that the alternative is ending up very sick.
Additionally, don’t forget that some dental work is still covered by HELFO – so, even if you have to borrow money up front, you may get reimbursed down the line. Either way, there’s really no trading for a healthier life.
Thankfully, it’s not too difficult to handle the application process for personal loans. The important thing is that we try to find the best options possible, with low interest rates and reasonable repayment periods. Take the time to shop around, so long as the dental work you need isn’t a true emergency.