A dental membership plan is an in-house subscription. Patients pay the practice a monthly or annual fee that covers preventive care, such as cleanings, exams and X-rays, plus a discount on other treatment. There are no insurer claims, deductibles or waiting periods. A November 2025 study by membership software company Clerri reported 17% higher net production for plan patients than for commercially insured patients.
Key takeaways
- More than 70 million US adults have no dental insurance, and they're the natural market for a membership plan.
- Clerri, formed when Kleer and Membersy merged, says more than 5,000 independent practices use its platform.
- Its study reported 17% higher net production for plan patients, and a 78% jump in cash production at one dental group. It's vendor data, so treat it as directional.
- The mechanism is simple: included cleanings bring patients in, and regular visits plus a member discount raise case acceptance.
Think about the last time you put off going to the dentist.
It probably wasn't fear of the chair. It was fear of the bill. You didn't know what it would cost, so you waited. Then something started to ache, and you went.
Now multiply that by more than 70 million US adults with no dental insurance.
For a dental practice, those patients are a headache of their own. They turn up irregularly. They hesitate over treatment. They disappear for two years, then come back with a problem that could have been caught early.
So a lot of practices did something simple. They stopped waiting for insurers to fix it and built their own subscription.
What is an in-house dental membership plan?
It's a deal between the patient and the practice. Nobody else is involved.
The patient pays a monthly or annual fee directly to the practice. In return they get their preventive care (cleanings, exams, X-rays) plus a discount on any other treatment. No deductibles. No waiting periods. No insurer paperwork.
In The Subscription Playbook I wrote that even the most traditional businesses, medical practices included, can add subscription revenue. Dentistry is proving it. The model has grown big enough to support its own software industry. Kleer and Membersy merged to form Clerri, which says more than 5,000 independent practices use its platform.
What happened when practices switched?
Clerri published a study in Dental Economics in November 2025. Here's what it reported:
| Finding | Result |
|---|---|
| Net production, plan patients vs patients on standard commercial insurance | 17% higher for plan patients |
| Production per patient at one dental service organization, members vs the same patients when they paid cash before joining | 12% higher as members |
| Arbor Dental Group, after launching its plans | 25% more new patients, 78% more cash production |
Now, a word of caution, because I'd rather you hear it from me.
These numbers come from a vendor that sells membership software. It has every reason to show the model in its best light. So don't take 17% or 78% as what you'll get. Take them as a sign the mechanism works, then test it in your own practice.
And the mechanism is easy to see.
Why do membership plans beat insurance for the practice?
Three things are going on.
The included visits bring people in. A patient who has already paid for two cleanings will book them. Every cleaning is a chance to spot the next piece of work early.
Trust goes up, so case acceptance goes up. Someone who sees the same dentist twice a year, and gets a member discount on treatment, is far more likely to say yes to the crown than someone who walked in off the street in pain.
The money arrives regardless. Membership fees land every month whatever the appointment book looks like. Quiet weeks don't hurt as much.
That's the insurance model at small scale: you're selling peace of mind. It's mixed with bundled services (the cleanings, exams and X-rays in one fee) and member benefits (the discount).
My take
In the book I used Babylon Health's GP-at-Hand app as an example of a smaller player borrowing the insurance model. That one ended badly (you can read what happened to Babylon Health), largely because it moved into US health-plan contracts where it carried costs it couldn't cap, with too much revenue in too few contracts. Dental plans work for the opposite reason. They're local, they include a small, predictable set of services, and the real profit comes from treatment the practice was going to offer anyway.
What should your plan cost?
Work out a profitable monthly price for your membership after costs, GST and payment fees.
Who should a dental plan target first?
Not everyone.
Patients with good insurance already have a reason to come in. The plan's sweet spot is the uninsured and the irregular: people who'd come more often if the cost were predictable.
In Australia, the same logic applies to patients without private health extras cover. The dental practices industry guide has more on Australian pricing and structure.
Here's an illustrative structure. The prices are examples, not benchmarks.
| Adult Essentials | Family | Perio Care | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illustrative price | $29 a month | $79 a month (2 adults, 2 kids) | $45 a month |
| Exams and cleanings | 2 a year | 2 a year each | 4 a year |
| X-rays | Routine | Routine | Routine |
| Emergency exam | 1 a year | 1 a year each | 1 a year |
| Discount on treatment | 10% | 10% | 15% |
Check the plan pays its way
Say your two cleanings, exams and X-rays would cost a patient $420 a year at your normal fees, and cost you $180 to deliver in chair time and materials. A $29-a-month plan brings in $348. The patient saves $72 if they use everything, and you keep $168 before any treatment they accept. If plan patients accept even one extra filling a year more than they used to, the plan is clearly ahead. (Illustrative numbers. Plug in your own.)
Are dental membership plans worth it for patients?
For the right patient, yes. For a patient who visits once every three years, probably not.
Be honest about that in how you sell it. A plan that only works when patients forget to use it is a plan that churns, and from 1 July 2027 Australian subscription trap laws will require clear terms at sign-up and an easy way to cancel. Make it a good deal for people who use it.
Then protect your renewals. Many plans lose members not because they decided to leave, but because a card expired. That's involuntary churn, and it's the cheapest churn to fix.
What can you steal from the dentists?
You don't need a drill for this. Physios, optometrists, chiropractors, vets and accountants can all run the same play.
- Target your uninsured or irregular clients first. They gain the most from a plan.
- Include the visits that lead to bigger work. Check-ups, inspections, reviews.
- Discount the rest, modestly. Ten to fifteen percent is enough to change behavior without wrecking your margin.
- Use proper recurring billing. Dedicated membership software, or a payment platform with recurring billing. Never manual invoices.
- Measure plan patients separately. Track their visits, treatment acceptance and revenue against non-members. That's your own version of the Clerri study, with no vendor spin.
What to do next
Pick the one service your clients put off because they don't know what it'll cost. Build a plan around it.
Then check your churn before you scale. A membership only compounds if members stay.
Churn Rate CalculatorCustomer and revenue churn, plus what it costs you.Open the free tool →For more examples across healthcare, see the medical practices guide and the vet wellness plan case study.
Frequently asked questions
How is a dental membership plan different from dental insurance?
Insurance is a contract with a third party that pays some treatment costs, usually with limits, waiting periods and claims. A membership plan is a direct arrangement with one practice. The patient prepays for a set list of preventive visits and gets a discount on everything else. Nothing gets claimed, and the plan only works at that practice.
Can Australian dental practices offer membership plans?
Many do, often aimed at patients without private health extras cover. Because health insurance is regulated in Australia, the plan should be clearly structured as prepaid services and a discount at your practice, not cover against future costs. Get advice on the wording before you launch, and remember the subscription rules starting 1 July 2027.
What should a dental membership plan include?
Most plans include two check-ups and cleanings a year, routine X-rays, and a percentage off other treatment. Some add an emergency exam or fluoride for children. Price it so that a patient who uses everything saves money, and the practice still earns a healthy margin once you count the treatment that members go on to accept.
Should I build my own plan or use membership software?
For a handful of members, a payment platform with recurring billing can work. Once you have more than a few dozen, dedicated membership software saves time on billing, failed payments, renewals and tracking what each patient has used. Manual invoicing is where plans fall apart, because missed payments quietly turn into churn.
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Robert Coorey, MBA
Robert is the author of The Subscription Playbook and Feed a Starving Crowd and a Director at BPAG Accountants in Sydney. More about Robert.
Sources
- Dental Economics, Why dental membership plans are outperforming insurance in production, case acceptance, and loyalty (Clerri study, Nov 2025)
- Clerri, Build or buy: choosing between an in-house dental membership plan or a partner solution (vendor)
Facts and prices checked 27 October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.