A dental membership plan is an in-house plan where patients pay the practice a monthly or annual fee for preventive care, usually two check-ups and cleans, X-rays and an emergency exam, plus a discount on other treatment. There are no insurer claims or waiting periods. Price it from the chair cost of included visits, and keep it to defined services so it doesn't become insurance.
Key takeaways
- Target patients without private health extras first. They gain the most from a plan.
- A vendor study reported 17% higher net production for plan patients than for commercially insured patients.
- Price from chair cost: the real cost of the included visits, plus the discounts you give away.
- AHPRA's advertising rules require terms with any discount and warn against contracting for future services without clinical need.
- Keep plans to defined, prepaid services. Promising to cover unknown treatment edges toward insurance.
Every dentist knows this patient.
They haven't been in for three years. They turn up on a Tuesday with a toothache, and the X-ray shows the problem should have been caught at a routine clean two years ago. Now it's a bigger, dearer job, and they hesitate over the quote.
Nobody wins.
In the US, more than 70 million adults have no dental insurance, and many of them behave exactly like this. So a growing number of practices have built their own answer: an in-house membership plan. Patients pay the practice directly, monthly or annually, for their preventive care plus a discount on everything else. No insurer, no claim forms, no waiting periods.
The model is now big enough to have its own software industry. Kleer and Membersy merged to form Clerri, which says more than 5,000 independent practices use its platform.
What do dental membership plans look like in 2026?
A Clerri study published in Dental Economics in November 2025 reported that:
- practices with membership plans saw net production 17% higher for plan patients than for patients on standard commercial insurance;
- at one dental service organization, production per patient was 12% higher for members than for the same patients when they paid cash before joining;
- Arbor Dental Group saw a 25% increase in new patients and a 78% increase in cash production after launching its plans.
Treat those as vendor figures. Clerri sells the software. But the mechanism makes sense. Members come in for the cleans they've already paid for. Regular visits surface problems early. The discount and the trust built over time make patients more likely to say yes to treatment. (The dental membership case study has more.)
Australia is different in one important way. Many patients have private health extras, and some funds offer no-gap check-ups at participating dentists. Third-party schemes advertise dental "cover" for a yearly fee too. So an Australian plan has to win on something the fund can't offer: your relationship, your price certainty, and a discount on the work that extras don't fully cover.
Which subscription models fit a dental practice?
| Model | Fit for dental | How it shows up |
|---|---|---|
| Bundled services | Strong | Two exams, two cleans, X-rays and an emergency exam for one fee |
| Insurance model | Partial, with care | Peace of mind from predictable costs. But only for your own defined services |
| Member benefits | Strong | A member discount on treatment, priority emergency appointments |
| Minimum commitment | Good | Annual plans paid monthly, with clear exit terms |
| Consumables | Add-on | Toothbrush heads or aligner-retainer cleaning supplies on subscription |
A sample three-tier dental plan
Illustrative only. Fees below are for an Australian private practice and don't reflect any fee schedule.
| Adult Essentials | Gum Care | Family | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee (illustrative) | A$32 a month (A$384 a year) | A$65 a month (A$780 a year) | A$99 a month (A$1,188 a year) |
| Who it's for | Healthy adults, no extras cover | Patients with a diagnosed gum condition | Two adults and up to two children |
| Exams and cleans | 2 a year | 4 periodontal maintenance visits a year | 2 a year each |
| X-rays | As clinically needed, up to one set a year | As clinically needed | As clinically needed |
| Emergency exam | 1 a year | 1 a year | 1 a year each |
| Discount on other treatment | 10% | 15% | 10% |
| Commitment | 12 months, paid monthly, exit terms stated | 12 months, paid monthly | 12 months, paid monthly |
Two things matter in that table. Every inclusion is a defined service, not "whatever you need." And the Gum Care tier exists because those patients clinically need more frequent visits, not because a bigger plan sells better. That's a line the regulator cares about, which I'll come to.
How do you know if a dental plan is profitable?
Annual plan margin = Annual fee − Chair cost of included visits − Discounts given − Payment fees
Worked example: the A$32 Adult Essentials plan
The fee is A$384 a year. Dental services that meet the ATO's conditions are GST-free, so assume no GST here (check your own position).
Chair cost per check-up and clean: 45 minutes of hygienist time at a fully loaded A$80 an hour (A$60), a 10-minute dentist exam (A$40), and consumables (A$15). Call it A$115. Two a year is A$230. Add one emergency exam a year for a quarter of members (about A$15 averaged) and one set of X-rays (A$25). Included services: about A$270.
Discount given: if the average member has A$900 a year of other treatment, 10% off is A$90.
Payment fees: about A$8 a year.
Margin: A$384 − A$270 − A$90 − A$8 = A$16 a year.
That looks thin. But compare it with what that patient did before. If they came in once every two years and declined most treatment, they earned you very little. If the plan turns them into a twice-a-year regular who accepts the treatment they need, the margin is in the treatment, not the fee.
The plan pays when it changes behavior. If it simply discounts patients who were already regulars, it costs you. Test your own numbers with the subscription price calculator.
Check your plan price covers chair time
Use the free calculator to test a monthly plan fee against the real cost of the visits it includes.
How to launch a dental membership plan
- Find your target patients. Pull a list of patients with no extras cover, or who haven't been in for 18 months.
- Cost your chair time honestly, including hygienist, dentist, consumables and room overheads.
- Design tiers around clinical pathways: routine prevention, gum maintenance, families.
- Write the terms: what's included, what isn't, the discount, the 12-month structure, how to cancel and what happens to unused visits.
- Get two reviews before launch: an AHPRA-aware look at your advertising, and legal advice confirming the plan is a prepaid service, not insurance.
- Set up recurring billing through membership software or your payment provider.
- Train the front desk. They'll explain the plan more than anyone. Give them the break-even in one sentence.
- Track members separately: attendance, treatment acceptance, churn and revenue per member. Use the churn calculator every quarter.
Pitfalls to avoid
Drifting into insurance. A plan that promises to cover "all fillings" or "any emergency treatment" takes on risk you can't price. Babylon Health, which the book used as an insurance-model example, became the warning: it took on costs it couldn't control and collapsed. Keep to defined, prepaid services and a discount.
Over-servicing. Building a plan around more visits than a patient clinically needs isn't just bad ethics. In Australia it can breach advertising law. Every inclusion should match clinical guidelines for that patient group.
Discount stacking. A member discount on top of a health fund rebate on top of a new-patient offer can push some treatments below cost. Decide upfront which discounts combine.
Breakage dependence. If your plan only works when members skip their second clean, it isn't working. And from July 2027, unhappy members will find it easy to leave.
The wrong patients. A patient with good extras cover may not benefit. Selling them a plan they don't need is a fast route to a complaint.
What Australian dental practices need to know
General information as at October 2026. Get legal and tax advice for your practice.
AHPRA advertising rules. Section 133 of the National Law says you must not advertise a regulated health service in a way that offers a gift, discount or other inducement unless the terms and conditions are also stated, or that encourages the indiscriminate or unnecessary use of health services. AHPRA's advertising guidelines go further. They say advertising may breach the law if it states an installment amount without the total cost, or encourages people to attend regular appointments "where there is no clinical indication to do so," which "includes contracting for future services." For a membership plan that means: show the annual total next to the monthly fee, state the terms, tie inclusions to clinical need, and give members a way out.
GST. Dental is a listed health service, and the ATO says such services are GST-free when performed by a recognized professional and generally accepted as necessary for appropriate treatment. Purely cosmetic extras may not meet that test. If your plan bundles them, ask your accountant how the fee should be treated.
Subscription rules from 1 July 2027. A rolling or auto-renewing plan is likely to be a subscription contract under the Unfair Trading Practices Act 2026. Expect prominent disclosure at sign-up, prescribed notices (likely before renewal) and an easy cancellation method. See subscription trap laws.
Insurance. Don't describe the plan as insurance or cover, and don't promise to pay for treatment you haven't defined. If in doubt, get legal advice before launch.
The accountant's angle
A dental practice's value depends heavily on its patient base and how reliably those patients return. A membership list makes that visible.
- Predictable cash flow. Monthly fees arrive whether or not the books are full this week. They also smooth out the quiet weeks.
- Prepaid fees are a liability. If members pay annually upfront, you owe them the visits. Recognize the revenue as you deliver it. See revenue recognition.
- Valuation. A buyer can see 600 members, their tenure and their treatment spend. That's easier to value than "we have a loyal patient base."
- Margin by tier. Track whether each tier earns money after chair time and discounts. Kill or reprice the ones that don't.
Model the effect on revenue and cash flow with the subscription profit calculator.
What to do next
Run a report tonight: how many active patients have no extras cover, and how many haven't been seen in 18 months? That's the size of your opportunity.
Then cost one check-up and clean properly. If you don't know your true chair cost, you can't price a plan. GPs and physios face similar questions, covered in the medical practice and allied health guides.
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Australian business owners can book a free 30-minute review with a BPAG Accountants adviser. An honest conversation about:
- whether a subscription model could work for your business
- how recurring revenue could cover your fixed costs each month
- how it could lift what your business is worth
No cost, no obligation. General information only until we understand your situation.
Frequently asked questions
Are dental membership plans worth it for patients?
For patients without dental cover who want two check-ups a year, usually yes: they spread the cost, know the price upfront and get a discount on other work. For patients whose private health extras already pay for check-ups with no gap, a plan may add little. A good practice explains the break-even plainly and doesn't push a plan on everyone.
Is a dental membership plan the same as dental insurance?
No. Insurance pays towards treatment costs when something goes wrong, usually through a third party with waiting periods and limits. A membership plan is a prepaid bundle of defined services from one practice, plus a discount. Say clearly in your marketing that it isn't insurance, and list what isn't covered.
Can patients use private health extras with a membership plan?
It depends on how the plan is structured and on each fund's rules. Health funds generally pay rebates on itemized services, not on a membership fee. Some practices issue an itemized receipt for each service delivered under the plan. Check with the major funds and your adviser before you promise that members can claim.
Should I build my own plan or use membership software?
Use software, or at least a payment platform with recurring billing. Manual invoicing breaks quickly when you have hundreds of members, failed card payments and renewals to track. Platforms built for dental plans handle enrollment, billing and benefit tracking, but compare their fees with the margin on your plan before signing up.
How many tiers should a dental plan have?
Two or three, built around clinical need. A standard adult plan with two preventive visits, a child or family plan, and a gum care plan with more frequent maintenance visits for patients who clinically need them. Each tier should match a real treatment pathway, not just a bigger discount.
General information only, current as at October 2026. It isn't legal, tax or financial advice and doesn't consider your circumstances. Speak to a qualified adviser before acting.
Talk it through with a BPAG adviser
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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 (Clerri study, Nov 2025)
- Ahpra, Guidelines for advertising a regulated health service
- Ahpra, Advertising and the law (section 133 of the National Law)
- ATO, Other health services (GST-free health services)
- Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026, Federal Register of Legislation
Facts and prices checked 27 October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.