Dental Financing: Best Dental Loans of 2026

NerdWallet’s picks for the best dental loans

Our list includes lenders with different credit score requirements as well as consumer-friendly features like flexible amounts and fast funding.

Discover: Best dental loan for good credit

Discover’s personal loan is hard to beat — it comes with low rates, no fees and next-day funding, making it one of our highest rated lenders this year.

You’ll need to have a strong credit score of 660 to qualify.

SoFi: Best dental loan with fast funding

If you need the money fast, you can’t do much better than SoFi. According to the lender, it can approve your loan application and send the loan funds to your account all in the same day.

Note that SoFi’s minimum loan amount is $5,000, so it’s not a good option for smaller dental bills.

Upgrade: Best dental loan with flexible amounts and terms

Upgrade has one of the widest ranges of loan amounts and repayment terms of any lender we looked at, making it a match for almost any dental expense. You can choose from amounts of $1,000 to $75,000, paired with terms of two to seven years.

One drawback to keep in mind is Upgrade charges an origination fee up to 9.99%.

Happen Bank: Best joint dental loans

Happen (formerly LendingClub) offers an all-around solid personal loan, but we especially like that you can add another person to your application. Joint loans make it easier to get approved if the co-applicant has a better credit score or higher income than you.

One thing we don’t like is that Happen Bank may charge an origination fee up to 8%.

Prosper: Best dental loan for bad credit

Prosper doesn’t require you to have good credit or a long credit history. Instead, the lender requires a score of 560 and looks at other factors to help qualify you, like cash flow and bank transaction history.

Similar to other lenders we reviewed, you’ll pay an origination fee up to 9.99%.

How we chose the best personal loans

Our team of consumer lending experts follows an objective and robust methodology to rate lenders and pick the best.

30+

Lenders reviewed

We review over 35 lenders, including major banks, top credit unions, leading digital platforms, and high interest installment lenders operating across multiple states.

25+

Categories assessed

Each lender is evaluated across five weighted categories and 27 subcategories, covering affordability, eligibility, consumer experience, flexibility, and application process.

60+

Data points analyzed

Our team tracks and reassesses hundreds of data points annually, including APR ranges, fees, credit requirements, and borrower tools, ensuring up to date, accurate comparisons.

Star rating categories

We evaluate more categories than competitors and carefully weigh how each factor impacts your experience.

Affordability

25%

We review lenders’ annual percentage rate offerings and the competitiveness of each lenders’ APR range. We also assess whether a lender charges an origination fee and any opportunity for borrowers to receive a rate discount.

Customer experience

20%

We consider the experience of the consumer trying to manage a personal loan, which means accessibility of customer service representatives, whether borrowers can choose and change their payment due date, and the ability to track their loan on a mobile app.

Underwriting and eligibility

20%

We consider the rigorousness of each lender’s underwriting practices and how widely available their loans are. This category includes whether a lender does a hard credit check before providing a loan, the range of credit profiles they accept and how many states their loans are offered in.

Loan flexibility

20%

We assess how flexible lenders can be with borrowers, including whether they offer multiple loan types, personal loan amounts and repayment term options and whether they offer direct payment to creditors on debt consolidation loans.

Application process

15%

We consider the lender’s full application process, including a borrower’s ability to preview their loan offer via pre-qualification, whether basic loan information such as APR range and repayment terms are available and easy to find online and how quickly a loan can be funded after approval.

5.0

Overall score

NerdWallet’s review process evaluates and rates personal loan products from more than 30 financial technology companies and financial institutions. We collect over 60 data points and cross-check company websites, earnings reports and other public documents to confirm product details. We may also go through a lender’s pre-qualification flow and follow up with company representatives. NerdWallet writers and editors conduct a full fact check and update annually, but also make updates throughout the year as necessary.

Our star ratings award points to lenders that offer consumer-friendly features, including: soft credit checks to pre-qualify, competitive interest rates and no fees, transparency of rates and terms, flexible payment options, fast funding times, accessible customer service, reporting of payments to credit bureaus and financial education. Our ratings award fewer points to lenders with practices that may make a loan difficult to repay on time, such as charging high annual percentage rates (above 36%), underwriting that does not adequately assess consumers’ ability to repay and lack of credit-building help. We also consider regulatory actions filed by agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We weigh these factors based on our assessment of which are the most important to consumers and how meaningfully they impact consumers’ experiences.

NerdWallet does not receive compensation for our star ratings. Read more about our ratings methodologies for personal loans and our editorial guidelines.

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How to compare personal loans for dental work

Borrower requirements: Some lenders have minimum income or credit score requirements. Or they may allow a maximum amount of debt compared to your income, expressed as a debt-to-income ratio. Making sure you meet these minimum requirements is a good way to narrow down your initial choices.

» MORE: What are the requirements for a personal loan?

APR: A personal loan's annual percentage rate reflects the entire cost of a loan, including any fees, so it’s one of the most important numbers to consider as you shop around. You want the loan with the lowest APR you can still qualify for.

Time to fund: While some lenders offer same-day funding, others may take a few days. You can speed up the application process by gathering all the required documents before applying and promptly responding to lender questions.

Repayment term options: A longer loan term can mean smaller monthly payments, but it can also result in more interest over the life of the loan. We recommend choosing the shortest term with a monthly payment you can still afford.

Estimate your loan payments

Use our calculator to see what your monthly payment might be, based on the loan amount, APR and term.

How to apply for a dental loan

Once approved, depending on the lender, it could take anywhere from a day to a week to receive your loan funds.

Dental loans for bad credit

If you have fair or bad credit (a 629 score or lower), you can still apply for a dental loan, but you’ll likely get a rate on the high end of a lender’s APR range.

Some bad-credit lenders may look beyond credit score and consider other factors like cash flow, employment and education history, which can boost your chances of approval.

Avoid loans with APRs above 36%, which is the maximum rate deemed affordable by financial experts and consumer advocates. A three-year, $3,000 loan with a 36% APR costs almost $2,000 in interest. If you have bad credit, consider a co-signed, joint or secured loan to receive a lower rate.

» MORE: How to get a personal loan with bad credit

Alternative dental financing options

Personal loans can be an expensive way to finance dental work, so weigh other options before applying for a loan.

Here are alternative ways to fund dental work:

Financing through your dentist. Some dentists offer in-house payment plans for patients facing hefty bills. However, a growing number of providers are now partnering with third-party companies to offer financing instead of working out payment plans directly with patients. Before you sign an agreement, make sure you understand whether you’ll owe your dentist or a financing company.

Payment plans can be a good option if you don’t have insurance or would rather make monthly payments toward the procedure. You may be charged interest or a fee for setting up a payment plan.

You may also be able to negotiate a lower cost with your provider. Check the prices in your area using a site like fairhealthconsumer.org, and see how your dentist's costs compare.

Dental school. Dental schools offer procedures at reduced prices so students can get experience under the supervision of skilled dentists. You can check the American Dental Association’s list of dental programs to see whether there’s a school near you.

Credit card for medical expenses. Some offices offer financing through a credit card for medical expenses like CareCredit. The standard APR for CareCredit financing is 32.99%, but you can get 0% interest if you charge $200 or more and pay it off within a six, 12, 18 or 24-month term. If you aren’t able to pay off your balance, you’ll be charged interest retroactively from the start of the term.

0% credit card. If you have good or excellent credit (a score of 690 or above), you might qualify for a 0% APR credit card. These cards have an introductory period — usually 15 to 21 months — when you won’t accrue interest on purchases. If you can pay off your balance within that period, you’ll pay for the procedure interest-free.

Dental discount plan. A dental discount plan could be an affordable option to cover dental costs, as they allow you to pay a monthly or annual fee to receive discounts from dentists in the plan’s network. This can be a viable option for patients without dental insurance coverage.

HSA or FSA. A health savings account (HSA) is a tax-advantaged account you can use to save for medical expenses if you have a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). You can use your HSA for dental care as long as the treatment is medically necessary. If you have a flexible spending account (FSA) through your employer, you can also use account funds to pay for many dental expenses.

» LEARN: How to pay off your medical bills