An in-house membership plan does two jobs: it gives your uninsured patients a reason to stay on a hygiene schedule, and it turns unpredictable “maybe next year” visits into subscription revenue you can plan a practice around. The catch is pricing. Price it by copying a neighbor and you’ll either scare patients off or quietly deliver dentistry below cost. Here’s the arithmetic.
What goes in the plan
The standard adult plan shape, and the one patients understand fastest:
- Two cleanings a year (prophylaxis — perio maintenance belongs in a separate, higher tier).
- Two exams, usually with the cleanings.
- Routine X-rays — bitewings annually, a panoramic on the cycle you already use.
- A flat discount on everything else — commonly 10–20% off your fee schedule for fillings, crowns, and elective work.
Resist the urge to add more. Every extra inclusion is a cost you now owe every member whether they use it or not, and a plan that needs a comparison table to explain is a plan the front desk can’t sell in one sentence.
The math: price from your cost, not their fee
Work out what the included care actually costs you to deliver, then price above it. The numbers below are illustrative — run them with your own fee schedule and your own hourly costs.
What a member receives per year, at retail: 2 cleanings ................ 2 × $120 = $240 2 exams .................... 2 × $60 = $120 Bitewing X-rays ............ 1 × $70 = $70 Retail value ............... $430 What it costs you to deliver (chair time + staff + materials): Roughly 40–60% of retail for hygiene in most practices Call it ~$220 in this example. Pricing band: Floor — your delivery cost ......... ~$220/yr Target — 65–80% of retail value ..... ~$280–$345/yr A common landing spot ............... $29–$35/mo (≈ $350–$420/yr) The member's story: "everything my checkups cost, for less, plus 15% off anything else — and no insurance paperwork."
- The floor is your delivery cost. Below that you’re paying patients to attend. Above retail, nobody joins — the plan must be visibly cheaper than paying as they go.
- The discount is where margin hides. The 10–20% off restorative work isn’t a giveaway — members accept treatment more readily because the price objection shrank and the trust grew. That production lift is the real business case.
- Family pricing: a lower add-on rate per additional member (commonly 10–20% off the second adult, child plans priced separately) — a household on one subscription is your stickiest revenue.
Monthly vs annual
Offer both. Monthly (card on file, auto-renewing) is the volume seller — a $30 decision is easy, a $400 one gets postponed. Annual with roughly one month free rewards the committed and pulls cash forward. Whichever they pick, auto-renewal is the whole point: a plan someone must remember to rejoin is a plan they quietly leave.
The pitfalls that actually bite
- Never stack the plan with insurance. The plan is for the uninsured and under-insured; say so in the terms. Members with coverage should use the coverage.
- Don’t discount below lab cost on lab-heavy work — a 20% member discount on a crown can eat the margin whole. Some practices cap the discount tier for lab cases; decide on purpose either way.
- Put the renewal date to work. The renewal email is a recall message wearing a receipt — “your plan renewed, let’s book your first cleaning of the year” fills January.
- Track usage. A member who pays and never comes is churn you haven’t met yet. Unused benefits at month nine deserve a friendly nudge, not a shrug.
The legal caveat, plainly: several US states regulate in-house dental plans — some require registering the plan, specific contract language, or treat poorly-structured plans like insurance products. Before you launch, check your state dental board’s guidance or have a healthcare attorney read your terms. This guide is arithmetic, not legal advice.
Selling it in one sentence
“Since you don’t have dental insurance — we have an in-house plan that covers both cleanings, your exams, and X-rays for {price} a month, plus {discount}% off anything else. Want me to add you and book your first cleaning now?”
One sentence, one price, one immediate next step. The best moment to offer it is checkout after a visit the patient just paid cash for — the value math is sitting right there on the receipt.