Borrowing just got more expensive. Make your payment options easy to understand.
On September 16, the Federal Reserve raised its target interest rate by a quarter point, to 3.75%-4.00%, noting that inflation remains elevated. Consumer prices rose 3.4% over the year to August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dental services prices dipped 0.6% in August from July, which means families’ everyday costs are rising faster than what they pay for dental care.
Families feel it. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 48.1 in September from 51.7 in August, and people expect prices to rise 4.6% over the next year. These are national measures; there is no separate price index for orthodontics.
Potential orthodontic impact
When groceries, rent and car payments are all rising, a monthly orthodontic payment competes with everything else in the family budget. Higher rates also make financing more expensive for patients who use outside lenders. A payment conversation that is confusing becomes one more reason to wait.
What to do next
This week, have your office manager confirm with each financing partner the current rates, fees and how quickly patients get a decision, and what options exist when an application is declined.
In consultations, have your treatment coordinator lay out each plan side by side: down payment, monthly payment, number of payments and the total. Record which part of the plan makes starting hard, so the team can follow up with an option that fits.
Federal Reserve · September 16 rate decision ↗ · Bureau of Labor Statistics · August consumer prices, released September 11 ↗ · University of Michigan · Surveys of Consumers ↗
A new federal guide gives you a clear way to explain why supervision matters.
On September 16, the AAO highlighted a new FDA consumer page on clear aligners. The FDA states that it has not authorized aligners sold directly to consumers without a prescription and supervision by a dentist or orthodontist.
The page explains how in-person exams and periodic check-ups reduce the risks of treatment, and it recognizes that remote monitoring can be part of care. This is consumer guidance, not a new nationwide ban on teledentistry.
Potential orthodontic impact
When families compare you with cheaper or more convenient options, the conversation tends to be about trays and price. An independent federal source helps you explain what they actually get from an orthodontist: a diagnosis, a plan, progress checks and someone to call when something changes.
What to do next
Have your treatment coordinator use the FDA page in consultations when a family is comparing options, and have your marketing lead link to it from your aligner or adult treatment page. Keep the message factual: what your orthodontist does at each stage, not criticism of other providers.
AAO · September 16 announcement ↗ · FDA · Clear Dental Aligners consumer page ↗
New state laws could change the cost of getting paid by insurers.
A September 17 review by the dental advisory firm Skytale counts more than 100 dental-insurance reform bills introduced in 37 states in 2026. By July, 16 states had passed 30 laws covering how insurers pay practices, share provider contracts and demand money back on claims they already paid.
Examples include limits on payment methods that charge the practice a fee (Georgia and Louisiana), on “downcoding,” when an insurer pays using a lower-paying procedure code (Indiana), and on letting other insurers use your contracted rates without permission (Colorado). Effective dates vary, and many employer-funded plans are not covered by state rules.
Potential orthodontic impact
Card-processing fees on insurance payments, unexpected reductions and repayment demands quietly reduce what you collect. New protections may let you push back on some of them. Owners with offices in more than one state may need different rules for each.
What to do next
This month, have your billing lead ask your state dental association which new laws apply to you, when they take effect and which plans they cover. Then review the last few months of insurance payments for processing fees, reduced payments and repayment requests, challenge the ones the new rules cover, and keep track of what you recover.
Skytale · September 17 review of 2026 dental-insurance reforms ↗
A billing-vendor incident is a reminder to check who can log in to your systems.
On September 9, the Georgia Dental Association warned members that eAssist Dental Solutions, a dental billing company that serves more than 3,000 practices, had disclosed a possible security incident after a ransomware group claimed an attack. At that point, no patient data had been confirmed exposed. The association advised practices to change passwords for practice software, clearinghouses and insurance portals, turn on two-step login and remove unused accounts.
On September 17, the federal Office for Civil Rights announced a $700,000 HIPAA settlement with Ambry Genetics over a phishing attack. The problems it cited are common in small offices: no up-to-date risk analysis, no process for cutting off former employees’ access and shared logins. Ambry is a genetics lab, not a dental practice.
Potential orthodontic impact
Billing companies, marketing agencies and IT vendors often hold logins to your practice software, insurance portals and email. A break-in at one of them can become your HIPAA problem, and regulators look for the basics first.
What to do next
This month, have your office manager list every outside company and former employee with a login to your systems. Remove anyone who no longer needs access, change shared passwords and turn on two-step login wherever it is offered. Confirm your HIPAA risk analysis has been updated in the last 12 months. If you use eAssist, ask for a written update on the incident.
Georgia Dental Association · September 9 advisory ↗ · HHS Office for Civil Rights · September 17 Ambry Genetics settlement ↗
AI may help patients reach your practice. Make sure they can still reach a person.
On September 8, Meta introduced Muse, an AI assistant that the company says can browse websites, fill in forms and complete tasks for its users. Meta’s apps reach billions of people, so assistants like this could become one more way a parent researches practices or requests an appointment. There is no evidence yet that this is a meaningful source of orthodontic patients.
It raises two practical questions for your practice: can an assistant find accurate information about you, and once a family wants to talk, can they easily reach a person?
Potential orthodontic impact
Automation can help a family take the first step. But questions about cost, timing or a child’s worries usually need a conversation. Practices that make it easy to get from an automated reply to a real person will convert more of the interest they get.
What to do next
Ask your marketing lead to check that your locations, services, hours and contact details are correct on your website and public listings. This week, have your office manager call and message the office as a new patient, try any automated replies and ask for a person. Fix any step where the caller gets stuck or has to repeat themselves, and have the front desk ask new patients how they found you.
Meta · September 8 Muse announcement; company-described capabilities ↗
Make the next step easier. Make the value clearer.
Look at your practice through the eyes of a family deciding whether to start. Can they understand the payment options, see the value of an orthodontist’s care, reach someone when they have a question and trust you with their information? Each development in this issue touches one of those steps.
- Lay out every payment plan side by side, with the total, in each consultation.
- Use the FDA’s clear-aligner page to explain what supervised treatment includes.
- Ask your state dental association which insurance reforms apply to you.
- Remove old logins and turn on two-step login for every vendor.
- Test the route from an automated reply to a real conversation.
Keep looking ahead.
Get the next Ortho Radar briefing in your inbox.
Subscribe for free