Not only do we deliver high recovery rates, but our team is incredibly easy to work with. We are committed to providing the best customer service experience for your staff.

Office managers, administrators and accountants really appreciate how simple and intuitive our client portal is, making it easy to manage all your accounts online. Additionally, we provide an interactive zoom-training along with a comprehensive 3-page PDF tutorial that guides you through managing your accounts with just a few clicks. We proudly serve hundreds of dental practices nationwide.

Staff tired of sitting on hold with Blue Cross? We handle insurance follow-ups and denial management so your front desk can focus on patients. We are also well-versed in dental billing practices. Our recovery process includes skip tracing, letter service and legal escalation as the last resort.

We can do low-cost reminder notices, collection demands and relatively more intensive collection calls service. All depends on your dental practice collection needs. We integrate with major practice management software like Dentrix, EagleSoft, and Open Dental to make file transfer easy (through CSV export).

Here are the top considerations for dental offices when hiring a collection agency, and why Kinum might be your best choice.

1. Reputation Management:

• Patient Experience: Choose an agency that prioritizes a positive patient experience, even during the collection process. Aggressive or rude tactics can damage the dental office’s reputation.
• Communication: The agency should communicate clearly and professionally with patients, explaining the debt and offering payment options. Collections should happen diplomatically, yet with the right amount of pressure.
• Online Reviews: Check online reviews and ratings to gauge the agency’s reputation among other dental offices and patients.
  

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2. Fee Structure:

• Contingency Fee: The agency only gets paid a percentage of the debt they collect. This can be motivating for the agency, but the percentage might be high. (Sign up)
• Fixed Fee: The dental office pays a set low-fee, regardless of the amount collected. (Sign up)

3. Compliance with Regulations:

• FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act): Ensure the agency strictly adheres to the FDCPA, which protects consumers from abusive debt collection practices. This includes not harassing patients, using deceptive tactics, or making false statements. They should also be GLBA compliant and offer a secure online client portal.
• HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act): Since patient information is sensitive, the agency must be HIPAA compliant to safeguard patient privacy and confidentiality.
• State Regulations: Be aware of any specific state laws regarding debt collection practices that might be stricter than federal regulations.
• We can sign a BAA if required. We treat patients with dignity so they return for checkups.

4. Credit Reporting Laws:

• FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act): The agency should be familiar with the FCRA, which regulates how credit information is collected, used, and shared. This includes accurate reporting of debts and dispute resolution procedures. Dental debts under $500 and which are less than one year old, cannot be reported to the credit bureaus.
• Timing of Reporting: Understand when the agency will report unpaid debts to credit bureaus, as this can impact a patient’s credit score.
• Dispute Handling: Have a clear process in place for handling disputes if a patient claims a debt is incorrect.

FAQ — Dental Collection Agency

How long should a dental practice wait before sending a bill to collections?

Most dental practices see the best recovery results when unpaid accounts are referred to a collection agency within 90 to 120 days of the original due date. After 90 days of internal statements and reminders without response, the likelihood of the practice collecting directly drops sharply — and continues to drop every month the account sits. Accounts over 180 days old are significantly harder to recover. If a patient has missed two or more statements, broken a payment promise, or simply stopped responding, those are clearer signals than the calendar: it is time to refer the account rather than wait for a round number.

Will using a collection agency damage our relationship with the patient?

With the right agency — no. Kinum’s approach to dental collections is deliberately relationship-preserving: professional, diplomatic outreach that gives patients a clear path to resolution without embarrassment or aggression. Our 4.87 Google rating, which includes reviews from patients we have collected from, reflects that approach in practice. The goal after every collection is for the patient to feel the process was handled fairly — which keeps the door open for them to return to your practice once their balance is resolved. Choosing an agency that prioritizes patient experience is the most important factor in protecting that relationship.

Do I need a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) before using a dental collection agency?

Yes — this is a legal requirement, not a formality. Under HIPAA’s Privacy Rule (45 CFR §164.504(e)), any collection agency that will receive Protected Health Information (PHI) about your patients must sign a Business Associate Agreement with your practice before any patient data is shared. The BAA defines the permitted uses of PHI, limits data to the minimum necessary for collection purposes, and establishes security and breach-notification obligations. Kinum provides a signed BAA to every dental practice as part of standard onboarding at no additional cost. If any collection agency offers to start working your accounts before signing a BAA, do not proceed — your practice would be in HIPAA violation.

What dental debt can be reported to the credit bureaus — and what cannot?

As of 2023, the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) no longer report medical or dental debts under $500, regardless of age. Dental debts of $500 or more may still be reported to credit bureaus, subject to FCRA accuracy requirements and required pre-reporting notice timelines. Additionally, any dental debt that is less than one year old should not be reported — allowing patients time to resolve billing disputes or insurance issues before a credit impact occurs. Kinum applies these rules correctly on every dental account, ensuring your practice is never exposed to FCRA-related complaints from patients whose debt was reported prematurely or incorrectly.

How much does Kinum charge for dental patient bill collections?

Kinum offers two pricing models for dental practices, and you can use either or both depending on account age and your recovery goals. The fixed-fee service sends professional collection demand letters for a flat fee per account — you keep 100% of whatever the patient pays back to your practice directly. The contingency service involves active telephone and written outreach by Kinum’s collectors, with a fee charged only as a percentage of amounts actually recovered. There are no setup fees, no monthly minimums, and no contracts. Practices that use both services typically start fresher accounts (30–90 days) on the fixed-fee track and transfer older or unresponsive accounts to the contingency track.

What information does Kinum need to start collecting a dental account?

To place a dental account with Kinum, your practice provides: the patient’s name, current mailing address, date of birth, account balance, date of service, and a phone number if available. No clinical notes, diagnosis codes, or treatment details should be included — only the billing information needed to identify and contact the patient about their financial obligation. Kinum accepts individual account entry through the client portal or bulk CSV upload for multiple accounts. An interactive Zoom training session and a 3-page PDF tutorial walk your front desk or billing team through the entire portal process, so no IT support is needed to get started.

What is the FDCPA and how does it protect our patients during dental collections?

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is the primary federal law governing how third-party collection agencies can contact and communicate with consumers about their debts. For dental patient accounts, it requires the collection agency to send a written debt validation notice within five days of first contact, giving the patient 30 days to dispute the debt. It prohibits contact before 8 AM or after 9 PM local time, limits telephone frequency (under Regulation F, no more than seven calls per seven-day period), and bans harassment, false statements, and unfair collection tactics. Every dental account Kinum collects is handled in full FDCPA compliance — protecting your patients’ rights and protecting your practice from liability associated with non-compliant collection activity.

Can a dentist sue a patient for an unpaid dental bill?

Yes. A dental practice has the same legal right as any other creditor to file a lawsuit against a patient for an unpaid bill. Before pursuing litigation, however, most dental practices — and most collection agencies — exhaust all non-legal collection options first. Legal action is time-consuming, requires court appearances or attorney involvement, and carries the risk of reputational damage if the patient responds publicly. Kinum’s approach is to maximize recovery through diplomatic outreach and payment plan negotiation before any legal referral is considered. For accounts where legal escalation is genuinely warranted, Kinum can refer to its national attorney network, with the client’s authorization, as a final step.

What happens to very old unpaid dental bills — is there a cutoff?

Every state sets a statute of limitations on debt — the period within which a lawsuit to collect must be filed. For dental patient accounts (written or open-account debt), this typically ranges from three to six years depending on the state. Once the statute of limitations expires, the debt is “time-barred” and cannot be legally pursued through the courts, though the balance still technically exists. Collection agencies may still contact patients about time-barred dental debt, but must not threaten legal action they cannot legally take. Kinum’s intake process flags accounts that are approaching or past the statute of limitations in the patient’s state and advises the practice before proceeding.

How does the dental collection process work once we sign up with Kinum?

After your practice signs the Business Associate Agreement and submits your first accounts through Kinum’s client portal, the process begins within one business day. For fixed-fee demand accounts, Kinum prepares and sends professional demand letters — by mail and, where available, digitally — under your practice name or Kinum’s letterhead depending on the service tier selected. For contingency accounts, a dedicated collector initiates contact by phone and follows up through Kinum’s compliant multi-channel outreach sequence. Your office manager or billing team can monitor account status, payments received, and collector notes in real time through the client portal, 24 hours a day. Kinum’s training team provides a Zoom orientation and a step-by-step PDF guide to get your staff comfortable with the portal in one session.

Last reviewed: June 2026. HIPAA, FDCPA, and FCRA compliance information reflects current federal requirements including the CFPB rule change removing medical and dental debts under $500 from consumer credit reports. Contact Kinum: 1-888-885-4686 | ko@kinum.com