Dental Practice Loans and Financing: Equipment, Acquisition, Expansion and Working Capital
Equipment financing for chairs and scanners, and term loans for acquisitions and expansions.
Soft credit pull only, no obligation
- Same-day decisions
- from some providers
- Subject to provider approval and document turnaround.
- 700+
- industries served
- Reviews
- Treatment done
- Claim filed
- Reimbursement lands
Weeks later
Bridged by a business line of credit
Rates, factor rates, fees and terms are set by the funding provider that makes your offer and are disclosed in that provider's agreement. Figures on this page are illustrative ranges from providers in our network, not offers.
The structure that fits first
- Lead productEquipment financing
Chairs, imaging and mills; the equipment is the collateral and the vendor is paid directly
Most of what a practice buys is a clinical asset with a long working life, so the lead product is equipment financing: the asset secures the deal.
equipment financing for dental practices - Business term loan
Acquisition, buy-in, build-out, a second location: a known amount for a known purpose
When you buy the practice rather than the kit, the structure is a business term loan; SBA loans are the patient route to the longest terms.
business term loans for dental practices - Business line of credit
Reimbursement lag, supplies, lab bills, an associate's ramp-up; drawn and redrawn
Behind both sits a business line of credit for the lag between treatment and reimbursement: drawn while a claim is out, repaid when it pays, drawn again.
a business line of credit
Decisions from some providers the same day, depending on the provider.Subject to provider approval and document turnaround.
The numbers before you apply
Typical amount
$10K–$10M
Across the products in our network
Considered for equipment
Up to $5M
Up to $500K on the application alone, or up to $5M with full documentation
Speed
As fast as 6 hours
Same-day decisions from some providers; funding as fast as 6 hours, subject to provider approval and document turnaround
Amounts considered by providers in our network, depending on the funding provider. Not an offer. Cost is stated on each product page.
What do dental practices use financing for?
Dentistry is capital-heavy and its revenue is reliable, an unusual and favourable combination. Four requests account for most of the volume.
Operatories and chairs
Fitting out a new room is a package: chair, delivery unit, light, cabinetry, compressor and vacuum.
More: Operatories and chairs
One more operatory is one more column of production.
Imaging and digital dentistry
Cone-beam scanners, intraoral scanners, mills and printers: the purchases that change what the practice keeps in-house.
More: Imaging and digital dentistry
Work that used to be referred out can stay in the practice.
Acquisitions and buy-ins
A retiring dentist's practice, a partnership buy-in or the next site, with its build-out and slower first months.
More: Acquisitions and buy-ins
The SBA route reaches the longest schedules, and dental is a vertical SBA-participating lenders know well.
Working capital for the lag
Insurance reimbursement arrives weeks after the treatment; a new associate takes months to fill a schedule.
More: Working capital for the lag
Payroll, lab bills and supplies do not wait for either.
What do providers look for in a dental practice?
Collections, and how steady they are
Providers review three months of bank statements, and tax returns and financial statements for larger amounts.
More: Collections, and how steady they are
Consistent monthly collections carry more weight than a single strong month, and they are what justifies a longer schedule.
Your personal credit profile
Your personal credit profile is still read, and in dentistry it is usually the strongest feature of the whole file.
More: Your personal credit profile
A stronger profile is what moves an application from a short schedule to the longer end of the ladder, and from an application-only amount to a full-documentation one.
Time in practice, and what came before it
Years of clinical employment make a young practice a different risk from one with no history.
More: Time in practice, and what came before it
Say so in the application: providers read time in practice right after collections and credit.
What the money buys, in detail
Equipment financing is tied to a specific asset and a specific vendor invoice, with a lien or titling where the provider requires it.
More: What the money buys, in detail
A quote with model numbers moves faster than a round figure.
Student debt and your balance sheet
Dental school debt is normal, and providers expect to see it on the personal balance sheet of a practice owner.
More: Student debt and your balance sheet
It is read as a payment among your monthly obligations, not as a disqualifier — Debt Service Coverage Ratio Explained covers how those are weighed.
Financing already in place
Existing equipment agreements and lines of credit reduce what a new provider will be willing to add on top.
More: Financing already in place
Disclose them; they are in the statements anyway.
Worked example
A two-operatory general practice adds a third room, brings imaging in-house and absorbs a short build-out.
Equipment financing
$168,000
Third operatory: chair, delivery unit, cabinetry, compressor
Equipment financing
$142,000
Cone-beam and intraoral scanners
Business term loan
$90,000
Build-out and cash flow through the ramp-up
Illustrative example, not an offer. The split is deliberate. The clinical assets go on equipment financing, where each item is tied to its own invoice and the schedule runs over the asset's working life, so a scanner that serves the practice for a decade is not paid for out of one year of production. The build-out and the ramp-up go on a business term loan, because there is no asset to secure and the amount and purpose are known up front. Section 179 or bonus depreciation may apply to financed equipment — consult your tax advisor.
General practices, specialists and group practices
General practices
The center of this page: steady collections, a mix of insurance and patient payment, and equipment needs that arrive one operatory at a time.
Specialists
Orthodontics, endodontics, oral surgery, periodontics: bigger assets. Orthodontists collect over months, so a line of credit set up early serves better than a later lump sum.
Group and multi-location practices
Financed as one business with several sites: consolidated financials, and amounts where providers want tax returns, not bank statements alone.
What does a dental practice need to apply?
Some providers consider applications at these minimums. Meeting a minimum does not guarantee an offer. The application is a soft credit pull only.
12 mo
time in business
$15K
monthly revenue
525
credit considered from
3 mo
bank statements
5 min
application
Bring, on top of the statements
- A government ID
- More statements in some states: four in CA, NY, FL and GA with some providers
- The vendor quote or invoice, with model numbers
- Tax returns, financial statements, the purchase agreement and the valuation
Capital Gurus is not a lender. We collect your application, present it to funding providers in our network, and help you compare the offers they make. Each provider sets its own rates, fees and terms, which are disclosed in that provider's agreement.
Frequently asked questions
In short
Dental practices fund chairs, scanners and build-outs with equipment financing, and acquisitions and expansions with a business term loan. Dental and medical files are among the strongest providers in our network see, and they reach the longest terms on the ladder — terms up to 10 years, depending on the funding provider. A line of credit and SBA referrals sit behind both.
What do providers look at for a dental practice?
Collections and their consistency first, then your credit profile, then time in practice. Some providers in our network consider applications from 12 months in business with $15,000 in monthly revenue and credit from 525, but a dental file usually sits well above those minimums. That is what opens longer terms and larger amounts. Meeting a minimum does not guarantee an offer.
Can I finance chairs, a scanner and a mill on one application?
Usually yes. Providers in our network will often write one equipment agreement across a package rather than one per item, and they pay the vendor directly against the invoice. Equipment financing is secured by the equipment itself, which is why its requirements are often easier than unsecured products. Terms and fees are set by the provider and disclosed in the financing agreement.
How long can the term be on dental financing?
Longer than for most industries. Providers in our network consider terms up to 10 years on the strongest files, depending on the funding provider, and clinical equipment is commonly written over several years because the asset works for many more. SBA programmes can run longer again. The guiding rule is to match the schedule to the working life of what you are buying, not to the shortest payment you can bear.
Can I use an SBA loan to buy a dental practice?
Practice acquisition is a classic use of the SBA programmes, and dental is a vertical SBA-participating lenders know well. Capital Gurus is not an SBA lender; SBA loans are made by SBA-participating lenders. We can prepare the file and introduce you; the lender and the SBA make the decision, and it takes weeks to months rather than days. If the closing date will not wait, ask about a faster structure as a bridge.
How does a bank practice-loan programme compare with a provider network?
Banks typically underwrite on full financials and take weeks, and a practice-finance desk at a bank often offers long terms at a low cost of funds if your file clears its box. A network is one application to many sets of guidelines, which matters when the timing is tight or the file is unusual. Compare the total you give back and the schedule, not the headline figure.
Will applying affect my credit score?
Checking your options through Capital Gurus uses a soft credit pull only, which does not change your score. Whether on-time payments are reported to the business credit bureaus depends on the provider, so ask which bureaus it reports to before you sign.
Still have a question?
talk to a funding advisorDecisions from some providers the same day, depending on the provider.
Subject to provider approval and document turnaround.
about 5 minutes, soft credit pull only · Talk to a funding advisor