This article from Hazelgate Capital in Bartlesville, Oklahoma explains how dental offices fund operatories, imaging and partner buyouts: dental practice loan terms and documents, how practice loans work, working capital for claims gaps, and expansion plans and projects step by step. It includes Washington County, OK dental counts and worked examples with invented figures.
Dental practice loans for Bartlesville, OK companies: terms, documents and timing
Washington County, OK had 16 dental offices with payroll in 2023, with 124 employees and $6.7 million in annual payroll, about $54,048 per employee (our arithmetic, County Business Patterns 2023). Only 4 of the 16 had fewer than five employees, and 4 used a ZIP 74003 address (ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023). Nonemployer Statistics, a separate program, counted 6 dental practices without paid employees for 2024.
- Terms: equipment loans run on the equipment's useful life; build-outs on the lease term; buyouts on a longer schedule.
- Documents: production and collection reports, bank statements, the latest returns, quotes or bids, and for a buyout the valuation and agreement.
- Timing: a lender's review runs on its own schedule; a complete file at the start is the part the office controls.
Practice loans: how it works in Bartlesville, OK
Practice loans are business loans made to a professional practice, read on the practice's collections and the dentist's credit and license. Lenders that specialize in practices read production reports and payer mix closely; general lenders read the bank statements and returns. Either way, the loan is repaid from the practice's collections, so the payment is tested against a month of collections after expenses.
The industries page includes a dental section with these counts, and equipment financing covers chairs and imaging.
Dental office working capital loan for Bartlesville, OK companies
Dental offices bill insurers and wait for payment, while hygienists, assistants and suppliers are paid on schedule. A working capital loan covers a one-time gap, such as the months after a new hire or a change in billing; a line of credit covers a gap that recurs. Lenders read the accounts receivable aging report by insurer and the office's monthly collections.
Before asking, an office can measure its own gap: average days from claim submission to payment for each major insurer, multiplied by the monthly payroll and supply cost. That figure, compared with the cash the office keeps on hand, shows whether the need is a one-time loan or a standing line, and gives the partner a number grounded in the office's records.
How a dental line is drawn and renewed is set out on the business lines of credit page.
How to finance a dental practice expansion plan: steps for Bartlesville, OK owners
- Count the patients waiting for appointments and the hygiene schedule's open time.
- Decide the expansion: one more operatory, a second hygienist, or a second office.
- Get quotes for chairs, delivery units, lights, cabinetry and imaging.
- Get the contractor's bid for plumbing, electrical and finishes.
- Forecast the added production and collections, month by month, for the first year.
- Match the funding: equipment financing for the gear, a term loan for the build.
Illustration only, invented figures: a third operatory with $38,000 of chair, delivery unit and light, and $46,000 of plumbing, cabinetry and finishes, totals $84,000. Spread over 84 months at an invented annual rate of 9.5%, that operatory costs about $1,373 a month (our arithmetic). In this invented example the operatory must add more than that in monthly collections after supplies and staff.
How to finance a dental practice expansion project: a Bartlesville, OK checklist
- Plans and permits checked with the City of Bartlesville before work starts.
- Equipment delivery and installation dates matched to the contractor's schedule.
- A contingency line in the budget for changes found during the work.
- Working capital for the weeks the office runs with fewer chairs.
- Imaging such as a CBCT unit financed apart from the build-out.
Illustration only, invented figures: a $98,000 CBCT unit financed over 60 months at an invented annual rate of 9% costs about $2,034 a month (our arithmetic). The zoning and building code guide covers the city steps.
What is dental financing?
Dental financing has two meanings. For a practice, it means funding the office: equipment, space, payroll and ownership. For patients, it means consumer credit for their own treatment, a separate product outside what Hazelgate places. This article covers the first.
A partner buyout is a large financing for any dental office. Illustration only, invented figures: two dentists own a practice valued at $410,000; one buys out the other's half for $205,000 with a term loan over 120 months at an invented annual rate of 10%, a payment of about $2,709 a month (our arithmetic). In this invented example the buying dentist's share of collections must cover that payment on top of the office's costs. Term loans cover buyouts, and the request form asks for ranges only.
By Hazelgate Capital · Updated
