A St. George, UT dental office that plans to keep an intraoral scanner for its working life can come out ahead financing it; one that expects to upgrade when the technology changes may prefer a lease. The deciding numbers are the totals, not the monthly payment.
A finance-or-lease comparison from Tealwood Funding Group, based in St. George, Utah, covering an intraoral scanner and autoclaves for a dental office, with Washington County counts and an invented example.
The Short Answer: It Turns on Ownership at the End of the Term
Financing ends with the practice owning the scanner. A lease ends with a choice: return it, renew, or buy it at the stated price. If the practice will keep the scanner, a loan and a fixed-buyout lease both end in ownership, and the total paid decides between them.
Illustration only, invented figures: a $41,500 scanner on a 48-month loan at an annual rate of 9.75% costs about $1,048 a month, $50,283 in all (our arithmetic). A fair market value lease at $1,015 a month for 48 months totals $48,720 (our arithmetic) and leaves the practice without the scanner unless it pays the buyout, which might be $6,200.
Keep it: $54,920 by lease and buyout against $50,283 by loan, $4,637 more by lease (our arithmetic). Return it: the lease costs the payments only. That is the whole decision in two lines.
Technology change is the honest case for a lease. If the practice expects a better scanner within a few years and wants to switch, a fair market value lease lets it hand back the old one rather than sell it. If not, ownership costs fewer dollars.
Equipment Financing for Dentists: Where St. George, UT Owners Put the Money
Equipment financing for dentists covers intraoral scanners, imaging, chairs and delivery units, sterilization, lasers and milling units. The equipment financing page covers each type; the dental office page covers practice purchases.
Autoclaves are smaller purchases that can be bundled. Illustration only, invented figures: two autoclaves at $7,400 each add $14,800 to the package (our arithmetic); one loan for scanner and sterilization keeps a single payment.
A line of credit fits supplies; a term loan fits a build-out or a practice purchase.
Milling units and 3D printers change the picture again: a practice adding same-day crowns buys a system, not a single device. Finance the system together so the pieces end on the same date.
Dental Equipment Financing Companies and What Their Quotes Should Show
Dental equipment financing companies, banks and the manufacturers' own programs all write quotes. A useful quote shows the equipment price, the rate or lease factor, the term, the total of payments, any fees, and the end-of-term options.
Ask whether software licenses, training and the first year of service are inside the price. Bundled service raises the payment but may replace a separate contract.
Ask, too, when payments start: on delivery, on installation or on go-live with the practice software.
Some quotes show a lease rate factor instead of an interest rate. Multiply the factor by the price to get the monthly payment, then multiply by the number of months for the total. That total is what to compare.
Common Gaps in a Loan Request From Washington County, UT Dental Practices
Requests slow down when the quote is a brochure price rather than an itemized quote, when collections reports are missing, or when existing equipment leases are not listed. Partners count lease payments as debt.
Another gap is the lease on the office. A seven-year equipment loan in an office with two years left on the lease raises a question a partner may ask.
Bring the itemized quote, recent statements, the latest returns and collections by month.
A third gap is a missing equipment list. A partner financing new equipment wants to know what the practice already owns and owes on, and whether the old scanner is being sold or traded.
How St. George, UT Dental Practices Compare Two Offers
Set two offers side by side on: total of payments, fees, buyout, term, and whether the payment changes. A lease with a lower monthly payment and a fair market value buyout can cost more in total if the practice keeps the scanner.
If one offer is a loan and the other a lease, compare them at the same term. A 36-month lease beside a 60-month loan is not a fair comparison.
Ask your accountant how each is treated for taxes; the answer can change which costs the practice less after tax.
Read the end-of-lease notice terms too. Some leases renew automatically unless the practice gives notice months before the end; missing that date can add payments.
What Washington County, UT Figures Show About Dental Offices
Washington County, UT had 114 offices of dentists with 1,007 paid employees and $38 million in annual payroll in 2023; 42 had fewer than five employees (County Business Patterns). Dental offices with a ZIP 84770 address numbered 44.
Owner-only dental offices, counted separately by Nonemployer Statistics, numbered 42 in the county in 2024.
See the St. George, UT page for more county figures.
By Tealwood Funding Group · Updated
