This Tealwood Funding Group page covers dental practice financing in Washington County, Utah: equipment, operatory and hygiene-room additions, practice acquisitions and supplies, with Census counts and invented examples.
At a glance
- Offices of dentists, Washington County, UT
114 employer establishments with 1,007 paid employees (CBP 2023)
- Dental office payroll, Washington County, UT
$38 million (CBP 2023)
- Offices of dentists with a ZIP 84770 address
44 (ZBP 2023)
St. George, UT Dental Office Acquisition for Dental Offices Planning Equipment Packages
A dental office acquisition in St. George, UT often comes with an equipment question: the chairs, imaging and sterilization in a retiring dentist's practice may be old. Buyers plan an equipment package alongside the purchase, either inside the acquisition loan or as separate equipment financing.
Washington County, UT had 114 offices of dentists in 2023; 42 of them had fewer than five employees (County Business Patterns).
Nonemployer Statistics counted 42 offices of dentists without paid employees in Washington County, UT in 2024, a separate Census program. Dental offices with a ZIP 84770 address numbered 44 in 2023 (ZIP Code Business Patterns).
Financing for Dental in St. George, UT: Equipment Upgrades and Practice Purchases
Financing for dental falls into equipment upgrades and practice purchases. Upgrades are financed on the equipment; purchases are financed on the practice's collections. The term loan page covers acquisition loans in general.
Illustration only, invented figures: a $38,000 intraoral scanner on a 48-month loan at an annual rate of 10% costs about $964 a month and $8,261 in interest over the term (our arithmetic).
An upgrade makes a stronger case when the new equipment changes production: a scanner that replaces impressions saves lab time; a second panoramic unit may not add anything. Partners finance either, but the practice should know which it is buying.
St. George, UT Dental Equipment Loans for Dental Offices Planning Panoramic X-Ray Units
A panoramic or cone-beam X-ray unit is a sizable purchase for any dental office. Ask whether the quote includes installation, shielding, software and training.
Illustration only, invented figures: a $72,000 panoramic unit over 60 months at an annual rate of 9.75% costs about $1,521 a month (our arithmetic). The finance-or-lease article compares the two paths.
Imaging software and integration with the practice management system can be the slow part of an installation. Ask the vendor how long the integration takes, and whether payments start on delivery or on go-live.
Sterilization is the other equipment line that ages out in an acquired practice. Autoclaves, ultrasonic cleaners and a sterilization center can be bundled into one equipment request with the imaging, which keeps one payment for the whole package.
Dental Practice Loans When a Washington County, UT Dental Practice Needs Hygiene-Room Additions
Adding a hygiene room means plumbing, cabinetry, a chair, a light and a delivery system. The chair and delivery system finance as equipment; plumbing and cabinetry are build-out costs for a term loan. The added hygiene production is what pays for both.
Offices of dentists in Washington County, UT had $38 million in annual payroll in 2023 (County Business Patterns).
A hygiene room pays back through recall appointments, so the practice's recall schedule and the hygienist hiring plan go with the request. An empty room does not produce.
St. George, UT Dental Business Loans for Dental Offices Planning Practice Purchases
A dental business loan for a practice purchase pays for the patient base, goodwill and equipment. The price rests on collections, so partners read the seller's production and collections reports, not just the asking figure.
The seller may carry a note for part of the price, which sits alongside the buyer's loan.
Ask for the seller's fee schedule and payer mix as well as collections. A practice that collects heavily from one payer carries more risk if that contract changes.
Partners pricing a purchase also look at the buyer: years in practice, production as an associate, and personal credit. A buyer who has worked in the practice being sold can show production on the same patient base, which a partner reads closely.
Dental Practice Acquisition Checklist: What a Washington County, UT Buyer Gathers
A buyer in Washington County, UT gathers these before calling:
- Three years of the selling practice's collections and production.
- Seller tax returns matching those collection years.
- An equipment list with ages and service history.
- The premises lease, with any clause on transfer to a new owner.
- The buyer's own license, résumé and personal financial statement.
Related pages: medical practices, chiropractic and PT, equipment financing, working capital, all industries, and the St. George, UT page.
A transition period, in which the selling dentist stays on for some months, can be part of a practice sale. Put its terms in writing; a partner reads them.
By Tealwood Funding Group · Updated