Loans for Dentists

6 of the Most Popular Types of Loans for Dentists

Dentist Loans for New Practice

Applying for a dental practice loan can be a daunting challenge for a young dental school graduate. Not only is there a lot of expensive equipment to acquire; borrowers also have to consider staffing, office leasing, licensing, continuing education and certification compliance, insurance, and paying off those dental school loans.

As in other businesses, it is prudent to start small and grow steadily. The first 5 years of a new dental practice is a delicate balance of building a clientele and acquiring needed dental equipment. That will almost always include various types of financing and several open credit accounts.

Loans for dentists starting a new practice may cover:

• Construction expenses
• Project expenses
• Working capital

Expansion Loans for Dentists with an Existing Practice

Perhaps you are an experienced dentist looking to expand or upgrade your facilities and technology, or to consolidate debt from building your practice over several years. Once established with a solid client base and steadily growing balance sheet, a dentist may choose to refinance previous debt into a lower-cost consolidation loan.

Loans for dentists with an existing practice may include:

• Purchase of updated dental equipment
• Office improvements
• Practice growth

Acquisition Loans for Buying a Dental Practice

Existing dental practices are often sold turnkey, meaning you are buying the real estate or lease, the equipment, and the clientele. In these cases, the business proposition is very predictable, and many lenders will consider 100% financing.

Alternatively, an existing partnership may have a transition agreement that lets one partner buy out the other at a previously agreed-upon price. When one partner retires or otherwise leaves, the remaining partner may need a loan to exercise this buy-out option. Similar to acquiring an existing practice, lenders acknowledge the value in such a transaction and routinely lend up to 100% of the amount of purchase.

Loans to a dentist acquiring a practice are designed to cover:

• Acquisition costs
• Transition costs
• Working capital

Loans to Dentists For the Purchase or Refinance of Office Space

For owner-occupied professional office space, it is common to get loans for up to 100% of the acquisition or refinance amount.

Loans for Dental Equipment Purchases

Dental equipment is extremely costly to purchase and maintain. Almost all dentists will seek some form of equipment financing when buying new dental equipment. When financing or leasing dental equipment, it is common to get favorable rates and support/maintenance contracts that help cap costs and keep your practice up and running. In addition, there may be very favorable tax benefits, which we will discuss in detail below.

Debt Consolidation

Loans to dentists for the purpose of consolidating debt usually apply to practices with several years of doing business. Since almost every dental practice takes several loans, it is common to consolidate them at more favorable rates when the practice becomes more financially stable.

You should consider debt consolidation when it helps to increase cash flow, enhance a tax benefit, or simplify accounting.

Loans for Dentists - Getting Started

We have gone over a few scenarios where loans to dental professionals are needed. Let's dig a bit deeper into the needs and appropriate loan types for dentists to consider.

Starting an independent dental practice will require a lot of skills and expertise that you may not possess as a dentist. Understanding that your main priority is your dental practice, you would be well-advised to begin building the long-term team for your practice. Surrounding yourself with a team of professionals can save you millions of dollars over the life of your practice.

Think about what you will need today and in the future. Consider retaining the services of these professionals:

Real Estate Broker or Advisor

As we discussed above, your location can be the most important element of your success or failure. Understand demographics, zoning, and laws specific to dentistry is critical. Knowing which specific local ordinances pertain to your industry is equally important. For example, do you know how many parking spots are required per 100 square feet of office space? If you don't, your real estate consultant should.

Accountant

Getting sound tax advice from an accountant who specializes in dental practices is crucial. This person should know industry write-offs and qualifying tax credits that can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Legal Representation

Like your accountant, your attorney should specialize in dental practice law. There are many nuances to the dental field, and the right lawyer can keep your practice on track.

Advertising and Marketing Professional

Target a market segment that you are well-suited to handle professionally and allow your marketing team to solidify your place within that segment. Today, most people seeking a new dentist will almost always consult peer-to-peer reviews on the web. Look for a marketing pro who understands digital marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) since that is likely to be your biggest and best source of new clients.

Equipment Vendor(s)/Contractors

This is perhaps the most important relationship of all, since your practice is virtually 100% dependent on your equipment. Do your homework; ask for referrals and go visit their clients. Ask if they are satisfied and ask the other dentists who have used these vendors if they have any reservations about their services. Ask about the contractors they have worked with, such as electricians and plumbers. Take note if the contractors have worked together before, since you'll likely have projects that involve exactly this.

Determining Your Dental Office Location

Like retail businesses, dentists need to consider the location of their practice. This means choosing a location that is accessible via public transportation and/or has a parking lot. Location can be a critical component of your dental practice success as well as a major factor in determining expenses.

Since almost 100% of the population will seek dental services, you'll be able to conduct a practice feasibility study with relative simplicity and accuracy. In addition, many lenders will require or conduct a demographic site analysis for your proposed dental practice location. If your lender doesn't, you may wish to have a private analysis done for your own benefit. A positive demographic site analysis can be a very advantageous bargaining tool when seeking a loan.

On the other hand, a site analysis that is negative may save you from establishing your practice in the wrong location; so either way, it is an inexpensive asset when considering a new or existing dental practice location.

Let's look at some popular options for finding office space.

Leasing

If you choose to lease space in a professional office building, you have a few things to consider. Naturally, the terms of your lease are very important; specifically, how much space, how long are the terms, and how much does it cost? Will the building owner build the space to suit your needs? If so, will the owner provide you with a build-out as part of the lease agreement, or at a reduced rate?

Home Office

It's quite common for dentists and doctors to choose this office environment for their practices. Being able to realize the tax and expense savings of splitting off part of your home into a professional office is a very attractive proposition.

Equally attractive is the convenience factor. It's not for everyone, though; dentists with young children may feel uneasy about having people coming and going throughout the day. That's a personal decision that you should weigh carefully.

It's important to consider that if you choose to divide your home into a professional office space, you will be responsible for the cost of the construction and renovation.

Professional Cooperative

Professional cooperatives are spaces owned by an individual or corporation that lease office space and share common space and equipment, for which you pay a usage fee each month. For example, you might find an office suite with several dentists practicing. Yet, none of the dentists own the equipment, hire the support staff, or operate any of the business function - they just perform their dental services and everything else is outsourced.

Real Estate Purchase

These loans are highly specialized, and may be considered commercial real estate (CRE) loans. A CRE loan could provide many tax and interest rate advantages, as well as access to additional capital at favorable rates.

Dental Office Design and Engineering

Floor Plan Build-Out

Once you sort out your location, you can start to plan your office design. If you have a lease that provides for basic office floor plan construction, you are in luck. As discussed above, many commercial leases include basic floor plan construction; be sure to inquire with your landlord.

Creating an ergonomic workspace may require a dental practice architect or engineer to coordinate the efforts of your equipment vendors and contractors. This is particularly important for dental practice specialists such as cosmetic dentistry.

Having a certified engineer submit a build-out plan can be an asset when submitting your business plan and applying for a dental practice loan.

Dental Practice Taxes: IRS Section 179

Dentists and many other healthcare professionals rely upon expensive equipment and sophisticated technology to practice their specialty. As advances in technology accelerate, dentists are forced to regularly trade up to new technology sooner and sooner.

Traditionally, the cost of business equipment could be used as a deduction against taxable income over the life of the equipment. For example, if an x-ray machine costs $1 million dollars and is expected to last 10 years, the dentist could take a $100,000 deduction each year for 10 years.

Under section 179 of the IRS tax code, certain qualifying purchases can be deducted at 100% in the year of the purchase, making the acquisition of new equipment more attractive from a tax standpoint.