Dental Office Feasibility Study in Indiana

Indiana dentistry: steady loans, no losses yet

Indiana's dental lending is not distinctive on our screen. The median Indiana dental loan was $426,600, or 0.84x the dental median nationwide. No Indiana gauge, whether median, cancellations or charge-offs, sits far enough from both Indiana's all-asset record and dentistry nationally to count as distinct. Volume is moderate. Indiana ranks 19 of 54 states with 130 approvals worth $105.5 million from FY2017 to FY2026; dental offices stand 9 of 39 among Indiana classes; and a location quotient of 0.75x means dentistry is underweight in Indiana's SBA mix compared with the nation. What a reader should take from this cell is its loss record and its spread of deal sizes.

The middle half of Indiana dental loans runs from $123,500 to $1.0 million. The low end and the high end of that range are far apart, so the size of the request matters. SBA 7(a) carried 108 approvals and SBA 504 carried 22, and franchised practices are rare at 0.77%. The Huntington National Bank dominates, holding 36 Indiana dental loans worth $27.0 million. Only 7 are held by Live Oak Banking Company, yet they total $16.2 million, and United Midwest Savings Bank National Association holds 8 worth $11.8 million; and German American Bank holds 9. The 504 dental loans are split between Indiana Statewide Certified Development Corporation and Premier Capital Corporation, at 7 loans apiece. Marion County leads with 26 approvals, and Allen and Hamilton have 12 each. FY2021 stands out, with 33 loans for $23.6 million.

Cancellations without losses in Indiana

Indiana cancelled at least 11.8% of its FY2017 to FY2024 dental approvals, and 14.7% at the ceiling, counting those still undisbursed. Losses are absent: Indiana shows 0.00% written off among the 65 dental loans disbursed in FY2017 to FY2021, and 0.00% inside five years, an Indiana floor on open loans rather than proof that a practice cannot fail.

What an Indiana dental study must show

A feasibility study for an Indiana practice has to prove patient demand: the population per dentist in the trade area, payer mix, insurance acceptance, and competition from group practices, which differs sharply between Marion or Hamilton County and smaller counties such as Gibson or Henry. For an acquisition it must test how much of the seller's Indiana patient base and collections survive the handover. Cost testing covers equipment, build-out and any building purchase. Debt service coverage should hold at a realistic production per chair and hygienist schedule, and a loan near $1.0 million should be stressed harder than one at the $426,600 median. Where an Indiana practice owns its building, the appraiser should keep the real estate value and the goodwill in separate columns.