Dental Office Feasibility Study in Kentucky

Kentucky dental offices in brief

Dental lending in Kentucky tracks its parents closely, and the useful facts are about position and shape. SBA approved 69 dental office loans between FY2017 and FY2026, $46.0 million in gross dollars, which leaves Kentucky 32 of 54 states for the class. Dental offices rank 7 of 39 among Kentucky asset classes, and a location quotient of 1.06x says the class sits almost exactly at its national weight. The $263,900 median is 0.52x the nationwide dental median, yet nothing in the cell is distinct enough to separate it from its parents, so state and class pages remain a fair guide.

Practice purchases and build-outs dominate: 65 loans went through 7(a) and just 4 through 504, and franchising is 0.00%. The central half of loans sits between $81,600 and $734,000. Huntington National Bank has 13 loans and $8.3 million. Live Oak Banking Company holds 11 loans but $15.6 million, the largest dollar total among the named lenders, which marks it as the lender for larger acquisitions. Community Trust Bank, Inc. has 8 loans and $1.2 million, small tickets by comparison, while U.S. Bank, National Association and First Financial Bank each have 5 loans, at $3.2 million and $2.4 million.

Lexington and Louisville lead

Fayette and Jefferson counties each show 10 loans, with Boone, Kenton and Oldham at 7 apiece, and Hardin at 5, so the cell leans on the two metros and the northern Kentucky suburbs. Annual counts bounce: 11 in FY2018, 4 in FY2022, none at all in FY2024, then 12 loans worth $13.1 million in FY2025, the largest dollar year, and 3 so far in FY2026.

A cancellation floor of 7.4% applies to Kentucky approvals through FY2024, equal to its ceiling. Kentucky's 39 oldest funded loans show a charge-off rate of 0.00% so far, and that same 0.00% holds at the five-year mark. A zero from a cohort of that size is encouraging but not proof, since loans still open can fail later, so lenders should treat it as a minimum.

What a Kentucky dental study has to settle

Start with the dentist: production history or a credible projection, payer mix between insurance and fee-for-service, and whether the buyer can retain hygienists and patients through a transition. Demand work counts residents per dentist in the drive-time ring, because several Kentucky counties are thin on providers and others crowded. Cost covers operatories, imaging and sterilization equipment. Coverage must survive a ramp, and the appraisal should separate goodwill from tangible assets, because a lender holding a leased suite and equipment has little to recover.