Dental Office Feasibility Study in the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN Metro Area

Nashville's dental record is notable for size. A $742,400 median loan is 1.46x what dental borrowers typically take nationally, and the bulk of loans run from $314,250 up to $2.3 million, across 54 approvals totaling $76.1 million between FY2017 and FY2026. Dental offices hold 4 of 39 places among the area's own classes, the area stands 36 in a field of 562 on this class and its quotient is 1.44x. The file does not show whether a loan paid for a practice purchase or for a new office, so a study must settle that question before anything else.

A single dominant bank

Live Oak Banking Company holds 14 loans at $39.1 million, about half the area's dollars; behind it, The Huntington National Bank has 7 loans and $7.0 million. Counting by county, Davidson County, TN has 19 loans, Williamson County, TN 13, Rutherford County, TN 9 and Wilson County, TN 7. Franchise share reads 0.00%; no loan carries a franchise flag.

Thin years and hidden rates

Only a few yearly rows can be read: FY2020 with 5 loans and $6.2 million, FY2022 with 0 loans and $0, plus FY2024 at 6 loans and $7.1 million. Other yearly rows are hidden, and so are the program counts. Cancellation after approval has a floor of 16.7% for approvals dated FY2017 through FY2024, whereas the ceiling variant and the loss rate are hidden. The FY2022 entry is a printed zero, a real count of no loans, which differs from a hidden value.

Dentist, patients, collections

Begin with the dentist: the license, the production history of any practice being bought, and the plan for hygiene and specialist coverage, and then examine what the buyer is truly paying for. Patient base and payer mix, insurance-heavy or fee-for-service, drive collections, so the study should test the trade area by household growth and by practices per dentist. Operatory count, equipment and build-out belong beside the $742,400 median, and a larger project calls for an explanation. Debt service coverage should assume a transition dip if a practice changes hands. The appraiser must separate goodwill, equipment and real estate. Metro membership uses July 2023 definitions.