Dental Office Feasibility Study in Oklahoma

Larger loans in a lighter market

Oklahoma dentistry is financed above the national median size but below the national weight. From FY2017 to FY2026 SBA approved 59 dental office loans worth $60.5 million. The median of $614,000 stands 1.21x above the class median across the country, while a location quotient of 0.82x says dental practices are a smaller slice of Oklahoma approvals than of national ones. The state is 34 of 54 for the class and dentistry ranks 10 of 39 among Oklahoma asset classes. Half of the loans range from $262,000 to $1.3 million.

Lenders, programs and counties

The 7(a) program accounts for 51 loans and 504 for 8, and no loan is flagged as a franchise. Live Oak Banking Company comes first, at 12 loans and $22.3 million. Arvest Bank holds 8 loans and $3.7 million, a lower average, while The Huntington National Bank holds 7 loans and $8.8 million. Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Inc. is the sole 504 development company on the list, with 5 loans and $4.8 million. Tulsa County has 23 loans and Oklahoma County 16, together most of the record, with McIntosh at 4 and Canadian at 3.

Outcomes and timing

Cancellations are the watch item: at least 18.9% of approvals made from FY2017 to FY2024 were cancelled before funding, and the ceiling is the same figure. Charge-offs have not appeared in the 32 loans of the funded cohort, Oklahoma shows 0.00% on the cumulative measure and 0.00% on the five-year measure, and both are floors. Volume peaked at 16 loans and $12.7 million in FY2020 and has trailed off, reaching 1 loan and $160,000 in the latest year.

What a study has to test

An Oklahoma dental study should separate the practice from the real estate. For a start up, it should estimate the patient base within the drive time and the existing dentists, hygiene capacity and insurance mix, and set production per operatory against the build out cost. For a purchase, it must verify collections, patient retention after the transition and the price paid for goodwill. Because the cancellation floor is the watch item, valuation, lease terms and licensing need documented evidence. Debt service coverage should show the owner's draw and a patient dip during the handover. The appraisal will test whether goodwill supports the loan.