SBA 7(a) Dental Office Feasibility Study in Arizona

A tidy record: no franchising, light losses

Arizona's dental offices come to SBA 7(a) as independent practices, since the franchise share prints as 0.00%. In FY2017 to FY2026 the program approved 186 such loans worth $165.6 million in gross dollars. By loan count Arizona is tenth in the nation for these dental loans, and sixth of 39 on its own list. A $543,750 median is 1.10x the dental median across all states, while loans from $219,750 to $1.1 million span the central half.

Losses and cancellations

Cancellations were 6.4% of Arizona's dental approvals through FY2024 at the least, and the upper bound is also 6.4%. Of 89 funded loans, 1.1% are charged off to date, with an identical 1.1% for the first five years. Loans still open could yet fail, so these are floors and not final.

Who holds the loans

At the top sits Live Oak Banking Company with 28 loans worth $46.9 million. JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association has 9 worth $3.5 million, with Wells Fargo Bank National Association holding 15 worth $8.3 million, The Huntington National Bank 8 worth $7.7 million, and First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company 8 worth $7.2 million. The lenders listed are the present holders of each loan in SBA's records. Maricopa County has 135 loans, Pima 26 and Yavapai 6, the largest count in the state. Approvals dipped to 9 in FY2019 and stood at 23 in FY2025 and again in FY2026.

What an Arizona dental study should establish

Loan money could acquire a practice, finish a suite or buy chairs and imaging gear, and the study has to say which. An acquisition raises the question of how many patients remain once the seller departs, what each chair produces, and the price relative to collections. A start-up needs the households within reach, the offices already competing, and how many patients arrive through insurance networks rather than paying fees directly. Maricopa's 135 loans of the 186 make Arizona's dental record mostly a Maricopa story, so the study should cite county evidence rather than a statewide average. Lending is concentrated in Maricopa County, so the study should show where in the county the site sits and who surrounds it. The first year of patient growth will be slow, and the study should prove the loan payment still holds. Valuation should rest on adjusted earnings, so every adjustment should be documented.