SBA 7(a) Dental Office Feasibility Study in New Jersey

Dental offices rank 9 of 39 among New Jersey asset classes and the state is seventh for 7(a) dental loans. SBA approved 224 loans worth $141.7 million in FY2017 to FY2026. The $350,000 median is only 0.71x the 7(a) dental median across the country, with $100,000 to $754,875 as the middle half. No loan is flagged as a franchise (0.00%), so these are individual practices. The defining features are the modest size and the outcome record: charge-offs of 1.1% at the least so far and the same 1.1% within five years, from a cohort of 93 funded loans.

Banks and counties

TD Bank, National Association holds 29 loans worth $14.8 million, Bank of America, National Association 23 worth $11.1 million, Live Oak Banking Company 14 worth $22.4 million, Wells Fargo Bank National Association 11 at $7.4 million, and Northeast Bank 11 at $1.6 million. Live Oak's average is the highest and Northeast's the lowest. Each figure is an SBA record of loans held. BERGEN County has 41 loans, ESSEX 26, CAMDEN and HUDSON 22 each, and MIDDLESEX 16, so the northern urban counties dominate.

Years and floors

Counts fell to 11 loans in FY2023, then recovered to 27 in FY2024 and 30 in FY2026, which carried $35.7 million, the largest annual dollar total. Cancellation after approval reached 13.3% or more of FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, or 13.9% on the wider count. The charge-off record is a floor from a limited number of loans, so it should not be read as proof that dental loans never fail.

What a New Jersey dental study should answer

A New Jersey study must show that the trade area has enough households with dental coverage to fill an appointment book, and that the area is not already crowded with practices. It should itemize operatories, imaging and software against a ticket that is usually below the national median, and decide whether the project is a startup, an acquisition of an existing practice or a partnership buy-in. Acquisitions need records on patient retention after the change of owner. The payment should be tested through a slow ramp and a scenario where hygienists or associates depart. The appraiser should separate the real estate or lease from goodwill. SBA publishes program terms.