SBA 7(a) Dental Office Feasibility Study in Ohio

Ohio dentists lean on a few specialist lenders

Dental practices in Ohio account for 301 loans under 7(a) between FY2017 and FY2026, worth $298.0 million, which puts the state fifth in the country by count. Inside Ohio the class holds ninth place among 39. The median is $547,800, 1.11x what dentists borrow at the median nationally, and the typical spread of loans runs $150,000 to $1.4 million. No dental loan here went to a franchise, so every one is an independent practice, usually an acquisition of a retiring dentist's chairs or a new office equipped from scratch.

Three lenders carry most of the book

United Midwest Savings Bank National Association heads the table with 83 loans and $108.8 million, followed by The Huntington National Bank with 75 loans and $44.3 million and Live Oak Banking Company with 48 loans and $81.5 million. The next two, U.S. Bank, National Association with 10 loans and $3.1 million and Fifth Third Bank with 9 loans and $20.3 million, are far smaller. The three leaders account for most of the 301 loans, so a borrower in Ohio will mostly meet lenders who have written many dental loans before. Nothing in the table tells us what any of these banks requires of a borrower.

Counties and the pattern across years

Franklin County has 38 loans and Cuyahoga 35, with Hamilton at 24, Montgomery at 23, Summit at 21, Stark at 17 and Butler at 16. Delaware has 11, Warren 8 and Fairfield 7. Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati together dominate, as suburban counties on their edges also show. Yearly counts held between 27 and 39 from FY2017 to FY2022, dipped to 19 in FY2023 and stood at 24 in FY2026.

Cancellation high, charge-off almost nil

The two outcome measures point in opposite directions. At least 14.6% of FY2017 to FY2024 approvals were cancelled, and 15.9% if loans still awaiting disbursement count as cancelled, so a sizeable portion of approved dentists never drew the loan. Among 142 loans disbursed in FY2017 to FY2021, however, only 0.70% have been charged off, and the same 0.70% within five years of approval. Those are minimums for an unfinished record, yet they describe a trade where the loans that close tend to perform.

What an Ohio dental study has to test

A dental study turns on patients and production. It should count households in the trade area and the dentists already serving them, estimate new-patient flow from marketing and insurance panels, and convert that into collections per operatory per day. For an acquisition, the valuation must rest on actual collections and on how many patients will stay after the sale. The build-out, imaging and chairs need pricing against the $547,800 median, and any request toward the top of the central half should come with a lease and a staffing plan for hygienists, who are hard to hire. The ability to repay should hold on a first year with partial patient flow.