Dental equipment financing: operatories and chairs

A dental operatory is a chair, a delivery unit, a light, cabinetry and the plumbing and air that run them, and a practice buys them in sets of four or six when it opens or expands. iFinancial Group finances operatory equipment for new practices, build-outs and added chairs, new or refurbished, on a one-page application. No tax returns and no audited financial statements to apply, no minimum and up to $1,000,000.

Who you're dealing with

iFinancial Group has funded equipment since 1997, roughly $600 million of it, in all 50 states. We're a direct lender, not a broker, so the file is underwritten in house and not shopped around. Our customers have ranged from independent manufacturers to global technology companies. We've barely advertised in almost three decades. The business came from repeat customers, referrals, and vendors sending us their customers.

What you're financing

A fully equipped operatory, the chair, delivery system, assistant's instrumentation, operatory light, stools and cabinetry, typically runs about $40,000 to $75,000 new depending on the manufacturer and the package. Equipping four to six operatories with the sterilization center, compressor, vacuum and the mechanical room runs roughly $200,000 to $450,000.

Those are market ranges. The manufacturer, the delivery style, the cabinetry and whether the practice is a new build or a remodel move them.

What goes on the same approval

The chairs, delivery units, lights, cabinetry, sterilization center, compressor and vacuum, intraoral cameras and the operatory monitors go on one approval. The installation, the plumbing and air connections tied to the equipment, and the practice management software are soft costs and can ride on the same deal, on many deals up to 30% of the total.

Imaging and CAD/CAM are often bought at the same time and can go on the same approval: see CBCT and CAD/CAM.

Who buys them and how the payment gets covered

Dentists opening a new practice, practices adding operatories or a hygiene room, specialists, and dental groups opening a new location. An added operatory filled with hygiene appointments is one of the more direct paybacks in a practice.

A new practice ramps. A deferred first payment, typically up to 90 days, or step payments can carry the opening months.

New, refurbished or used

Refurbished chairs and delivery units from a dental equipment dealer typically run about $5,000 to $15,000 per chair, and a practice that is upgrading or closing often sells its operatories as a set. Refurbished, used and new are all financeable here.

On the financing side it's the dealer's invoice or the bill of sale, the serial numbers and proof of what was paid.

What slows a dental deal down

The build-out timeline. Operatory equipment is ordered with the construction schedule and installed at the end, and the dealer often wants a deposit at order. On qualifying transactions we can pay at order so the deposit is part of the financing. An approval holds up to 60 days.

A dealer's quote that bundles construction with equipment should separate the two, so the equipment and its installation are what get financed.

How it works with iFinancial Group

It's the same one-page application whether the equipment is small or the deal runs to $1,000,000: no tax returns and no audited financial statements to apply, no minimum and up to $1,000,000. Decisions typically come back within 24 hours, and an approval holds up to 60 days. New and used equipment, terms up to 84 months, and soft costs up to 30% so freight, setup and training can go in the same deal. Payment structures beyond level payments are there when the equipment earns unevenly. We've been doing this since 1997, in all 50 states.

Other medical and dental equipment: CBCT scanner, dental CAD/CAM system, ultrasound machine, digital X-ray system, aesthetic laser, veterinary equipment, ophthalmic equipment. Or start with medical and dental equipment financing.