A CBCT scanner is among the largest single purchases a small dental office makes, and an added operatory combines equipment with a build-out. In Stevens Point, WI, both are usually financed on the equipment's value and the practice's collections, with terms set by the partner.
A Clayhill Advances article for Stevens Point, Wisconsin dental offices on financing a CBCT scanner or an added operatory: equipment loans, what financing companies ask, the Portage County dentist counts, paperwork and the other options.
Finance Dental Practice Equipment: How Stevens Point, WI Dental Offices Use It
Dental equipment financing covers chairs and delivery units, imaging such as CBCT and panoramic units, intraoral scanners, sterilization and the cabinetry around them. The equipment secures the loan, and partners who work with dental offices know its resale market, which helps.
Illustration only, with invented figures: an office finances a $128,000 CBCT scanner with installation at an annual rate of 8.5% over 72 months: about $2,276 a month and about $35,846 in interest. If scans add even a modest number of billed cases a month, the payment can be set against that revenue.
Dental Practice Equipment Financing Companies and What They Ask
Dental equipment financing companies include manufacturer and distributor programs, independent lenders that focus on health care, and banks. They usually ask for the vendor quote, two years of practice returns, recent bank statements and the dentist's credit, and some ask for production and collections reports.
Ask each about deferred first payments during installation, whether interest accrues during the deferral, end-of-term terms on a lease, and whether a service contract is bundled into the payment.
Dental Equipment Loans: What the Portage County, WI Counts Add
Offices of dentists in Portage County, WI counted 24 employer establishments in 2023, with 208 paid employees and $17.5 million in annual payroll, and 13 had a ZIP 54481 address (County and ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023). Only 7 of the 24, 29.2%, had fewer than five employees, against 63.5% for physician offices (County Business Patterns 2023).
Dental offices in the county are therefore mostly staffed practices rather than solo chairs, and a scanner purchase sits beside a real payroll. Medical practice loans covers the physician side.
Before Applying: Dental Equipment Loan Paperwork for a Stevens Point, WI Office
- Vendor quote with installation, shielding if required and training
- Two years of practice and personal tax returns
- Recent bank statements
- Production and collections reports from the practice software
- For an operatory: the contractor bid and the lease
A partner may ask for more. Equipment financing explains how the equipment secures the loan.
Dental Equipment Loans Next to the Other Funding Options
A line of credit suits supplies, lab bills and payroll while insurance claims pay. A term loan suits a buy-in, a practice purchase or a large build-out. Equipment financing suits the scanner. A therapy or chiropractic office faces the same split, covered on the practitioner page.
Does the Scanner Pay for Itself? Questions to Answer Before the Quote
A CBCT scanner earns through the cases it supports: implant planning, endodontic diagnosis, airway and orthodontic work, and referrals the office would otherwise send out. Before requesting financing, an office can estimate how many scans a month it would bill, what each is reimbursed or charged, and how many cases it now refers to an imaging center or a specialist.
Those numbers do two jobs. They tell the dentist whether the payment is covered, and they give a partner a reason to see the purchase as an investment rather than a cost. A practice with an implant or endodontic focus usually has the clearest case.
Ask the vendor about training, software licensing, service plans and any room changes the unit needs, such as shielding or electrical work. Those costs can be added to the financed amount if they are on the quote, and leaving them off is a common reason a budget runs short after delivery.
New, Refurbished or Leased Imaging
Refurbished scanners from reputable vendors cost less and can be financed, usually over a shorter term than new units. A lease can make sense where imaging technology changes enough that the office expects to upgrade within the lease term. An equipment loan suits an office that plans to run the unit for most of its life.
Whichever route, compare the total of payments, any end-of-term purchase price and what the service plan covers. A deferred first payment can help during installation, but interest that accrues during the deferral is part of the cost.
An Added Operatory: Build-Out Plus Equipment in One Request
An added operatory needs the room built and plumbed, a chair and delivery unit, a light, cabinetry and often an intraoral camera. In Stevens Point, the plumbing and electrical work need permits, and the city's Building Inspection division reviews commercial alteration plans.
Illustration only, with invented figures: an office budgets $60,000 for the build-out and $45,000 for equipment. Financed together at an annual rate of 9.25% over 84 months, the payment would be about $1,703 a month and the interest about $38,027. Splitting the equipment onto a shorter loan would raise the payment and lower the interest.
The trades hub carries the county dental count.
By Clayhill Advances · Updated
