Heathbend Credit helps dentists in Minot, ND request funding for practice acquisitions, new offices, chairs, imaging and other equipment, and remodels. The page covers how dental practices use funding, what a partner reviews for an acquisition, an illustrative equipment example, and Ward County dental office figures.
| Dental office employers, Ward County, ND | 27 with payroll in 2023 (CBP, code 6212) |
|---|---|
| Employees | 244 (CBP 2023) |
| Under five employees | 18.5% |
| Dentists with payroll inside ZIP 58701 | 26 (ZBP 2023) |
Dental Practice Acquisition Loans
Buying an existing practice can be among the largest requests a dentist makes. The buyer takes over patients, staff, equipment and often the lease. Partners look at the practice's collections history, its patient count, the equipment's age, and the buyer's plan for keeping patients through the handover.
- Three years of practice tax returns and collections reports
- The purchase agreement and any transition terms with the seller
- An equipment list with ages
- The office lease and the years left on it
- The buyer's personal financial statement
A term loan is one structure, sometimes with the seller carrying part of the price.
The Cost of Opening a Dental Office
It depends on the number of operatories, the imaging, the build-out and the location, and we have no local cost figures to quote. Each operatory needs a chair, delivery unit, light, cabinetry and plumbing, and imaging adds more. Ask equipment suppliers and a contractor for itemized estimates before talking to any funding source.
Dental Equipment: Chairs, Imaging and Technology
Chairs and delivery units, panoramic and cone-beam imaging, intraoral scanners, sterilization equipment and practice software are all financed as equipment, with the item as collateral. Upgrading imaging is one reason an established practice may seek funding. Equipment financing sets loans and leases side by side.
Used equipment from a retiring dentist's practice can be financed too; partners want the model, age and service history.
Dental Office and Clinic Remodels
Adding operatories, updating a reception area or moving to a larger space is a term-loan project: the work lasts for years and pays back through more patient capacity. Separate the equipment from the construction where you can, so each piece is financed over a suitable term.
Payroll and Collections
Dental offices may employ hygienists, assistants and front-desk staff; in Ward County, ND only 18.5% of dental offices had fewer than five employees in 2023 (CBP). Insurance collections lag treatment, so a growing practice can need working capital or a credit line to carry wages while claims are paid.
An Illustrative Imaging Upgrade
Illustrative only. A practice replaces a panoramic unit with a cone-beam system costing $95,000. Financed over seven years, the monthly payment is set against expected new revenue from procedures it currently refers out. The owner checks that even half that new revenue covers the payment before signing.
What Partners Commonly Review for Dentists
- Collections and production reports
- Tax returns for the practice and owner
- Equipment quotes
- Existing practice debt
- For acquisitions, the seller's records and the agreement
Partners decide; none publishes fixed thresholds.
Dentist Counts for Ward County, ND
County Business Patterns counted 27 offices of dentists in Ward County, ND in 2023, with 244 employees and $16.0 million in annual payroll. Five of the 27 had fewer than five employees. ZBP counted 26 dental offices in ZIP 58701, so nearly all of the county's dental employers carry that ZIP. Nonemployer Statistics counted seven dental businesses without payroll in 2024.
Other practitioners are covered on the chiropractic and therapy page. County figures are on the Minot, ND page and every sector is on the industries page.
By Heathbend Credit · Updated
