Dental & medical practice financing.

SBA 7(a) practice loans for dentists, physicians, veterinarians, and other healthcare professionals — from a former commercial banker who knows which lenders actually specialize in your industry.

Scenarios I work through in this industry

Practice acquisition

Buying an established practice. Standard SBA 7(a) purchase — collateral is typically goodwill + FF&E + accounts receivable. Length of amortization depends on whether real estate is included.

Partner buy-in / buy-out

Buying into or out of a partnership. SBA 7(a) with a change-of-ownership structure. New rules under SOP 50 10 8.1 apply if closing on or after October 1, 2026.

Owner-occupied CRE

Buying the building your practice occupies. SBA 504 or SBA 7(a) depending on structure. Typically 25-year amortization on the real estate portion.

Equipment financing

CBCT scanners, digital imaging, chairs, sterilization. SBA 7(a), SBA Express, or conventional equipment lines depending on amount and useful life.

Working capital / debt refinance

Consolidating high-interest business debt or funding practice growth. SBA 7(a) working capital up to 10 years.

What I actually bring to your deal

Dental and medical acquisitions are one of the most competitive spaces in SBA 7(a) lending. There are lenders who specialize in healthcare acquisitions — they see hundreds of these deals per year, know the specialty valuation multiples, and price aggressively for clean deals. There are also lenders who occasionally do healthcare deals and treat them like any other 7(a) — those quotes will be slower and less competitive.

Common questions

Can I finance 100% of a dental practice acquisition with an SBA loan?

SBA 7(a) typically requires a minimum 10% equity injection from the buyer on business acquisitions. Some of that can come from seller financing on standby (typically 50% seller note counted as equity if properly structured). Not zero-down, but the equity requirement is often lower than conventional financing.

What DSCR do lenders require for a practice acquisition?

Most SBA 7(a) lenders require a minimum 1.25x global debt service coverage ratio on business acquisitions, measured off the target practice's normalized cash flow post-close. Some specialty healthcare lenders will underwrite to 1.15x on strong operators; others require 1.5x on marginal deals.

Is a Quality of Earnings report required on my practice acquisition?

Under SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 (effective October 1, 2026), a Quality of Earnings (QoE) report is required on any business acquisition of $3 million or more. Under $3M, QoE is not required but many strong lenders will still want to see it on complex deals.

How long does a dental practice SBA loan take to close?

Straightforward acquisitions with a specialty healthcare lender typically close in 60-90 days from full application. Complex deals with real estate or partner buy-outs can extend to 90-120 days. The bottleneck is usually the third-party reports (business valuation, environmental) not the underwriting.