Dental Practice Funding: How to Get $75K for a New Operatory or Digital Scanner in 24 Hours
A general dentist in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn called us on a Wednesday in August. Her practice does about $118,000 a month across two chairs, and she'd been turning away new patients for six weeks because there was nowhere to seat them. A third operatory — chair, delivery unit, light, cabinetry, plumbing — was quoted at $68,000 installed. Her equipment vendor wanted a 50% deposit to hold the September install slot, and the practice's bank had told her a term loan would take five to seven weeks with a full financial package.
She sent us four months of bank statements at 1:40 PM. Our underwriter called her at 3:15 PM with two questions about a large insurance reimbursement deposit. By 4:30 PM she had an approval for $75,000. The wire landed the next morning, the deposit went to the vendor that afternoon, and the third chair was seeing patients by the third week of September.
That's what dental practice funding looks like when you deal with the company whose money it is. This post walks through how it works, what it costs, and — because we'd rather tell you now than four days from now — which practices we won't fund.
Why dental practices get fast approvals
Underwriters like dental practices for a reason that has nothing to do with the profession's reputation. It's the deposits.
A dental office deposits money almost every business day: patient copays and card payments, insurance reimbursements from Delta, Aetna, MetLife, and the state Medicaid plan, plus the occasional large check from a PPO clearing a backlog. When we open a practice's bank statements, we see 18 to 24 deposits a month with a predictable rhythm. That's exactly the pattern a merchant cash advance is built around, because the advance is repaid as a slice of those deposits.
Compare that to a general contractor who gets three big draws a quarter, or a trucking company waiting 45 days on a factor. Those files can be funded — we do it every week — but they take more explanation. A dental file with steady collections mostly explains itself.
The other thing underwriters notice: dental practices rarely close. Patients don't stop needing cleanings and crowns because the economy softens, and a practice with an established patient base has a floor under its revenue that most retail businesses don't. That lowers our risk, and lower risk shows up in your pricing.
What dental practices actually use the money for
The requests we see most, with real numbers from files we've funded this year:
Use: Add an operatory (chair, unit, light, cabinetry, install) — Typical cost: $55,000–$90,000 — What we funded: $75,000 (Brooklyn, 2 chairs to 3)
Use: Intraoral scanner (iTero, Primescan, Trios) — Typical cost: $25,000–$45,000 — What we funded: $38,000 (Flushing, Queens)
Use: CBCT / 3D imaging unit — Typical cost: $70,000–$120,000 — What we funded: $95,000 (Yonkers)
Use: Buy out a retiring associate's equipment — Typical cost: $40,000–$150,000 — What we funded: $110,000 (Long Island)
Use: Cover a 60-day insurance reimbursement gap — Typical cost: $30,000–$60,000 — What we funded: $45,000 (Bronx, Medicaid delay)
Use: Marketing push + hygienist hire for a second location — Typical cost: $20,000–$50,000 — What we funded: $32,000 (Staten Island)
Notice the pattern. Most of these are things that increase collections. A third chair at a practice booked out six weeks pays for itself fast. A scanner that lets you sell same-day clear aligner cases in-house instead of referring them out changes your production per patient. These are the uses where a short-term advance makes the most sense, because the money generates its own payback.
The one that doesn't fit that pattern — the reimbursement gap — is still a good use if it's a timing problem and not a collections problem. If Medicaid is 70 days behind on $60,000 in claims and payroll is Friday, an advance bridges it. If your claims are getting denied and never paid, that's a billing problem an advance won't fix.
How the numbers work on a $75,000 advance
Here's the Bay Ridge deal, in the numbers she saw before she signed.
Advance amount: $75,000
Factor rate: 1.30
Total payback: $97,500
Term: 12 months
Payment: $1,875 per week (52 payments), debited from the operating account
Prepayment discount: available — paying off inside 6 months cut the total payback by a meaningful amount
At $118,000 in monthly collections, $1,875 a week is about 6.6% of revenue. That's inside the range we like to see. When the weekly payment starts creeping toward 12–15% of deposits, we'll usually size the advance down rather than write something that squeezes payroll.
One thing to say plainly: a merchant cash advance costs more than a bank term loan, and we don't pretend otherwise. If your bank will give you $75,000 at 9% over five years and you can wait six weeks, take it. Our product is for the practice that can't wait six weeks, doesn't want to pledge a personal residence, or has a file the bank has already declined. You can read our full breakdown of how factor rates convert to real dollars at 501advance.com, and we'll put the same numbers in writing on any quote.
Why we quote a factor rate instead of an interest rate
An advance isn't a loan with a rate that accrues. It's a fixed dollar amount: you receive $75,000, you repay $97,500, and the number doesn't grow if the term runs long. That fixed structure is why we can price it in a single line and why the payback doesn't change based on a rate index. Some people prefer to call this product a revenue-based advance, because repayment is tied to your revenue rather than a calendar — same product, same math.
What has to be true about your practice
We fund dental, orthodontic, periodontal, oral surgery, and pediatric practices. Here's the file that gets a same-day yes:
Collections of at least $20,000 per month. Most dental practices we fund are doing $60,000 to $250,000. The number that matters is what's actually hitting the bank, not production on the schedule.
At least 6 months of operating history under the current owner. If you bought the practice in March, we want to see your deposits, not the seller's.
A business bank account with steady deposits. Personal accounts don't work. Neither do accounts that show $80,000 in and $79,000 out on the same day every week.
Fewer than 3 active advances. If you already have two positions, we'll evaluate a third case by case — it depends on what's left in the deposits after the existing payments clear.
No open bankruptcy and no active tax lien we can't see a payment plan for. A settled lien with an IRS installment agreement is workable. An unaddressed one usually isn't.
Personal credit matters less than owners expect. A 620 FICO with $110,000 a month in collections gets funded. A 780 FICO with $12,000 a month in collections does not, because there's nothing to repay from.
What we'll ask for
Four months of business bank statements, a copy of your driver's license, and a voided check. On larger requests — above $150,000 — we'll ask for a year-to-date production report from your practice software and sometimes a merchant processing statement. That's it. No tax returns, no personal financial statement, no appraisal of your equipment.
Who we won't fund — and why
We'd rather say this up front than waste your afternoon.
Practices under 6 months old. A new build-out or a fresh acquisition without deposit history doesn't have anything for our underwriter to read. Come back at month 7.
Practices where the owner isn't a dentist and the clinical side is contracted out. These are workable sometimes, but the ownership structure adds questions, and we're not the fastest option for them.
Practices with more than 3 active positions. Stacking a fourth advance on top of three doesn't help you. Ask us about a reverse consolidation instead.
Anything where the funds are going to a personal use. We fund the practice, not the boat.
Pre-revenue. If you're still building the office and haven't seen a patient, an advance is the wrong product. Talk to your equipment vendor about a lease or a manufacturer financing program.
Direct funder vs. the equipment vendor's financing arm
Most dental equipment vendors will offer you financing at the point of sale. It's worth comparing.
Vendor financing is usually cheaper on a headline basis — 7% to 12% APR over 60 months — but it comes with a UCC filing on the equipment, a personal guarantee, a 10–20 business day approval cycle, and a credit floor that typically sits around 680. It also only covers the equipment itself. It doesn't cover the plumbing, the cabinetry, the electrical work, the two weeks of reduced production while the operatory is under construction, or the marketing to fill the new chair.
An advance from a direct funder covers all of it, lands in 24 hours, and isn't tied to a specific piece of equipment. A lot of practices use both: vendor financing on the scanner, an advance on everything around it.
What you should not do is go through a broker who cold-called the office. A broker shops your bank statements to a stack of funders, takes a commission that gets built into your factor rate, and the whole loop takes four to six days. When you work with us, the underwriter who reads your statements is the person who approves the wire. There's nobody to shop it to. If you want to see what your practice's file looks like in real numbers, get pre-qualified at 501advance.com or call (888) 860-6970 — soft credit pull, decision the same business day.
What happens after you fund
Two things matter once the wire lands.
Renewals. Once you've paid down roughly half of the balance, you're eligible for a renewal — a new advance that pays off the remainder and puts fresh capital in your account. Renewals for practices we've already funded typically close inside four hours, because we have your file and your payment history. The Bay Ridge dentist is on track to renew in February for the CBCT unit she originally put off.
If collections drop. Dental revenue is steady, but things happen — a hygienist leaves, a major PPO reprices, a water main breaks. If your deposits fall meaningfully, call us. We can reconcile the payment down to match actual revenue. We'd rather adjust the schedule than watch a good practice miss payroll.
Get a real quote on your practice
Send us your last four months of business bank statements. Our underwriter — not a salesperson — will come back the same business day with the advance amount, the factor rate, the term, the weekly payment, and the prepayment discount, in writing.
Or call us directly: (888) 860-6970.
Frequently asked questions
How much can a dental practice get from a merchant cash advance?
Typically 60% to 100% of one month's collections on a first advance. A practice depositing $100,000 a month usually qualifies for $60,000 to $100,000. Our advances run from $10,000 to $250,000; renewals for established customers can go higher.
How fast is the money actually in the account?
Same-day approval on most clean dental files, wire within 24 hours of a signed agreement. If you send statements before noon, funding the next morning is the normal outcome.
Does the advance require a lien on my equipment?
No. An advance is repaid from future collections, not secured by a specific asset. We do file a standard UCC on the business, which is normal for any commercial funding, but there's no equipment-specific lien and no lien on your home.
Will applying hurt my credit?
The pre-qualification is a soft pull. A hard inquiry only happens at funding, and only once.
Can I get funded if I've already got an advance from another company?
Usually yes, if the existing payment leaves enough room in your deposits. We evaluate additional positions case by case. With three or more active positions, a reverse consolidation is the better conversation.
I own the practice through a PC or PLLC. Does that matter?
No. Most dental practices are professional corporations or PLLCs, and we fund them every week. We just need the business bank account to be in the entity's name.
What if I'm buying a practice, not expanding one?
A practice acquisition is usually better served by an SBA 7(a) loan or a bank practice loan, because the amounts are larger and the terms longer. Where we help is the post-acquisition period — you closed in April, the seller's patients are transitioning, and you need $50,000 in month 7 for equipment the seller let slide. Once you have 6 months of deposits in your own name, that's our file.
Have a specific expansion in mind? Send us your last four months of bank statements. Direct underwriter access, decision the same business day.
Apply at 501advance.com → or call (888) 860-6970.
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