Dental practices
A fifth operatory is a staffing decision as much as an equipment purchase. Here is the cost, the hygiene production per day, the collection lag, a dated payback table and which product fits.
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Updated October 13, 2026 · Merchant Fund Express
If your hygiene schedule is booked out several weeks, the room is already plumbed, and you can hire the hours, an added operatory typically pays its equipment payment from the second month and returns its full cost within the first year. Finance the equipment over its life with equipment financing or a term loan, and plan separately for one or two months of hygienist pay before insurance collections arrive.
If the schedule has openings, the problem is recall, not rooms. Fix recall first.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Chair, delivery unit and light | $28,000 |
| Intraoral sensor and X-ray head | $9,500 |
| Cabinetry | $6,000 |
| Computer and monitor | $2,000 |
| Install and hookup | $2,500 |
| Total | $48,000 |
This assumes the room is already plumbed with air, water, vacuum and electrical. If it is not, build-out is a separate and larger project; see remodel or relocate your dental practice.
A general practice, 6 years open, four operatories, about $145,000 a month in collections, a 700 FICO. Hygiene is booked seven weeks out. The new room runs hygiene three days a week, 13 days a month.
At full schedule the room contributes about $10,327 a month before financing. Restorative treatment diagnosed in those hygiene visits is extra and is not counted here.
Equipment financed at $48,000 with an assumed payment of $1,050 a month for 60 months: delivered January 25, 2027, first payment February 25, 2027, last payment January 25, 2032, total repaid $63,000. The hygienist starts Monday, February 1, 2027 and the schedule ramps to 50%, then 75%, then full.
| Month | Production | Collections (prior month at 92%) | Net after hygienist, supplies and $1,050 payment | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2027 | $9,620 | $0 | −$7,847 | −$7,847 |
| Mar 2027 | $14,430 | $8,850 | +$714 | −$7,133 |
| Apr 2027 | $19,240 | $13,276 | +$4,852 | −$2,281 |
| May 2027 | $19,240 | $17,701 | +$9,277 | +$6,996 |
| Jun 2027 | $19,240 | $17,701 | +$9,277 | +$16,273 |
The low point is about $7,800 in February, caused by paying a full hygienist schedule before insurance pays. That ramp cost belongs in the request. A practice that clears our first tier could request $56,000 as a term loan (0% origination on that product) to cover equipment and ramp together. Paid in cash, the $48,000 would come back in under five months at full schedule ($48,000 ÷ $10,327).
All figures in worked examples are illustrations of the arithmetic, not offers or quotes. Real terms depend on your file and the funder.
Related reading: equipment financing for dental practices and the dental practice cash flow guide. When your numbers look like this, check what your practice qualifies for; it starts with a soft pull.
In this illustration the equipment payment is covered from the second month and the cumulative position turns positive in the fourth. Your timing depends on how full hygiene is and how fast your payers collect.
Yes. You pay the hygienist from day one while insurance collections lag about a month, so one or two months of ramp cost should be part of the plan.
Equipment financing covers the equipment against its own life. A term loan can cover equipment and ramp together if the practice clears our first tier.
Not for a typical first review. Full financials are usually requested only above $250,000.
Then it is a build-out project, which costs more and takes longer. Price it separately before you compare products.
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