Dental Practice Tool
Dental Practice Loan Calculator
See the payment before you sign the term sheet. Enter the amount, the rate you were quoted and the term. Compare an SBA 7(a) structure with a conventional loan and see what the practice pays each month, each year and over the whole loan.
Dental practice loan calculator
Enter your own figures. The starting values are an example only, not a quote, a market rate or an Ovesture offer. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
The 9% starting value is an example to show how the math works. Replace it with the rate on your term sheet.
SBA sets a maximum, not a standard: 10 years for this use. Lenders often choose a shorter term.
Monthly payment
$9,501
120 payments over 10 years
Total interest
$390,082
Total cost
$1,140,082
Yearly payments
$114,008
Year-1 share to interest
57%
Year-by-year amortization summary
| Year | Interest paid | Principal repaid | Balance at year end |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $65,533 | $48,475 | $701,525 |
| 2 | $60,985 | $53,023 | $648,502 |
| 3 | $56,012 | $57,997 | $590,505 |
| 4 | $50,571 | $63,437 | $527,068 |
| 5 | $44,620 | $69,388 | $457,680 |
| 6 | $38,111 | $75,897 | $381,783 |
| 7 | $30,991 | $83,017 | $298,766 |
| 8 | $23,204 | $90,804 | $207,962 |
| 9 | $14,686 | $99,322 | $108,639 |
| 10 | $5,369 | $108,639 | $0 |
Fixed rate, level monthly payments, no fees. Variable-rate SBA loans, guaranty and closing fees, interest-only periods and prepayment terms change the real figure. This is arithmetic, not an offer, a rate quote or an approval.
How much is the monthly payment on a dental practice loan?
It depends on three numbers: the amount, the interest rate and the term. As an illustration only, $750,000 at a fixed 9% over 10 years is about $9,501 a month and about $390,000 of interest over the life of the loan. Stretch the same loan to 25 years and the payment drops to about $6,294, but total interest rises to about $1.14 million.
How the calculator works
The calculator uses standard fixed-rate amortization, the same math a lender's system uses for a level-payment term loan. The monthly payment is:
payment = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−n)
- P is the amount borrowed.
- r is the monthly rate: the annual rate divided by 12 (9% becomes 0.0075).
- n is the number of monthly payments: the term in years times 12.
Each month, interest is charged on the balance still owed, and the rest of the payment pays down principal. Early payments are mostly interest; later payments are mostly principal. That is why the year-by-year table under the calculator shows interest falling every year while the payment stays the same. Total interest is the sum of all payments minus the amount borrowed, and total cost is principal plus interest. Fees are not included.
A worked example (illustrative)
The figures below are an example to show the arithmetic, not a quote, a market rate or a term Ovesture or any lender offers. They use a $750,000 loan, roughly the size of a practice purchase plus some working capital, at an assumed fixed 9%.
| Monthly payment | Total interest | Total cost | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-year term | $9,501 | $390,082 | $1,140,082 |
| 25-year term | $6,294 | $1,138,192 | $1,888,192 |
The longer term lowers the monthly payment by about a third but nearly triples the interest. For a practice purchase financed with an SBA 7(a) loan, the longer option is often not available anyway: the 25-year maximum applies only to real estate, as the next section explains.
SBA 7(a) versus conventional: what the toggle changes
The SBA 7(a) program allows loans of up to $5 million and can be used to buy a business, refinance business debt, buy equipment and buy or improve real estate, according to the SBA's 7(a) program page. SBA does not set one term for every loan. Its operating rules, SOP 50 10 8.1 (effective October 1, 2026), set a maximum term by what the money pays for. When you choose SBA 7(a), the calculator applies the maximum for the use you pick, and caps the term if you enter something longer.
| SBA program maximum | What it means for a dentist | |
|---|---|---|
| Buying a practice (change of ownership) | 10-year amortization | Goodwill, equipment and working capital in the deal all sit inside 10 years |
| Real estate (building purchase or construction) | 25 years | In an acquisition, only the real estate share of the loan can go past 10 years |
| Equipment | Generally 10 years; up to 15 if the asset's useful life supports it | Long-lived equipment may run past 10 years; most technology will not |
| Working capital | 10 years | Usually a smaller slice of a larger loan |
When a loan mixes uses, such as buying a practice and its building, the SOP allows a blended term based on the share of each use. For a blended estimate, run the calculator twice, once for each portion, and add the payments.
A conventional bank loan has no program maximum; the term comes from the lender's own credit policy and the asset being financed. Choosing “Conventional” leaves the term entirely to you, up to 30 years.
Variable rates
Many 7(a) loans are variable, priced as a base rate plus a spread. SBA publishes the maximum spreads by loan size on its lender terms page. This calculator holds the rate fixed for the whole term, so for a variable loan treat the result as the payment at today's rate, and run it again at a higher rate to see what an increase would cost.
What the result does not include
- Fees. SBA guaranty fees, lender packaging or closing costs, and appraisal or valuation fees.
- Interest-only or deferred periods. Some acquisition and build-out loans start with a period of lower payments; the payment after it ends is higher.
- Prepayment costs. SBA charges a fee on 7(a) loans of 15 years or longer if you prepay more than 25% in any of the first three years (5%, 3% and 1%), per the SOP. Conventional loans have their own terms.
- Other debt. A lender looks at all the practice's debt payments, not just this one.
From a payment to a loan you can get
Whether a payment fits is a cash-flow question, not a calculator question. Lenders measure debt service coverage: the practice's qualifying cash flow divided by its annual debt payments. Under SOP 50 10 8.1, a 7(a) loan for an initial acquisition needs at least 1.25 to 1. Using the illustrative 10-year payment above, $9,501 a month is about $114,000 a year, so the practice would need to show at least about $142,500 of qualifying cash flow for this loan alone. The valuation behind the price also caps the loan: the SOP limits total acquisition debt to the business valuation.
For what drives that valuation, read the dental practice valuation guide. For the order of steps in a purchase, see how to buy a dental practice. If you already have a practice loan, the dental practice loan refinance page shows how to test whether a new loan pays for itself. Equipment-only purchases are covered under dental equipment financing, and every other route, from SBA to conventional and lender comparisons, is on the dental practice loans hub.
Sources for the dental loan calculator
- SBA — 7(a) loan program
- SBA — 7(a) interest-rate limits and fee rules
- SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 with technical updates (Word document) (SOP 50 10 8.1, effective 1 October 2026)
General information and arithmetic, not a loan offer, rate quote, approval or financial advice. Example figures are illustrative. Rates, terms, fees and eligibility are set by the lender and, for SBA loans, by the current SBA SOP 50 10. Confirm every term with the lender before you rely on it.
Dental practice loan calculator questions
A fixed-rate loan uses the standard amortization formula: payment = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n), where P is the amount borrowed, r is the annual rate divided by 12 and n is the number of monthly payments. Each payment covers that month's interest first; the rest reduces the balance, so the interest share falls over time.
SBA's SOP 50 10 caps the amortization of a 7(a) loan financing a change of ownership at 10 years, with only the real estate portion allowed up to 25 years. Working capital and goodwill are capped at 10 years. These are program maximums, not standard terms: a lender may set a shorter one. Confirm the term on your own term sheet.
No. It shows principal and interest only, at a fixed rate with level monthly payments. SBA guaranty fees, lender closing costs, interest-only periods, variable-rate resets and prepayment fees all change the real cost. Ask the lender for the full fee schedule and add it to the comparison.
The rate on the quote or term sheet you are evaluating. The 9% starting value is an example to show how the calculator works, not a market rate or an Ovesture offer. Many SBA 7(a) loans are variable and priced as a base rate plus a spread capped by SBA, so the rate can change after closing.
Lenders compare the practice's cash flow with the yearly payments on all its debt, a ratio called debt service coverage. For a 7(a) initial acquisition, SOP 50 10 8.1 sets a minimum of 1.25 to 1, so the practice must show at least $1.25 of qualifying cash flow for each $1 of annual debt payments. A payment the calculator shows is affordable on paper still has to pass that test.
Practice & firm funding
Turn the estimate into real terms
Tell us the practice, the price and the quote you have. We will compare bank, SBA and specialist options and tell you plainly when your own bank is the cheaper route.
- A person reads this, not a bot, and replies within one business day.
- This form authorizes neither a lender application nor a credit pull. Lender review needs separate permission. Preliminary illustrations are not final pricing; review final terms before signing.
- We provide financing for your practice's next move. Review legal and tax questions with your own advisers before you sign.
- We start with your plans, then explain the bank, SBA or nonbank financing that may fit. Costs and terms are clear before you commit; if another option is better, we say so.