Lexington, KY · Dental Practice
Funding for Lexington Dental Practices
Insurance carriers pay slow, lab fees come due fast, and chairs cost $20K each. Capital that moves at the pace of patient flow, not vendor underwriting.
By Filip Kozina · Co-Founder, Commera Funding
Reviewed June 10, 2026
Lexington, KY market snapshot
~325K / 530K
Lexington city / metro pop.
~380
Fayette Co. dental practices
1
U.S. dental school in the metro (UK)
Source: U.S. Census QuickFacts + BLS County Business Patterns + KY Board of Dentistry
The Lexington dental cash flow problem
Lexington has roughly 380 active dental practices serving a Fayette County population of ~325K plus the surrounding Bluegrass-region catchment. The metro punches above its weight on dental density — the UK College of Dentistry trains here, so the regional supply of dentists is mature, and the patient mix runs heavier on long-tenured insurance plans than newer-metro practices see.
The cash flow problem isn't demand. It's the gap between the visit and the carrier payment. On a $1,800 crown, 45 to 60 days is normal between seat date and settlement. Lab fees on that crown come due 30 days after the lab work. Rent, payroll, and supply replenishment cycle weekly to monthly. The result: a healthy practice can run $40K to $80K behind on working capital before quarterly insurance reconciliations land.
Where MCA fits a dental practice
A merchant cash advance is the purchase of a slice of future deposits — anywhere from $25K to $500K for a single-doc practice or small group — at a factor between 1.20 and 1.40. You repay through a small fixed daily or weekly ACH debit until the total is satisfied, usually six to ten months on deals in that size range.
Two things matter for dental. First, funders underwrite on deposit volume — including insurance settlement deposits — not on tax returns or a P&L that's been depreciated against equipment purchases. Second, capital lands in 24 to 48 hours, which matters when a chair fails, a CBCT vendor offers a price-locked upgrade window, or a lab-fee batch lands the same week as payroll.
Typical deal sizes for Lexington practices
A solo practice pulling $80K to $120K/month in deposits typically qualifies for $50K to $120K at a 1.22 to 1.32 factor. Useful for bridging an insurance receivable bump, funding a CBCT or intraoral scanner, or covering a six-week lab-fee spike from a heavy crown or implant case load.
A two- or three-chair group practice doing $250K+/month can step into $200K to $400K positions at tighter factors (1.18 to 1.28). Standard use cases include partner buy-ins (covering the bridge between the buyout closing and the practice's next quarterly insurance settlement), op buildouts to add chairs, or Invisalign / implant marketing campaigns that need 60 to 90 days to generate the case volume that pays them back.
What we look at
6+ months in business, minimum.
$20K/month in business deposits — most established Lexington practices clear this four to six times over.
500 FICO floor on the owning dentist(s) — but deposit history and practice-volume consistency carry more weight than the score itself.
A US business bank account with regular settlement activity we can see. Four months of statements gets the underwriter a real number. No tax returns, no associate-comp split slides, no projection deck.
Why Commera
Commera is a broker, not a lender. We shop your file across a panel of MCA funders rather than locking you into the first quote that comes back. For dental files specifically, the factor spread between funders on the same practice can run 1.22 to 1.36 — on a $150K advance, that's a real $21,000 difference in total payback.
We don't charge applicants. Our compensation comes from the funder when a deal closes, and it's disclosed up-front on every quote. If equipment financing for a CBCT, or an SBA 7(a) for a practice acquisition, is the better fit, we'll route you there. That's the point of being a broker rather than a captive lender — we pick what works.
What you'll need to apply
- Four months of business bank statements (PDFs from the bank's portal — not screenshots)
- Driver's license, front and back
- Voided business check from the operating account
- EIN (sole proprietors enter SSN where prompted)
About 5 minutes for pre-qual. Full underwriting takes another 6 minutes after that.
Common questions from Lexington, KY owners
How much can a Lexington dental practice typically qualify for?
A solo practice pulling $80K–$120K/month in deposits typically qualifies for $50K–$120K at a 1.22–1.32 factor. Two- or three-chair group practices doing $250K+/month can step into $200K–$400K positions. Insurance receivables count toward the deposit basis as long as they're flowing into the same operating account.
Does the practice need to be in Lexington proper, or do surrounding counties qualify?
The business banking address and deposit history are what matter, not city limits. Fayette, Scott, Jessamine, Woodford, Bourbon, and Clark county addresses approve through our funder panel. UK-affiliated and Bluegrass region practices are well-known to our underwriters.
What if a chunk of my revenue is insurance receivables that haven't settled yet?
Funders look at deposits, not AR. So unsettled receivables don't help directly — but the historical deposit pattern they generate does. A practice with consistent monthly settlement deposits in the $80K–$150K range qualifies based on that flow, regardless of AR balance on the books today.
Is MCA the right move for a CBCT or CAD/CAM purchase, or should I look at equipment financing?
If the equipment will pay back in under a year, MCA usually wins on speed. If it's $80K+ and you can wait 30–60 days for an equipment-financing approval (and your credit supports a sub-9% rate), equipment financing is cheaper. We'll tell you which fits — that's the broker's job. Often the practical answer is bridge with MCA for 30–90 days while equipment financing closes.
Looking for the full Dental Practice overview? See our dental practice funding guide.