Quarryfield Capital Group, a small-business funding broker in Hillsboro, Oregon, arranges equipment financing, term loans, working capital and credit lines for medical and dental practices through lending partners. Washington County, Oregon had 1,364 ambulatory health care employer establishments in 2023, including 345 dental offices. Partners review collections, statements and quotes, decide on credit and set rates and terms.
| Outpatient care employers, Washington County, OR | 1,364 (CBP 2023) |
|---|---|
| Offices of dentists | 345 establishments |
| Offices of physicians | 290 establishments |
| Under five employees | 628, or 46.0% |
| Practices without employees | 2,126 (NES 2024) |
| Common structures | Equipment, term loans, credit lines |
Clinics and dental offices counted in Washington County, OR
Washington County, Oregon had 1,364 ambulatory health care employer establishments in 2023, employing 16,520 people with about $1.21 billion in annual payroll (County Business Patterns 2023). Offices of dentists numbered 345, with 2,611 employees; offices of physicians numbered 290, with 4,575.
Dental offices tend to be mid-sized: 35.7% had fewer than five employees, compared with 46.0% across ambulatory care and 52.6% for all county employers. The county also had 2,126 ambulatory health care businesses with no paid employees in 2024 (Nonemployer Statistics 2024), many of them solo practitioners.
Equipment: chairs, imaging and sterilization
Clinical equipment is expensive and specialized, which makes it well suited to equipment financing: the asset secures the deal and the term can follow its useful life. Imaging units, dental chairs and delivery systems, sterilization equipment and practice-management hardware are common requests. Leases suit equipment you expect to replace as technology changes.
Our post on financing a dental practice in Washington County, Oregon compares equipment financing, a term loan and a credit line for a practice.
Build-outs and expansion
Adding operatories, moving to a larger suite or opening a second location usually needs a term loan, because plumbing, cabinetry and specialized electrical work cannot serve as collateral the way a chair can. Partners will want the build-out estimate, the lease and a sense of how the added capacity will be filled.
Dental offices and physician offices in the counts
The 2023 counts show two different shapes of practice. Washington County's 345 dental offices averaged about 7.6 employees each and paid about $176.2 million in annual payroll; its 290 physician offices averaged about 15.8 employees and paid about $434.5 million (our arithmetic from County Business Patterns 2023). In 2024 there were 74 dental offices and 299 physician offices with no paid employees (Nonemployer Statistics 2024).
A dental office with a handful of people is often an owner-dentist making a large equipment decision on a single income stream, which is why equipment financing tied to the asset is the most common request. Physician groups are more likely to be weighing space and hiring together.
Purchasing a practice or a partner's share
Some owners are not building a practice but buying one, or buying out a retiring partner. Acquisition funding is underwritten differently from equipment funding: partners look at the selling practice's collections history, patient base, lease, equipment condition and the buyer's own experience. Not every partner offers it, and those who do usually want a detailed purchase agreement and valuation before making an offer.
Insurance reimbursement gaps
A practice often pays wages and suppliers well before insurers pay claims. A line of credit drawn when collections slow and repaid when they arrive fits that pattern better than a lump sum. Working capital can cover a one-time gap, such as switching billing systems.
Equipment that outlives the lease
A dental chair or imaging unit can stay in service longer than the lease on the suite it sits in. If the lease has a few years left and the equipment will be financed over a longer term, plan for what happens at a move: whether the equipment can be relocated, who pays for that, and whether the funding agreement allows it. Partners notice when the equipment term runs well past the lease, and having an answer ready helps.
Practice funding options compared
| Need | Usual structure | What partners look at |
|---|---|---|
| Imaging, chairs, sterilizers | Equipment financing or lease | Quote, asset, collections |
| New operatories or a move | Term loan | Tax returns, collections, estimate |
| Reimbursement timing gaps | Line of credit | Collections history, deposits |
| A one-time cash need | Working capital | Bank statements |
What partners look for in a practice file
- Collections and production reports, if available.
- Bank statements that show the reimbursement rhythm.
- Business tax returns.
- Vendor quotes for equipment, or a contractor's estimate for the space.
- Existing practice debt.
Healthcare licensing and regulatory questions are outside what we cover.
Timing equipment with a build-out
When an expansion includes both construction and new equipment, the order of payments matters. Contractors are usually paid in stages during the build-out, while equipment is often paid on delivery or installation, near the end. Arranging the term loan and the equipment financing so each starts when its cost actually lands avoids paying for months on money that is sitting idle.
Physician offices and other clinics
Physician offices, therapists and other outpatient clinics share many of the same needs: equipment, space and reimbursement timing. The sector overview places medical and dental alongside the county's other confirmed sectors, and our Hillsboro, OR page has the wider county picture.
By Quarryfield Capital Group · Updated