To buy or lease? - Ray Cox

By Ray Cox, owner of Medifinance, specialist finance brokers to the healthcare profession. Ray has worked alongside the dental industry for over 40 years and works very closely with a number of manufacturers and dealers, including Clark Dental, helping practitioners finance equipment and apparatus for their practices. 

As a dentist who is part of a modern and innovative dental practice it makes sense that you would want to use the latest, state-of-the-art equipment for treating your patients. However the initial cost involved for the outright acquisition can be prohibitive, and is often accompanied by an immediate and noticeable reduction in cash flow.

One potential solution is to consider leasing your equipment, in a similar way to which airlines lease their planes or you might lease your car.

Airlines choose to lease their planes because it provides improved flexibility, and reduced flight costs. You may lease your car as a more cost effective method than taking out a bank loan. So why not lease your dental equipment for very much the same reasons?

Like a car that has left the forecourt, a piece of dental equipment, once purchased, begins to depreciate in value almost instantly. Why spend all that money at the outset for something that, whilst vital, will certainly depreciate?

Almost all of the equipment in your practice is available via lease. This particularly applies to anything that has a high ‘wear out’ factor. Sterlisation devices and I.T. systems, for example, are items that you should never really consider owning outright because their ‘wear out’ factor is so high.

For example, after 5 years a steriliser will surely be out-dated and is also unlikely to be operating to its optimum efficiency. Not to mention that with the rate of technological innovation any I.T. system will also no doubt be obsolete after this length of time. Therefore to have the option of renting or leasing such products, where you have built-in possibilities for upgrading at the end the contract, whether it’s a 2, 3, 4 or 5 year deal, is a particularly attractive proposition.

Dynamic equipment on the other hand, such as dental units and x-ray devices, will probably last 15 years. However, during that time they would start to cost more in repair bills and maintenance than if they has been leased for 5 years and then updated. It would also arguably be in your best interests, from a competitive perspective at least, to be seen to update your practice equipment regularly, thus instilling confidence in your patients that yours is a practice that remains truly at the forefront of the profession.

The chances are this is already the way in which you finance your car, which after your house is likely to be your biggest single expenditure. So why not do it for your dental equipment too? It is a sure fire way to avoid depreciation, reduce maintenance costs and ensure that you stay ahead of your competition by regularly renewing your equipment and facilities.

For more information call Clark Dental on 01268 733 146, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.clarkdental.co.uk