Verified — real FDD extraction
SBA-eligible · directory code S8585 since 2026
CLEAR LAKES DENTAL
Health & Wellness · independent · est. —
Clear Lakes Dental is a dental practice franchise offering routine and general dentistry services to local patients. A franchisee owns a dental office, employing dentists and hygienists and handling patient care, scheduling, and the business side of running the clinic.
CLEAR LAKES DENTAL net unit count grew +100.0% from 2022–2024 per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).
The verdict
Too new to judge
Distress
2 franchised units over 3 disclosed years is not a track record — systems this early have realized only a fraction of their eventual failures. Judge the disclosures, not a verdict.
Exit rate · latest year
0.0%
vs 11.0% across 35 health & wellness systems
Cost to open
$554K–$1.5M
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
No loan record
no SBA 7(a)/504 loans found for this brand
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness
Systemwide units
2022–2024
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2024, 0 of 2 franchised outlets left the system — a 0.0% annualized exit rate, vs 11.0% across 35 health & wellness systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Opened | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Transfers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Outlets at end | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Net change | -2 | 0 | +2 |
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $62K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $554K–$1.5M (Item 7). The franchisor publishes no earnings claim (Item 19) — ask current and former franchisees for real numbers.
To open (Item 7)
$554K–$1.5M
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$62K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
7%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — this brand discloses no Item 19 earnings; validate with current & former owners.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$70K
7% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$700K
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.
Build a real pro-forma for CLEAR LAKES DENTAL with an independent CPADistress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for CLEAR LAKES DENTAL. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.
6 questions to ask a CLEAR LAKES DENTAL franchisee
Built from this brand's own disclosures · take it to your validation calls
The franchisor will give you a list of owners to call. Most buyers ask whether they like it. These are the questions built from what CLEAR LAKES DENTAL has actually disclosed — each one carries the number it came from, so you can tell whether the answer squares with the record.
- 01
You pay 7.0% royalty on gross sales, plus the ad fund, before any of your own costs. On your actual revenue last year, what did you take home as the owner — not revenue, take-home?
Royalty is charged on sales, not profit. This is the number the brochure never shows and the one your life actually runs on.
FDD Item 6
- 02
CLEAR LAKES DENTAL’s FDD makes no financial performance representation at all — legally, they've told buyers nothing about earnings. What did your first 24 months actually look like, month by month?
When a franchisor won't publish numbers, existing owners are the only source. Silence in Item 19 is a choice, not a requirement.
FDD Item 19 · 2024
- 03
How many months did it take to cover your own costs, and how much cash did you burn getting there?
Ramp-to-breakeven working capital is the most underestimated line in any franchise purchase, and the most common reason otherwise-good units fail.
Not disclosed in any FDD — ask an owner
- 04
What does the franchisor charge for that you didn't expect — required tech fees, mandatory remodels, approved-supplier pricing?
Required spending appears across Items 6, 8 and 11 rather than in one place, so buyers routinely miss the total.
FDD Items 6, 8, 11
- 05
If your agreement came up for renewal tomorrow at current terms, would you sign again?
The single most predictive question you can ask. A hesitation is the answer.
Ask every owner you speak to
- 06
Who else should I call — including someone who left?
The franchisor's list is curated by definition. Former franchisees are where the unflattering truth lives, and current owners usually know how to reach them.
Ask every owner you speak to
Want this as a checklist you can take to the calls?
I'll email you the printable version, and tell you if CLEAR LAKES DENTAL’s numbers move — a new filing, a rising exit rate, a distress signal. Unsubscribe in one click.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing CLEAR LAKES DENTAL's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
This page is what buyers see before they call you for validation. If the record above is wrong — or right in a way the numbers can't show — say so. Corrections are checked against the filings; nothing you write is published with your name unless you agree to it.
CLEAR LAKES DENTAL franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of CLEAR LAKES DENTAL franchises closed last year?
In CLEAR LAKES DENTAL's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2024), 0 of 2 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 0.0% — compared with 11.0% across 35 health & wellness systems tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons." There is no official failure rate, and not every exit is a failure, but this is the measurable floor.
How much does a CLEAR LAKES DENTAL franchise cost?
Per CLEAR LAKES DENTAL's 2024 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $62K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $554K–$1.5M (Item 7).
What royalty does CLEAR LAKES DENTAL charge?
CLEAR LAKES DENTAL charges an ongoing royalty of 7.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2024 FDD.
Does CLEAR LAKES DENTAL disclose earnings (Item 19)?
No — CLEAR LAKES DENTAL's 2024 FDD makes no financial performance representation in Item 19. That is legal and common, but it means the franchisor publishes no earnings claim; ask current franchisees for real numbers.