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 9.6% across 37 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 9.6% across 37 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.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing CLEAR LAKES DENTAL's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →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 9.6% across 37 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.