Dentist appointment software is bought by the front desk, and the front desk needs three things from it that the chart software does not do: a recall list that says who is due back and has no booking, a reminder that goes out at the lead time the practice chose, and a record of who confirmed and who did not come. Kheirkhah et al. 2016 measured a mean no-show rate of 18.8% across 10 clinics and an average cost of $196 per no-show, so the diary is where a small dental practice leaks money first. This page says what the software has to do, in the order it matters, and the free reminder template on this site sizes the load from your own diary.
The recall list comes before the calendar
A dental practice's revenue is mostly return visits: the hygiene cycle, the treatment plan with a next step, the check-up that is due. The calendar shows who is booked; the recall list shows who should be and is not. Software that opens on the recall list gives the receptionist a job for the quiet hour, and software that opens on the calendar gives them nothing until the phone rings. Ask, before anything else, whether the product can list every patient with no future booking, sorted by how overdue they are.
The reminder schedule and the confirmation record
The reminder is only half the job. Dantas et al. 2018, reviewing 105 studies, name prior no-show history as one of the two main determinants of the next no-show, so the software must record the confirmation when it arrives and the empty chair when it happens, against the patient, so the next reminder for that patient goes earlier and the front desk knows whom to phone. A reminder that goes out into silence and is never reconciled is a cost with no record behind it.
What the chart software already does, and should keep doing
Charting, periodontal records, imaging, insurance claims and treatment plans belong to the practice management suite, and a scheduling product that tries to become one ends up with a per-provider licence and an implementation week. The free template on this site sizes the reminder load; Recallvia Pro keeps the recall list, sends the reminders under the practice name and records the confirmations, and stops there, on purpose.
Questions people ask about dentist appointment software
Do I need separate dentist appointment software if I have a practice management suite?
If the suite works the recall list and sends reminders at your lead time with confirmations recorded, no. If it holds the diary and waits for the phone, the recall list and the reminders are the gap, and a small product that does only that is cheaper than a suite upgrade.
What does a no-show cost a dental practice?
Kheirkhah et al. 2016 measured an average of $196 per no-show in the clinics they studied; a dental practice's figure is its own average visit value, which the free template on this site takes as an input and multiplies by the no-shows a week at your rate.
How far ahead should the reminder go out?
Two days before for a routine visit, and the day before as well for a long procedure; the Cochrane 2013 studies that lifted attendance sent reminders in the days before the visit, not the hour. The free template on this site counts the messages for any pattern.