How to Get Patients to Keep Their Dental Appointments

Getting patients to keep their dental appointments is important for the success of any dental practice. When patients skip their appointments, or cancel them last-minute, they result in wasted preparation time, lost revenue, and frustration. While it’s virtually impossible to eliminate the occurrence of no-shows in your office entirely, you can take a few measures to reduce their frequency. To learn how to get patients to keep their dental appointments, read these helpful tips.

Send out automated appointment reminders

Patients often skip their dental appointments simply because it slipped their minds. To keep patient’s appointments at the front of their mind, send out automated appointment reminders. Ask your patients what their ideal method of communication is when they make their appointment. Then, send them a quick text message or email reminder when their appointment comes up. The best times to send out reminders are two days before their appointment and a couple hours before their appointment.

Schedule patients as early as possible

The sooner you can schedule a patient’s appointment, the less likely they will forget about it. An appointment scheduled for a few days from now is much easier to remember than an appointment scheduled a few weeks away. You should always seek to get patients in as soon as possible after they call to schedule an appointment.

Don’t allow patients to cancel appointments online

In this case, inconveniencing your customers can actually be good for business. Giving patients the option to cancel their appointment with a few clicks can make them more likely to do so due to the convenience. If they must call your office to cancel their appointment, they will probably only do so if they have a good reason—rather than just feeling lazy.

Express the importance of treatment or regular appointments

Going to the dentist is viewed as a hassle for many people. As such, they will likely cut it out of their schedule if they don’t feel like it’s absolutely necessary. To prevent this from happening, make sure that they understand the importance of regular appointments or the treatment they will receive. If patent’s view their appointment as essential to their health, they will be less likely to brush it off or forget about it.