Maintaining regular contact with patients is critical. While focus falls on marketing to attract new patients, the average dental practice retains only 57% of its patients. New patient retention is even lower, with only 41%* returning for a second visit.

Losing a patient is costly: acquiring a new patient averages $385, while retaining an existing patient costs only $45. Recall messaging protects revenue, strengthens patient relationships, and reduces the need for constant new patient acquisition.

Use the following tips to stay proactive with your existing patient retention efforts.

• Patient management systems are designed to help you pre-book your patients months in advance.
• Add-on tools like Weave and RecallMax prevent patients from slipping through the cracks.
• Manual tracking like spreadsheets and a simple file-folder system are great ways to keep it simple if your staff struggle with technology.

Just like the proverb says, “the best time to plant a tree was yesterday; the second-best time is today.” The same applies to patient outreach, delaying a strong strategy only makes it harder to establish later.

Different communication channels have different pros and cons. Use your channels appropriately.

• Email: Best for sharing information (welcome packages, service updates). Use for one-way communication. Bonus: easy to automate!
• Text: Ideal for quick confirmations and engagement. Include simple prompts (reply ‘Y’ to confirm, ‘N’ to decline). Bonus: patients respond quickly; Limitation: some landlines.
• Phone Call: Best for securing commitment and building rapport. Activate caller ID so patients recognize your practice. Always leave a voicemail for hesitant patients. Timing matters, 10 a.m. is statistically ideal.

The longer it has been since a patient has seen you, the less likely they will return, so put your effort into where you will get the most return and automate the outreach for patients less likely to respond.

• >2 years: Use automated bulk messaging with incentives or reminders. Low response expected.
• 18–24 months: Combine messaging with calls; track follow-ups.
• 12–18 months: Messaging plus calls.
• 6–12 months: Patients are simply overdue; minimal outreach needed.