Most dental practices don’t lose new patients because of price or location. They lose them at the front desk, in the few seconds it takes to say “sorry, we’re fully booked.” The good news is that fixing this rarely requires longer hours or more staff. With a few smart adjustments to how you structure and present your schedule, you can capture the leads you’re already paying to generate. Here are seven practical strategies to get you started.

The average dental practice across North America fails to book more than 70% of all their new patient leads. One of the main reasons callers don’t book is because there is “no availability”. The conversations go something like this:

But patients are far more flexible than we assume! They’re happy to adjust their schedule if they see good reason to.

Having a full schedule is a great problem to have, it could mean it is time to expand (or reduce your marketing budget!) but most practices just need to apply a few simple tricks to their scheduling process to book more new patients and optimize their budgets.

This quick guide will provide easy ways you can optimize your schedule and reduce your lost leads due to poor scheduling.

If the patient says “do you have anything available on Thursday?”, don’t be so quick to assume that ‘Thursday’ is the only option for them. The more the patient wants to book with you, the more likely they will move their own schedule around to fit yours.

Think about how easily a person will reschedule their lives in favor of a spa availability, or a doctor’s appointment! If they know you’re the best, they will adjust their own schedule to fit yours. But this only works if your practice is a top-tier practice with high ratings, excellent customer service and generally one-notch above your competitors.

It won’t work if you’re no better than anyone else. If you’re highly recommended (strong google reviews), if you have great staff (excellent customer service on the phone), the patients desire to secure a booking with you will increase and they will happily move their own schedule around. Here are a few trends you can take advantage of to attract the masses.

1. Emergency patients need to be seen today, (or, at the very latest first thing tomorrow). If they have to wait longer, they will go somewhere else.
2. New patients prefer to book at least one week out! Because these appointments range from 1.5 – 2.5 hours (and they usually need to take time off work to come in), the more notice they have, the better. But there is a limit. Longer than 3 weeks is too long.

Too many dentists will happily see their existing patients for emergencies, but dismiss desperate new patients. Do not make the mistake of turning away these great leads! An emergency will become your new patient if they are impressed with the work you do and the treatment they receive. An average new patient will bill $1200 – $1800 in their first 3 months, while an emergency new patient will bill $2000+ because generally they need a lot more work done. They are very happy to leave their current dentist in favor of a practice that has flexibility for emergency patients.

The best time to reserve is the last appointment of the day. If you don’t fill that spot, use the time to complete admin work and/or give your staff an early finish (though it will be rare, these spots generally get filled!).

If your end-of-day spot isn’t enough, keep the first appointment of the day free also. This requires strong communication between the booking staff and the clinical staff, but can allow you to do things like starting late if there aren’t any emergencies.

Your lunch-spot is also a good space to keep open, though make sure your staff are getting a break!

If you’re finding you have no availability for new patients within the ideal 2-3 week timeline, then consider keeping 2-4 spots reserved specifically for new patients each week.

Have these at good times (mid-morning or late afternoon), that way, if you don’t fill them, your staff can easily fill them from your waitlist so if they’re still open with less than 48 hours to go.

Don’t rush to fill these spots! Only use them if the patient cannot do another time. This should be offered as a final resort and presented in a way that makes it sound like staff are jumping over mountains to make it work. Instead of saying “we can see you on [date] at [time]”, say:

This will make the patient feel extra special!

Instead of saying “yes, we have availability today” (which sends a message you don’t have many patients), pop the caller on hold for a moment and act as if you’re doing the caller a special favour:

This will make them feel like you go far above and beyond for your patients!

Some patients hope to be seen and fixed in the same day and too often, staff will be quick to say something like “we can only see you for a diagnostic, but we won’t fix your issue today”. That immediately turns patients away from your practice. Instead, train them to say:

Regardless of what you do, when you book and what your schedule is like, always use a waitlist. If you haven’t booked a patient in their ideal time, you can pop them on a waitlist. This will ensure cancellations, reserved spots and empty spots aren’t left to waste. Every evening and morning, your staff should be filling up any spots within a 48 hour window (with the exception of your emergency end-of-day spot!)

This will help patients who do have preferences and they will be impressed when you are able to accommodate their needs after all!

Do not default to the waitlist before securing a booking. Some staff make the mistake of saying “we don’t have anything at your preferred time, so we’ll put you on the waitlist and call if anything opens up”. 9/10 times the patient will find someone else. Always schedule them first , then put them on a waitlist for their ideal time. They will be less likely to seek other options and will be happy to come in to fill your cancellation spots!

Review your appointment process and spread the load amongst the team. For example, the first 10-15 minutes is with the reception team, completing and confirming any pre-paperwork, prepping the patient and introducing them to your practice. Hygiene can start the new patient with X-rays and charting. The dentist then comes in for the quick exam afterward, then a treatment coordinator can discuss their options. Meaning a 2 hour new patient exam is only 20 minutes of your time.

If you are following this plan, make sure your patients never feel rushed and/or like you’re just popping in. Always make sure you take the time to answer their questions and that they are comfortable and happy with their treatment.

While these strategies are proven to improve your schedule, no one solution will fit every practice. It is important to track your strategy, review it and improve it as necessary.

Make sure you allow a strategy enough time for everyone to get used to it and refine it, 3 months is a good amount of time. During these three months, request patient feedback, involve your staff and discuss what works and what doesn’t.