How to Optimize Scheduling Dental Appointments for Maximum Productivity

Guide to dental appointment scheduling

Dental scheduling is allocating specific times for exams and handling patient service inquiries. This ensures that your patients promptly receive the care they need. UnitekCOLLEGE said that dental appointment scheduling could help in achieving these benefits:

• Schedule patient appointments months in advance
• Reduce patient wait times
• Increase patient satisfaction
• Check patients’ eligibility for insurance
• Gather necessary patient information in advance

Mastering the skill of dental scheduling begins with following the proper method to keep the office running smoothly. This includes knowing the different types of scheduling, such as:

1. Time-specified: Use this when you want to book patient appointments at a specific time. However, be careful of scheduling gaps if patients don’t show up.
2. Wave scheduling: This allows you to make appointments for a group of patients in thirty-minute intervals. The dentists see the patients in the order in which they arrive. This can be modified for special procedures. However, some patients may not be okay with waiting for their turn.
3. Open booking: Also known as walk-in scheduling, this type offers the most flexibility since patients can attend their appointments anytime. They are not committing to a set time slot or day, but you might face challenges with either no customers or being too busy.
4. Cluster scheduling: Use this when you need to group patients with similar problems in a specific time slot. It allows you to attend to patients quickly, but you may find yourself performing repetitive tasks. You must also be mindful of how long each procedure takes before scheduling patients.
5. Patient self-scheduling: Without staff assistance, patients can view the schedule on your portal or website and select available time slots, reducing missed appointments.

While the process may sound simple, 25% of patients still miss their dental appointments, according to a study by the College of Dentistry at King Saud University. This disrupts the continuity of care and workflow, affecting not only the patients’ health but also the dental clinic’s revenue.

Barriers to dental scheduling: “last-minute cancellations” and “no-shows”

To help patients maintain a positive attitude towards appointment keeping, we must first understand the reason behind missed appointments. This is a crucial step if you want to develop effective patient management strategies that reduce “no-shows” or “late cancellations.”

A study by the Journal of Oral Biology and Craniofacial Research identified the following factors as to why people don’t show up or cancel their dental appointments:

• lack of time and busy schedules
• financial difficulties
• poor oral health literacy
• distance to the clinic
• fear and anxiety
• patients’ perception that regular dental treatment was unnecessary
• lack of trust in the dental healthcare system
• dental aesthetics
• patients tend to miss appointments once they feel relieved from pain
• patients hesitate to communicate directly with doctors
• flexibility of appointment scheduling

Ultimately, it comes down to the patient’s awareness of dental services and treatments. Patients who value preventative oral care are more likely to attend appointments than those who only visit a dentist for emergencies. This begins with educating your patients about regular check-ups and the importance of multiple appointments.

Synapse‘s dental appointment scheduling fosters patient loyalty, increases staff productivity, lessens front office errors, and saves time for dental professionals who can serve more patients.

Check out our Success Story: Pediatric Dental Clinic Surpassed Average Monthly Payments by 38%

Top dental scheduling tactics to overcome missed appointments

The most common way to prevent missed appointments is using appointment cards with clear appointment dates and times, followed by a reminder call a day before the scheduled date. However, is it the most effective way?

• A study by Nelson et al. revealed that voice messages were more effective than SMS reminders in reducing no-shows. Synapse’s team of front office assistants is trained to handle both voice messages and SMS to keep your office and patients on track with their schedules.

• Another study found that a lack of SMS reminders is a contributing factor to missed appointments. In the study, receptionists who communicate well in reminder calls effectively decreased the number of patients who missed their appointments. That is why Synapse is skilled at communicating both on calls and via SMS messaging to bridge patients and providers in the best way possible.

Equipped with the knowledge that appointment-keeping requires expert patient management, there is no wonder why many dental practices are outsourcing dentist appointment scheduling systems. It reimagines the dental setting with balanced patient care and business operations. Many are outsourcing dental billing companies like Synapse because it makes bookings, re-bookings, reminders, follow-ups, and cancellations easily accessible.

Reach maximum productivity with Synapse’s dental solutions

Synapse works with your front desk while you work on your patients. We can answer calls, book appointments, reschedule, and help patients keep their appointments. Your practice can thrive as you work with happier patients in an organized system – but we are more than just your partners in dental scheduling.

Synapse also offers the following services as a leader in revolutionizing dentistry’s toughest challenges:

• Payment Posting
• Denied Claims Evaluation
• Insurance Eligibility Verification
• Extensive Auditing Reports and Practice Analytics
• Coding to streamline and access relevant information
• In-depth Accountability Reports and Double Verification on Insurance Claims
• Software Development and SEO

Get exclusive free Website Development & SEO services with a new billing contract for a limited time! Call us today at (844) 384-7532 or send us an email at dentalsales@synhs.com

Sources:

K.A. Anagha, M. Megha, Vineetha Karuveettil, S. Vijay Kumar, Perceptions of barriers towards dental appointment keeping among patients of a tertiary care setting: A mixed method exploration, Journal of Oral Biology and Craniofacial Research, Volume 14, Issue 2, 2024, Pages 185-191, ISSN 2212-4268, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobcr.2024.02.002.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212426824000253)

Salwa A. AlSadhan. Frequency of missed and cancelled appointments in King Saud University orthodontic clinic, King Saud University Journal of Dental Sciences, Volume 4, Issue 2, 2013, Pages 77-80, ISSN 2210-8157, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ksujds.2013.04.001. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210815713000139)

Travis M. Nelson, Joel H. Berg, Janice F. Bell, Penelope J. Leggott, Ana Lucia Seminario, Assessing the effectiveness of text messages as appointment reminders in a pediatric dental setting, The Journal of the American Dental Association, Volume 142, Issue 4, 2011, Pages 397-405, ISSN 0002-8177, https://doi.org/10.14219/jada.archive.2011.0194. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000281771462242X)

Unitek College. (2022, October 17). Step-by-Step guide to dental appointment scheduling. https://www.unitekcollege.edu/blog/step-by-step-guide-to-dental-appointment-scheduling/