Hello Dentally Community! 

Refresh your recalls to boost your revenue and retention! Let’s get started 👇 

The first rule of recalls – you don’t need recalls if you pre-book! 

Recalls should be the last resort, not the first step. Getting a patient’s next appointment booked in while they’re in the practice reduces admin and provides more consistent revenue. Educate patients while in surgery, and finalise their next appointment at reception before they leave. 

What if a patient doesn't book their next visit while still in the practice? That’s where recalls come in. 

Consistency is key - build a continuous recall workflow 

A structured and deliberate recall strategy is essential. Sometimes there’s a temptation to only send recalls when your diary is empty, and the minute your diary fills up, your recalls come to a stop. This impacts average revenue and diary management, making it stressful and disheartening for your team. Be consistent and plan ahead! 

Automate your workflows – and free up your time 

Once you set up automated recalls, they’ll keep running and running, which will free up your time to focus on other tasks. 

Plus, automation allows you to send recalls outside of practice hours too, meaning you’re more likely to reach patients when they have time to book. Remember, lots of bookings happen outside of practice opening hours – with automation, you can capture that! 

Our recall top tips 

Now you know what you need to do, but how do you do it? Here are our top tips for making the most of recalls: 

• Mix up your methods – Are you using a variety of contact methods? Do you adapt recalls according to how overdue the patient is? Join our upcoming webinar for templates and best practice for reaching your patients - just because they don’t book at first, doesn’t mean they never will! 

• Verify and update patients’ data regularly – Ensure contact details are up-to-date, so that if you send a recall, they’ll actually receive it. 

• Emphasise the importance of regular visits – Remind patients why it’s important to come back – if they prioritise their oral health, your practice will benefit! 

• Monitor your recall effectiveness – Once you’ve set up a workflow, keep an eye on how it’s going, and fine-tune to improve patient retention. It’s not one-size-fits-all, so find what works for you and your patients! 

Why efficient recalls matter 

Patient retention is critical for practice success – if patients keep coming back, you’ll improve their oral health, while guaranteeing a fuller diary and more consistent revenue. And remember, it costs more to find and onboard new patients, so it’s much more lucrative to retain existing ones!  

An effective and efficient recall strategy will significantly improve your patient retention – saving you time and money. 

Explore how to create recalls with real impact!

Check out our blog for top tips and best practice for creating powerful recalls.

New to recalls? Use our step-by-step help guides to enable and create your recalls, and make sure you use the ‘Recall Effectiveness’ report to track your performance!

Already a recalls master? Share your tips below! Or drop your questions so others in the Dentally Community can help 👇