The problem
Hygiene patients drift past their six-month recall and nobody has time to chase them. If 300 patients are overdue and the front desk can only phone about 15 a week between check-ins, most never hear from the practice. Six recall visits a month that never happen, at an assumed $250£188€224A$361C$353 for a cleaning, exam and x-rays, is $1,500£1,128€1,342A$2,165C$2,120 a month of hygiene production.
What the AI does
Open Dental's Web Sched Recall texts or emails patients who are due or overdue, with a link to pick an open hygiene slot online. The booked visit goes straight onto the schedule, drawn only from the operatories you mark for Web Sched, and family members who share a phone number get one combined message. Reminder timing and the maximum number of automated reminders come from your recall settings, and patients who reach that maximum stay on the recall list for a call. HIPAA: sign Open Dental's Business Associate Agreement before turning eServices on, and keep messages to a first name, the practice and a link, with no treatment details.
A worked example
A two-dentist, three-hygienist practice in Columbus, Ohio, runs Open Dental with about 2,400 active patients, 300 of them overdue for recall. It adds Web Sched Recall and Integrated Texting.
Before
About 15 recall calls a week, reaching a fraction of 300 overdue patients
After
Automated texts and emails reach all 300; 6 to 12 extra hygiene visits a month booked online
What it's worth
About $600£451€537A$866C$848 a month in profit, against about $90£68€81A$130C$127 to $110£83€98A$159C$155 in fees. Six to 12 extra hygiene visits a month at $250£188€224A$361C$353 is $1,500£1,128€1,342A$2,165C$2,120 to $3,000£2,256€2,684A$4,331C$4,241 of production; at an assumed 40% margin after hygienist pay and supplies, that's $600£451€537A$866C$848 to $1,200£902€1,074A$1,732C$1,696. Fees: Web Sched Recall $75£56€67A$108C$106 texting $5£4€4A$7C$7 and 250 to 750 texts at 4¢. The Open Dental license is already paid, so it isn't counted.
How to set it up
- Download, sign and return Open Dental's Business Associate Agreement if the practice hasn't already; Open Dental doesn't sign other versions.
- Make sure each office is on Open Dental support with the eConnector installed, then sign up for Web Sched Recall and Integrated Texting.
- Mark the hygiene operatories patients may book into as Web Sched, and check provider schedules exist for the coming months.
- Set the reminder timing and the maximum number of automated reminders in the recall setup, and keep the wording to the patient's first name, the practice name and the link.
- Text only patients who gave the practice their cell number and agreed to texts, and stop when someone replies STOP: the TCPA covers appointment and recall texts too.
- Check the recall list every week for patients the automation skipped or who reached the reminder limit, and call them.
What goes wrong
- Web Sched Recall needs Open Dental support and the eConnector. If the office drops support, the eService stops.
- Texts over 160 characters cost extra, and the fees page doesn't mention A2P 10DLC registration. Ask Open Dental how its texting numbers are registered.
- Patients with no cell number or email, or with texts turned off, never get the automated reminder. Some of the most overdue patients will still need a call.
- If only a few hygiene slots are marked for Web Sched, patients see no time that suits them and give up. Release enough slots, including early and late ones.