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Two-way text confirmations to cut dental no-shows

Open Dental's eConfirmations let patients confirm by text with one tap, so the desk only calls the unconfirmed. From about $50£38€45A$72C$71 a month.

At a glance

  • What it costs$50–70£38–53€45–63A$72–101C$71–99 a month

  • Worth, in extra profit or time saved in the worked example$441–785£332–590€395–702A$637–1,133C$623–1,110 a month

  • Pays for itselfIn a few days

  • Sign up and configure; no technical skills neededEasy to set up

Figures come from the worked example below, using its stated assumptions. Tool prices checked . How we check prices

The problem

The front desk spends the afternoon phoning tomorrow's patients to confirm. At 1.5 hours a day for 21 days, that's 31.5 hours a month, and each no-show still leaves an empty chair.

What the AI does

eConfirmations sends automated texts and emails before each appointment, and patients can confirm with a tap; eReminders, free for practices on support, add plain reminders. The desk then calls only the patients who haven't confirmed. The service costs $25£19€22A$36C$35 a month per office with an assigned texting number, plus Integrated Texting at $5£4€4A$7C$7 and 4¢ a text. HIPAA: sign Open Dental's Business Associate Agreement first, and keep messages to the date, time and practice name. TCPA: text only patients who gave their cell number and agreed to texts, and honor STOP.

A worked example

An illustrative example built from typical figures, not a named business.

A two-dentist practice in Charlotte with about 500 appointments a month replaces most of its confirmation calls with eConfirmations by text.

Before

1.5 hours a day of confirmation calls: 31.5 hours a month

After

About 30 minutes a day calling only unconfirmed patients: 10.5 hours a month

What it's worth

About $441£332€395A$637C$623 a month of front desk time, against $50£38€45A$72C$71 to $70£53€63A$101C$99 in fees. Cutting confirmation calls by an hour a day for 21 days is 21 hours, at an assumed $21£16€19A$30C$30 an hour. If it also prevents one $200£150€179A$289C$283 no-show a week, add about $344£259€308A$497C$486 in profit at an assumed 40% margin. Fees: eConfirmations $25£19€22A$36C$35 texting $5£4€4A$7C$7 and 500 to 1,000 texts at 4¢.

How to set it up

  1. Sign Open Dental's Business Associate Agreement, confirm the office is on support with the eConnector, and sign up for eConfirmations and Integrated Texting.
  2. Choose when confirmations go out in the eServices settings, and keep the wording short.
  3. Record each patient's texting preference, text only those who agreed, and honor STOP replies.
  4. Each afternoon, filter tomorrow's schedule for unconfirmed appointments and call only those patients.
  5. Compare no-shows for the two months before and after.

What goes wrong

  • A confirmation isn't a promise. Patients who tap confirm still forget, so keep a reminder on the day as well.
  • With a landline texting number, eConfirmations is $40£30€36A$58C$57 a month, not $25£19€22A$36C$35.
  • Texts over 160 characters cost extra, so long templates can double the texting bill.
  • The fees page doesn't mention A2P 10DLC registration. Ask Open Dental how its texting numbers are registered before you rely on delivery.

Was this idea useful?

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Last updated October 18, 2026.