Efficient patient scheduling and time management are important to enhance the productivity and success of your dental practice. Long wait times impact patient satisfaction, especially for those who have taken time off from work to make their dental appointments, as well as the quality of care you provide. When your dental office schedules appointments strategically, your team can best serve patients and ensure you are providing them optimal oral health.

Here are a few dental appointment scheduling tips that you should consider for your dental practice:

1. Know Your Procedure Time and Create a System for Each Procedure

Knowing how much time each dental procedure requires is important for effective scheduling. Dental Economics recommends these ways to determine average procedure time:

• Track the time required for each dental procedure separately for the dental assistant and the doctor.
• Focus on high-production dental procedures and note the time each procedure takes the next 10 times it is performed.
• To determine the average time for each procedure, add up the 10 timed observations and divide by 10. This reveals the amount of time the doctor and dental assistant requires for each procedure.

Make sure to add preparation and transition times, too, if patients require preparation or anesthesia for the procedure. After determining the average time for each procedure, create a system for it that includes time for discussion of dental problems, treatment, discussion of follow-up care, and everything that a patient requires for a particular procedure.

2. Set Daily, Monthly, and Annual Production Goals

A dental office should determine their production goals and keep their team informed about them. Every day’s appointments should be scheduled in a way that meets the production goals. All team members should contribute and work together as the team to achieve production goals.

3. Use an Automated Appointment Reminder System

You can use a system or software that automatically reminds patients about their appointments through a text, call, or email. This will help patients be on-time so that the schedule moves smoothly.

4. Have a Plan to Handle Last-Minute Cancelations and No-Shows

Sometimes, last-minute cancelation is unavoidable, but you can handle this by using software that automatically detects last-minute cancelations and then contacts one patient at a time on your waitlist until the opening is filled.

5. Block Time for Emergencies

A few procedures or late arrivals may take more than the scheduled time and impact your entire schedule. To avoid this, you can block specific times for new patients or emergencies. This will help you satisfy patient needs without interfering with scheduled appointments.

6. Offer Convenience

Patients expect convenience or extended hours during the week or weekend. You can make time for the extended hours on weekends or one evening a week.

7. Schedule Morning Meetings

You can schedule morning meetings every day to review the entire schedule of the day and identify the possible potential problems of the day and create a plan to deal with them.

8. Schedule the Next Appointment Immediately

Make sure you schedule the next appointment immediately after the patient checks out instead of waiting for the patient to make their next appointment by calling back. You can use dental appointment scheduling software that meets your practice goals and schedules patients effectively.

With these tips, you can minimize patient wait time and office stress and increase productivity and patient satisfaction.

You may also like to read:

What Steps Should You Consider When Patients Cancel Their Appointments?

How I Started My Dental Practice in Iowa

Dental Appointment Reminders: Which Method Works the Best?