Dental Patient Retention Rates, Recall Frequency & Treatment Plans

Running a successful business is – quite literally – a numbers game. Not just one of dollars and cents, but also statistical trends that illuminate WHY your bottom line moves the way it does each year. Keeping track of these numbers can help you understand the strength of your processes, the effectiveness of programs you’ve put in place, and your overall ability to execute on those processes day in and day out. Then challenging yourself to continually surpass those numbers is how you get ahead. So, what are this year’s three stats to beat?

Average Recall Frequency: 11 months

The perfect patient would come in regularly every 6 months. But the average is every 11 months, meaning your practice only secures about half the appointments it could. If you beat that statistic by 30 days – keep those patients coming every 10 months – that could be the biggest growth opportunity you have this year.

Average New Patient Retention: 41%

According to the Journal of the American Dental Association (ADA), the average general dentist keeps only four out of ten new patients beyond their first appointment. It takes the right tools and a deliberate effort by the entire team to work against the trend. What does your office do to deliver a great patient experience? How do you create ongoing engagement with every new patient? A 10% improvement in this statistic can add thousands of dollars to your bottom line every year.

Average Pending Treatment Plans: $500,000

The ADA tells us an average practice has $500K to $1M in unscheduled treatment plans. Why?

You have a lot of things working against you: the economy, the scheduling, patients’ fears and reservations. Another big reason is how hard it is to create a meaningful follow-up process for patients who don’t schedule on the spot.

So, how do you follow up on unscheduled treatment plans? How much dentistry goes uncompleted in your office? Getting just a few more treatment plans scheduled every month can a make huge impact on your growth.

Let Us Help You Beat the Odds

At RevenueWell, we’ve created the leading practice marketing solution that helps dental practices get better every day. Better at engaging patients, better at creating lasting experiences, and better at making key patient communication processes run like clockwork.

Want to find out how RevenueWell helps thousands of practices grow? Give us a shout!