Dental missed call calculator
What missed calls cost a dental practice.
A new patient who reaches voicemail may book with the next practice that answers. Enter your monthly calls, the share you miss, how often a reached new-patient caller books, and the value of a first visit to see the revenue at risk each month. The starting numbers are assumptions; replace them with your own.
Calculator
Estimate monthly revenue at risk.
The starting numbers are assumptions, not industry figures. Change any of them to match your business.
Example: $5,400 per month at risk
With 300 calls a month, 20% of them missed, 30% of reached callers booking, an average first-visit value for a new patient of $300, and 25% of missed calls after hours, that is about 60 missed calls (15 after hours), 18 lost new patients, and $5,400 in monthly revenue at risk (about $64,800 a year).
Guide
Use this before you automate the work.
A new patient who reaches voicemail may book with the next practice that answers. Enter your monthly calls, the share you miss, how often a reached new-patient caller books, and the value of a first visit to see the revenue at risk each month. The starting numbers are assumptions; replace them with your own.
Step 1
Count the calls that can become new patients
The defaults are placeholders, not dental industry figures. Many calls to a practice come from existing patients confirming or moving appointments, so the booking rate here should be about new-patient calls.
- Monthly calls: every inbound call to the front desk and any ad or website numbers.
- Missed calls: voicemail, calls while the front desk was checking someone out, lunch, and after hours.
- Booking rate: of the new-patient callers you reached, how many booked.
Step 2
Use a first-visit value, not lifetime value
A new patient may stay for years, but a first-visit value keeps the estimate conservative and easy to check against your schedule. If you track the value of a new patient over a year, run it a second time with that number.
- First visit: exam, cleaning, and X-rays at your usual fees.
- Optional second run: your average first-year value per new patient.
- The after-hours share shows how many missed calls came in while the office was closed.
Step 3
Read the result as revenue at risk
The result estimates the work sitting in calls nobody picked up. It is not a promise of recovered revenue: what you win back depends on how fast callers hear from you, your prices, and whether you have room on the calendar.
- Missed calls = monthly calls × the share of calls you miss.
- Lost new patients = missed calls × the share of reached callers who book.
- Revenue at risk = lost new patients × first-visit value.
Questions
Before you hand this off
Are the default numbers dental industry averages?
No. They are starting assumptions so the calculator shows a result right away. Replace each one with your own numbers from your phone system and job records.
Should I count calls from existing patients?
Count them in monthly calls so the share of missed calls matches your phone report, then set the booking rate to reflect only the new-patient callers who would have booked. That keeps the estimate from counting routine reschedules as new revenue.
Why is the default booking rate lower than for home services?
Because many calls to a practice are not from new patients at all. The default is a cautious placeholder; your own front-desk numbers are the ones to use.
What does TeamShift do with a missed call?
TeamShift returns missed calls and texts in your approved wording, logs what each caller needs, and sends bookings and quotes to you to approve. Nothing goes out in your name until you say so.