A practice owner looks at the month's new patient numbers and sees a slight dip. It does not seem serious: a few fewer registrations than usual. But each of those missing patients might have stayed for years, attended two check-ups a year, brought their family and had treatment along the way. The dip is bigger than it looks.
The true cost of a missed dental enquiry is long-term.
Why dental patients are worth more than one visit
Most dental relationships are long. A patient who registers and has a good experience often stays for years. They attend routine check-ups and hygiene appointments, have treatment when needed and recommend the practice to others. Measured over that time, the value of one new patient is many times the value of the first appointment.
A worked example
These figures are illustrative. Use your own practice numbers.
Suppose a practice receives 60 new patient enquiries a month through its website. Around a third arrive in the evening or at weekends, which is 20 enquiries.
If half of those evening and weekend enquiries go to another practice that responded first, that is 10 lost enquiries a month.
If normally half of enquiries become registered patients, that is 5 lost patients a month, or 60 a year.
Now imagine each patient, over the years they stay, is worth a modest amount in check-ups, hygiene and occasional treatment. Even at a conservative estimate, 60 lost patients a year represents a large sum, before counting family members and referrals.
You can model your own numbers with the chatbot ROI calculator.
Where the enquiries are lost
The most common time is Sunday evening, when people plan their week, as we covered in new patient enquiries that arrive on Sunday evening. Weekday evenings are close behind. During opening hours, reception is often busy with patients in the building, and website messages wait.
The general cost of unanswered patient enquiries is covered in the cost of patient enquiries that never get answered, and the effect of slow replies in the cost of slow replies.
Why speed decides it
People looking for a dentist often contact two or three practices. The one that answers first, with clear information about availability and costs, usually gets the registration. A reply the next afternoon may be too late. This is true across many businesses, as covered in what missed enquiries cost your business.
Protecting the value
SpideyChat for dental practices answers new patient questions from your own pages at any hour and captures the person's details for reception to follow up. It covers availability, costs as published, opening hours and what a first visit involves. It does not assess symptoms or give treatment advice; urgent problems are pointed to the practice's published urgent care route.
Comparing the cost
Set the value of the patients you are losing against the cost of capturing them. Plans are listed on the pricing page, from a free plan to Pro at $29.99 a month.
A simple measurement
For one month, record every new patient enquiry, when it arrived and how quickly it was answered. Compare the registration rate for fast replies with slow ones. Most practices find a clear difference, and the numbers make the decision straightforward.
Getting started
Review your new patients page and make sure it answers the common questions. Then make sure every enquiry is answered and captured, whenever it arrives.