Check-in versus the phone
When the front desk has a patient in front of them, the ringing phone waits.
Free tool / Dental
What do missed calls cost a dental practice?
Front desks can't answer two lines.
A dental front desk checks patients in, takes payments and answers the phone, often all at once. Calls missed at lunch and at check-in are mostly people trying to book. This page uses first-year patient value only. It leaves out lifetime value, which practice-management sources put much higher.
Run your numbersWorked example
$167,076 a year,
from the defaults.
An example dental practice taking 120 calls a week, using the sourced defaults below. If it answered 80% of the calls it misses, it would keep about $133,661 of that a year. Your numbers will differ, so run your own below.
| Step | Result |
|---|---|
| 120 calls a week × 30% missed | 36 missed calls a week |
| × 52 weeks | 1,872 missed calls a year |
| × 35% new customers | 655.2 new patients |
| × 50% who never reach you again | 327.6 lost enquiries |
| × 60% booking rate | 196.6 new patients |
| × $850 each | $167,076 a year |
Calculator
Now use your
own numbers.
It starts on the dental defaults. Change any field and the result updates as you type. The address bar keeps a shareable link.
Estimated revenue at risk from missed calls
$167,076a year
$13,923 a month · about 196.6 new patients a year
You would keep$133,661about 157.2 new patients a year
Still at risk$33,415a year
Assumes an answered caller books at your usual rate of 60%.
How this is worked out
- 120 calls a week × 30% missed × 52 ÷ 12156 a month
- × 35% new customers54.6
- × 50% who never reach you again27.3
- × 60% you would normally book16.4 new patients
- × $850 average first job$13,923 / month
- × 12 months$167,076 / year
- × 80% answered (scenario)$133,661 kept
The link holds only these numbers, with no name, email or business details.
Email me a PDF of this estimate
Close the gap
Find out where your calls slip.
The $249 Website & Lead-Flow Audit tests how a call or form actually reaches you, including after hours, and gives you a ranked list of fixes. Or bring these numbers to a free 20-minute call about a Tether pilot.
An estimate from the numbers above. It is not a forecast or a promise that any revenue can be recovered. Your figures stay in this browser unless you copy the link.
Why it happens
Where dental calls
go unanswered.
Lunch and early evening
Many new patients call on their lunch break or after work, exactly when the desk is closed or busy.
Insurance questions
Long insurance calls tie up the line, so new callers ring out.
Make it yours
When to change
the defaults.
- If your practice tracks first-year production per new patient, use that number instead of $850.
- If you offer implants, Invisalign or cosmetic work, run a second estimate with that higher value at a lower booking rate.
- Use a week that includes a Monday, when recall and new-patient calls usually peak.
Tether / Sample conversation
See how Tether
would answer your call.
A sample conversation, written by us, showing how Tether, the MoxiSync AI receptionist, could handle a call you would otherwise miss and what your team would receive. It is not a recording or a live agent. Tether is offered through guided pilots that are scoped and tested with each business.
Sample conversationWritten by MoxiSync to show how Tether could handle this call. Not a recording, and not a real caller.
Wednesday, 12:50 pm · the front desk is at lunch
- Tether · AI receptionist
Thanks for calling. The front desk is at lunch, so I'm taking calls. How can I help?
- Caller
Hi, I'm new to the area and I'd like to book a checkup and cleaning.
- Tether · AI receptionist
Welcome. I can pass a request to the team. Do you have dental insurance you'd like them to check, and which days suit you best?
- Caller
Yes, I'm with my employer's plan. Weekday mornings are best.
- Tether · AI receptionist
Thank you. I've noted a new-patient checkup and cleaning, with insurance to verify and weekday mornings preferred. The team will call you to confirm a time.
Tether: Thank you. I've noted a new-patient checkup and cleaning, with insurance to verify and weekday mornings preferred. The team will call you to confirm a time. Outcome: New-patient request: checkup and cleaning, weekday mornings
OutcomeNew-patient request: checkup and cleaning, weekday mornings
- New patient
- Checkup + cleaning
- Insurance to verify
- Weekday mornings
- Callback to confirm
Sample call with AI voices, not a real customer.
Where the defaults come from
Sources and
estimates.
We picked the conservative end of every range. Most published missed-call figures come from companies that sell answering services, so we say when a number is one of those, or our own estimate.
| Default | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Calls a week | 120 a week | MoxiSync estimate. Example volume of 120 inbound calls a week for a small, owner-led business. Replace it with your own phone log. |
| Missed-call rate | 30% | Dental Economics, "The economics of missed calls". Cites 30–38% of calls going unanswered during business hours. We use the low end. |
| New-customer share | 35% | MoxiSync estimate. Published figures for the new-patient share of missed calls range from about 30% (vendor data) to 60–65% (Dental Economics). We use 35%, near the low end. |
| Never call back | 50% | MoxiSync estimate. Half of missed new callers never reach you again. Lower than the ~85% 'don't call back after voicemail' figure attributed to Dialzara (2023), because we could not verify that study. |
| Booking rate | 60% | MoxiSync estimate. Six in ten new-patient callers you speak to book a first visit. |
| Average first job | $850 | MoxiSync estimate. First-year value of a new patient is commonly cited at $850–$1,300 in dental practice-management sources. We use the low end and ignore lifetime value. |
Common questions
Dental missed calls,
answered.
Where does 30% come from?
Dental Economics cites 30–38% of calls going unanswered during business hours. We use the low end. Your phone system's missed-call report will give you the real figure.
Why $850 per new patient?
Practice-management sources commonly put a new patient's first-year value at $850–$1,300. We use the low end and leave out lifetime value, so the estimate is a floor.
Is an AI receptionist appropriate for a dental practice?
Only for routine requests, with clinical questions and emergencies passed to staff, and with your privacy obligations checked first. We scope that with each practice.
$249 / Website & Lead-Flow Audit
Check how calls reach you
A recorded audit of your website and enquiry path, including after hours, with a ranked list of fixes.
See the auditKeep reading
Related.
Missing dental calls?
Bring your numbers to a free 20-minute call. We'll look at where calls slip and whether a Tether pilot fits.