Message Boards
Today's Active Topics Today's Active Cases Browse Forum Categories My Recent Activity My Messages Private Groups My Marked Threads My Subscriptions
Today's Active Images Today's Active Polls Most Active Topics Global Townie Map Advanced Message Board Search Message Board Terms of Use

“Getting Them Back in the Door” Rhonda Savage, DDS

View Comments (3) More by this author (15)



Working on recare and reactivation stinks! Why should you be responsible for calling your patients? After all, it’s their job to remember! I’ve heard this said plenty of times from team members and doctors, and if you haven’t said it, I’ll bet you’ve thought it!

However, the statistics show if you don’t call your patients, they think you don’t care. Recare and reactivation is actually one of the most important jobs in a dental practice! There are three reasons why. First, it’s the truest form of marketing because you are staying connected with your patient base. Second, when hygiene production goes up, the practice goes up. And third, the hygiene appointment is important for the patient’s health.

Your job is to do your best to be certain your patients obtain the dentistry they deserve! We know not all patients value dentistry, but on a day-to-day basis, how well do you educate and create value for the services that your patients need?

It’s not “just” a cleaning anymore. Recent research now links periodontal disease with heart attacks, strokes, oral cancer, diabetes, low birth weight babies, autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer’s, early onset dementia and erectile dysfunction. Are you brushing yet?

How do you feel about the job of recare and reactivation? For some team members, recare and reactivation is a slippery, slimy job that is quite easy to put off when we become busy. Yet, getting the patients back in is foundational to the success of your practice. Do you measure your activity in this department? Have you set standards for the program and set aside the necessary time to work on this very important project?

You must be accountable, and keep your team accountable, for measuring work and results. To hold someone accountable, first one person needs to be in charge. Others can and should help when they have the time. There is never any down time in a dental practice.

In a general practice, pediatric and periodontal practice, you’ll find when hygiene goes up, the practice goes up! Build up hygiene and you won’t be slow! Don’t be reactionary with recare. You need to be proactive to be effective. This is a front office responsibility; not a hygiene department responsibility. The hygiene department can help though. If recare is a hygienist job, she’ll work it when she’s not busy. Then, she gets busy and recare isn’t worked. It’s an up-and-down cyclical event. Effective recare systems are proactive rather than reactive and have consistent effort.

With recare and reactivation you need one person responsible. This person should be trained and clearly understand the expectations. Others can help but one is in charge. He or she has time frames to work on the project. The best chunks of time are two to four hours per week per doctor, and the best times of the day and week tend to be between 4 and 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and then from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday. Finally, with all projects in your practice, there should be a due date. For instance, by which date will the last year, past due, all be contacted? The key, after setting up this process, is to then follow up during the working time frame. Don’t wait until the due date to follow up!

In dentistry, there is always work to do – marketing, recall, systems, setting up for team meetings, morning huddles and meetings by department, training team members, etc. With regards to the work in a practice, the entire team needs to know where it needs to be at any point in time. This is quite plainly called accountability.

The Recare System
For recare and reactivation to work, you need accountability.

The recall list needs to be a priority and the overall responsibility of one front office person. They should be making 20-plus calls per day, in addition to his or her dedicated time away from the front desk for uninterrupted time. When the person has two hours of uninterrupted time, he or she can call 20 to 40 patients. The objective is to get the patient on the phone!

The person on this call needs to be upbeat and enthusiastic about this job. It’s not a job for a “list checker.” I recommend a headset so he or she can stand up and move around when making calls; moving around helps keep the energy level up. This person also needs a great phone voice, needs to be cheerful, but not too chatty, efficient, friendly and considerate of the patient’s time.

Remember if you actually catch the patient, you’re likely interrupting from what he or she is doing. Be friendly, efficient, but also also considerate of the patient’s time.

The person in charge needs to report his or her efforts and results to the office administrator (manager) or the doctor on a weekly basis until the system is caught up, then should report monthly.

As stated before, the recall/reactivation list needs to be worked on approximately two to four hours weekly once it’s caught up; if behind, you’ll need more time. The list should be divided into four parts of the alphabet, and each part is worked each week of the month. First, work your most current year past due, then work on the year prior. Call, set the report aside for two to three months, then call again, wait two to three months, call again and then finish two to three months later with a letter. Don’t call too much or too often or you’ll appear to be desperate.

You can continue to go back through past years and stay connected for up to five years back, by touching base once or twice a year. One-third of your patient base will only come in when something hurts or breaks. I’ve had some dentists say, “I don’t want these patients anyway. They’re not good patients.” However, these are the patients who typically need a lot of dentistry. This is where I find my full-mouth reconstruction cases. Your goal is, when something breaks or hurts, for these patients to think of your practice.

It would feel odd to contact someone you haven’t stayed in touch with for more than two years, wouldn’t it? For the longer past-due patients (who you haven’t touched base with) consider sending a letter to warm the patient up for a phone call.

If the patient is two years or more past due, this patient will, most likely, need more than a regular cleaning time. The best way to see a reactivated patient is to first schedule into the doctor’s column for an exam and X-rays (check on past due FMX) then into hygiene. If the patient is a younger, healthy patient with a clean mouth, however, and saw a dentist in the interim, he or she can be directly scheduled into hygiene.

Why bother with all of this? Consider this calculation of just two open time-slots in your schedule. If you estimate that the recall exam, X-rays and a cleaning are $200 on average, then not filling two time slots would cause a loss of $400 a day in hygiene. If you’re working 4.5 days per week, that’s $1,800 a week; with four weeks in the month (assuming vacation time during the year) that’s a loss of $7,200 per month, or $86,400 annually.

However, two-thirds of restorative comes from hygiene. The other third is from emergency patients and new patients. Statistically and conservatively, you can safely triple the hygiene loss annually and estimate the loss to the practice due to two openings in hygiene per day: $86,400 times three is $259,200 estimated lost revenues in the restorative department. If you add in the loss of hygiene, the total loss to one practice (with just two openings per day in hygiene) in a year is $345,400!

Verbal scripting is important. You never want to look needy or desperate. A systematic approach is crucial. Work from a report; document your activity; have a systematic approach. This job requires chunks of time away from the front desk; work daily in between patients and the help of others. You should consider focused, pinpoint consulting to help set this system up if you’re not certain of your current effectiveness.

If you are thinking: “I don’t have a place to put all of these people!” Wonderful: Now we should talk. Can you reorganize hygiene and make this department more effective? Another concern I commonly hear is not getting return calls. If this is a problem, evaluate the team member in charge. Is he or she excited and enthusiastic about this very important role? Second, is he or she calling during the best times? Third, does the front office have the “non-patient” time they need? And last, do you, the doctor, or office manager value this person’s efforts and energy in this task?

It is very important that your team be enthusiastic and positive about recare. With an effective recall system, you will immediately see the improvements in the operative side of the practice as well as in hygiene.
Author's Bio
Dr. Rhonda Savage began her career in dentistry as a dental assistant in 1976. After four years of chairside assisting, she took over front office duties for the next two years. She loved working with patients and decided to become a dentist. Savage graduated with a BS in biology, cum laude, from Seattle University in 1985; she then attended the University of Washington School of Dentistry, graduating in 1989 with multiple honors. Savage went on active duty as a dental officer in the U.S. Navy during Desert Shield/Desert Storm and was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal, the National Defense Medal and an Expert Pistol Medal. While in private practice for 16 years, Savage authored many peer-reviewed articles and lectured internationally. She is active in organized dentistry and has represented the State of Washington as president of the Washington State Dental Association. Savage is the CEO for Miles Global, formerly Linda L. Miles and Associates, known internationally for dental management and consulting services. She is a noted speaker who lectures on practice management, women’s health issues, periodontal disease, communication and marketing and zoo dentistry. To speak with Dr. Savage about your practice concerns or to schedule her to speak at your dental society or study club, please e-mail rhonda@milesglobal.net, or call 877-343-0909.
Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
Dentaltown Magazine September 2025 Read Current Issue Read Archived Issues
Sponsors
Townie Perks
Townie® Poll
Who or what do you turn to for most financial advice regarding your practice?
  
Site Menu
Message Boards Magazine Continuing Education Podcasts Blogs Classifieds Dental News Events Townie® Poll Ebooks Townie Choice Awards
Company Info
Contact Us Advertise With Us Howard Farran DDS, MBA Policies and Agreements
Site Help
Sally Gross, Member Services Specialist
Phone: +1-480-445-9710
Email: sally@farranmedia.com
©2025 Dentaltown, a division of Farran Media • All Rights Reserved
9633 S. 48th Street Suite 200 • Phoenix, AZ 85044 • Phone:+1-480-598-0001 • Fax:+1-480-598-3450