Dental No Show Cost Calculator
This dental no show cost calculator estimates the production your practice puts at risk each year when patients miss appointments without notice, and what steady confirmation calls could win back. Every starting value is an example, so replace each one with your own numbers.
Your schedule
Every starting value here is an example. Replace each one with your own numbers from your practice management reports.
Enter 4 to 200.
Enter 1 to 7.
Share of booked visits missed without notice. An example; use your own number.
Enter 0 to 50.
An example; use your own figure across hygiene and doctor visits.
Enter $0 to $5,000.
Adjust assumptions
Enter 1 to 52.
Share of would be no shows who keep or rebook their visit after a live call. An example; no published figure fits every practice.
Enter 0 to 100.
Hours of a DentalCareWorks assistant at $10 an hour.
Enter 1 to 40.
DentalCareWorks is $10 an hour, with no long term contract and no setup fees. Your practice pays no payroll taxes or benefits on the assistant.
Production at risk from no shows each year
$153,600
614 missed visits a year
Where that production goes
- Won back 25%
- Still missed 75%
- Won back per year
- $38,400
- Visits kept per year
- 154
- Assistant per year
- $5,200
- Net gain per year
- $33,200
An estimate for planning, not a quote. Every input is an example until you replace it with your own numbers.
Where these numbers come from
- Every input is an example. No published no show rate or production figure fits every dental practice, so this calculator starts from round example numbers. Your practice management software reports your own broken appointment rate and production per visit.
- No shows kept. The share of would be no shows who keep or rebook their visit after a live confirmation call depends on your patients and how early the calls start. Start low and adjust once you have a few weeks of your own results.
- How it adds up. Missed visits: appointments a day × days a week × weeks a year × no show rate. Production at risk: missed visits × production per visit. Won back: production at risk × share kept. Assistant: hours a week × 52 weeks × $10. Net: won back minus the assistant.
Why the starting values are examples
No single published no show rate fits dental practices. Rates swing with the patient mix, the type of visit, insurance, the day of the week and how the office confirms. Production per visit varies even more between a hygiene check and a crown seat.
So this calculator starts from round example numbers and asks you to replace them. Your practice management software already tracks broken appointments and production, and a month of those reports gives you a far better estimate than any national figure.
- Use your broken appointment report for the no show rate
- Use production per visit, not fees, across hygiene and doctor visits
- Count only missed visits without notice; late cancellations you refill are not lost
- Start the share kept low and raise it once you have your own results
What confirmation calls change
Automated texts remind patients. A live call does something different: it reaches the patient who ignores texts, hears that they cannot make it, and rebooks them on the spot or fills the slot from your ASAP list.
Earlier warning
Calls two business days ahead turn a silent no show into a cancellation you still have time to fill.
Rebooked, not lost
A patient who cannot come Tuesday can usually be moved to Thursday while still on the phone.
Filled openings
Every opening found early goes to a patient waiting for a sooner visit, from your ASAP or unscheduled treatment list.
No show cost questions
How do I find my practice's no show rate?
Run your practice management software's broken or missed appointment report for the last few months and divide missed visits by booked visits. Count only visits missed without notice.
Should I use fees or production per visit?
Use average production per visit, across hygiene and doctor appointments. It reflects what an empty chair actually costs your schedule better than a fee schedule does.
How many hours of confirmation calls does a practice need?
It depends on how many appointments you book and how many patients answer on the first try. Start with the hours your team spends on confirmations today, then adjust the field under Adjust assumptions.
Can a virtual assistant make confirmation calls?
Yes. A DentalCareWorks assistant works your schedule from your own practice software and phones, confirms appointments, rebooks patients who cannot come and fills openings. See dental scheduling and recall.
Talk with us about your front desk and back office
A short discovery call to map the work your team wants off its plate, and how a dental virtual assistant would handle it.