Don’t Chase New Patients Until You’ve Fixed THIS Inside Your Practice

 Every dental office wants new patients walking through the door. But here’s the truth: before you spend time, energy, and money chasing new patients, you need to make sure your current ones are happy and sticking around.

Why? Because if patients aren’t returning—or worse, leaving your practice—it doesn’t matter how many new patients you attract. The leaky bucket effect is real. You pour more in, but they keep dripping out.

The good news? Improving retention doesn’t always require a massive overhaul. Many times, it’s the simple, overlooked steps that make the biggest difference.

1. Ask About Their Family

Your patients have families who are likely patients of yours too. A quick prep of charts in the morning huddle will allow you to ask a question like, “How has your husband been lately? We haven’t seen him in awhile” is not only a reminder but shows you care about their family’s overall health. This small step could lead to a reactivated patient or extra appointments added to the schedule.

2. Schedule Before They Leave

One of the easiest ways to reduce cancellations and overdue patients is to make sure appointments are booked before the patient leaves the office. Don’t rely on them to call back. If a patient does leave without scheduling have a follow up system in place to ensure you don’t lose the next appointment. 

3. Build a Solid Hygiene Recare System

Your hygiene department is the backbone of retention. Without a strong recare system, patients slip through the cracks, treatment opportunities are missed, and production takes a hit. Whether you’re using automated reminders, personal phone calls, or both, make sure there’s a clear, consistent process for keeping patients on track with their preventive care appointments, and that you are consistent with that process even when your schedule is full! You’re hygiene department should be bringing in 33% of the monthly production. Simple mistakes can easily drop these numbers. 

4. Follow Up on Treatment

When a patient leaves with recommended treatment unscheduled, that’s a missed opportunity. A strong follow-up system ensures no patient falls through the cracks, and emphasizes that their treatment you have recommended is important. Get to the bottom of why patients have not scheduled treatment, which is typically -fear, finances, or not understanding the importance of treatment. Once you figure it out, help them to overcome their objection. 

5. Find Out Why They’re Leaving

If a patient does leave your practice, don’t just let them walk away quietly. Ask—kindly and professionally—what made them decide to go elsewhere. Was it scheduling difficulties? Cost concerns? Feedback is powerful, and it gives you the chance to improve before more patients follow the same path.

6. Use the Right Verbiage

Clear communication builds trust. If patients don’t fully understand their treatment needs, financial options, or even the importance of recare, they’re less likely to say “yes.” Focus on simplifying your language and using phrases that connect with patients instead of overwhelming them with clinical jargon. Instead of asking open ended questions that confuse patients, always lead the conversation by offering two options at a time only. 

7. Focus on the Experience

Patient experience is everything. A warm greeting, a smooth check-in, clear communication about costs, proper billing and respect for their time are often more important than patients realize—until they don’t get it. The small touches (a friendly smile, remembering their name, offering comfort during treatment) are what keep people coming back.

Bottom line: Before investing heavily in marketing for new patients, look inside your practice. Fixing retention, strengthening your hygiene recare and treatment follow-up systems, choosing the right verbiage, and elevating the patient experience means your new patients will stay, refer their friends and family, and become the loyal foundation your practice can build on.

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