How the numbers are worked out
The calculator only multiplies what you enter, so you can check every figure yourself.
- Missed visits a month = appointments per day × working days × no-show rate.
- Revenue lost = missed visits × average revenue per visit. The yearly figure is the monthly one × 12.
- Empty chair time = missed visits × average visit length.
It assumes a missed slot is not refilled. If you usually fill some of them at short notice, enter a lower no-show rate to match.
How to find your no-show rate
- Take the last 30 days of appointments and count how many were booked.
- Count how many patients did not come, or cancelled too late for you to refill the slot.
- Divide the second number by the first and multiply by 100.
If you do not track this yet, start now: mark every missed visit as a no-show in your schedule for two weeks, and you will have a real number. (Odontra’s schedule has a No-show status for exactly this.)
Common ways clinics reduce no-shows
- Send a reminder the day before and ask the patient to reply to confirm.
- Make it easy to reschedule: “reply with a better time” works better than “call us”.
- Keep a short list of patients who would take an earlier slot, so a cancellation can be refilled the same day.
- Note repeat no-shows and talk to those patients about their preferred days and times.
- For long or expensive procedures, decide whether a booking commitment suits your clinic and your patients.
How much any of this helps differs from clinic to clinic, which is why the what-if slider is yours to set.
Where Odontra fits
Odontra can send the reminders for you on WhatsApp. Each automatic message has its own off switch, goes out only in the clinic’s hours and respects patients who opted out. See the AI Front Desk and our guide to WhatsApp for dental clinics.