Your Scheduling Numbers Don’t Lie

These three metrics will motivate you to take control of your schedule with the goal of improving your financial health. 

As a dentist and practice owner, you wear many hats—clinician, leader, and entrepreneur. Your biggest financial concern is often ensuring that the practice is not only busy but also profitable. You worry about covering overhead, investing in new technology, and creating a secure future for yourself and your team. The truth is, the key to solving these financial worries lies not just in seeing more patients, but in understanding how effectively your practice operates. The secret is in the numbers.

In the last year, ACT Dental’s founder, Kirk Behrendt, has had in-depth conversations on the Best Practices Show podcast with Miranda Beeson, ACT Dental’s Director of Education and an incredible dental coach. She explained three critical metrics that can help you take control of your practice's financial health.

Three Key Metrics

1. Capacity Percentage 

Capacity percentage measures how much of your available clinical time is actually being used for patient care. It’s a direct measure of whether you're getting the most out of your staff, equipment, and facility — your biggest investments.

The industry benchmark for a healthy practice is 94% or higher. When this number is low, it’s not just a few missed appointments; it's a significant drain on your profit margin. It means you're paying for staff and resources that aren't generating revenue, which directly impacts your bottom line.

2. Recapture Percentage 

We've all dealt with cancellations, but how many of those patients actually reschedule? This is where another metric, recapture percentage, comes in. This metric measures the percentage of canceled appointments that are rescheduled immediately, which can prevent a costly patient from falling out of your system.

The benchmark for a strong practice is 70-80% recapture or higher. A low recapture rate (40% or 50%) is a major threat to your profitability. It leads to a shrinking active patient base, meaning you're losing the patients you worked so hard to acquire.

3. Cancellation and No-Show Percentage 

A cancellation isn't just an empty chair; it's negative profit. This metric measures the percentage of scheduled appointments that were canceled or missed, particularly short-notice changes (within 48 business hours). These are the most damaging to your schedule because they are hard to recover from, turning a productive time slot into a complete financial loss.

A healthy benchmark is less than 10%, with high-performing practices aiming for 5-7%. A high cancellation rate creates an unpredictable schedule that makes it impossible to consistently meet production goals. This inconsistency directly impacts your profitability, causing stress and financial strain.

A Plan to Take Control of Your Profitability

If you're feeling anxious about your practice's financial health, the above metrics are the first place to look. Kirk Behrendt, founder of ACT Dental, and Miranda Beeson recommend this plan of action:

Find Your Numbers: The first step is to calculate your practice's capacity, recapture, and cancellation percentages. Dentrix and Eaglesoft are examples of practice management solutions that can measure scheduling performance. Become familiar with and optimize the data-capturing functions of your practice management solution (PMS), so you can track the three key metrics at a glance and make data-driven decisions.

Implement Ideal-Day Scheduling: Are you currently using a strategic scheduling system? Implementing ideal-day or block scheduling helps protect high-value time and keeps your schedule running smoothly. Ideal-day and block scheduling are great topics to discuss within your Smile Source small groups, study clubs, and with your mentors. What is your ideal day? What untapped scheduling features of your PMS should you use? Has the ideal schedule you previously discussed with your team drifted into non-ideal territory? What returns have the colleagues in your support groups experienced by going to block scheduling? (The returns are real. You may be surprised by how large they are and be more motivated to change your scheduling.) How many of your colleagues have implemented online scheduling? How has that worked for them? 

“Complacency is the forerunner of mediocrity. You can never work too hard on attitude, effort, and technique.”
~ The legendary basketball coach Don Meyer

Appoint a Schedule Owner: Designate a team member to proactively review the schedule 48 to 72 hours in advance. Their job is to be like a "dog on a bone," working tirelessly to fill any gaps using priority lists and follow-up systems.

Align Your Verbal Skills: Your team's language matters. Create a loose script for your front office team to handle cancellations. For example, instead of "call us back when you feel better," try, "I'm so sorry you aren't feeling well. How about we move your appointment about four weeks out to give you time to recover? Do you prefer a Tuesday or a Thursday?" This simple shift reinforces value and encourages immediate rescheduling.

Use Proactive Reminders: If a patient doesn’t respond to your automated confirmation message, you should be proactive, not passive. Call personally to confirm, but instead of leaving a voice message that leaves the door open for a cancellation, say, "I really need you to give me a call regarding your upcoming appointment. I look forward to hearing from you soon." This urgency often prompts a quicker callback and allows you to confirm the appointment or schedule another patient in the appointment slot if needed.

From Anxiety and Complacency to Confidence and Control

If you're currently feeling the pressure of a lackluster schedule or have become complacent with an "it is what it is" mindset, know that you have the power to change it. Your financial health isn't determined by luck; it's a direct result of your focus and effort. By shifting your attention from "just being busy" to mastering these three critical metrics—Capacity, Recapture, and Cancellation Percentage—you can transform your practice.

The path is clear: find your numbers, implement ideal-day scheduling, appoint a schedule owner, align your team's verbal skills, and use proactive reminders. This isn't just about filling chairs; it's about building a predictable, profitable, and stress-free practice. It's about securing your future as an entrepreneur and a leader of your practice.

More Resources:

To hear full conversations and gain even more in-depth strategies for optimizing your scheduling, raising your capacity percentage, and improving your practice’s financial health, we invite you to listen to these Best Practices Show podcast episodes with Miranda Beeson:

#916 - Miranda Beeson - Metric Mondays: Capacity Percentage - Best Practices Show Podcast

#919 - Miranda Beeson - Metric Mondays: Cancellation/No-Show Percentage - Best Practices Show Podcast

#922 - Miranda Beeson - Metric Mondays: Recaptured Percentage - Best Practices Show Podcast