Hey, friends! I’m Dayna Johnson, and welcome back to The High-Performing Dental Team podcast. Today, we’re diving into the wonderful world of electronic tools for your patients—specifically, dental online booking. If you missed my recent episode with Jeff Gladnick, I highly recommend checking it out. We discussed how adding online tools, including booking widgets, to your website can streamline both patient experience and practice efficiency.
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Let’s start with a few statistics to chew on. If you’ve been hesitant to implement online booking because you think your patients won’t use it, especially older ones—think again. A recent Pew Market Research study found that 97% of Americans now own some type of cell phone, and of those, 99% are smartphones. That means nearly every patient with a phone has the ability to fill out forms, access information, and yes, book their dental appointments online.
This is where dental online booking becomes a game-changer. I hear a lot of pushback from dental practices, particularly when they have older patient populations. They assume that these patients won’t be comfortable using digital tools. But the data says otherwise! In fact, 94% of Americans over the age of 65 have smartphones. So, whether your patients are in their 20s, 50s, or 70s, they’re more than capable of using their phones to book an appointment.
Now, here’s another mind-blowing stat: 83% of patients are already familiar with online scheduling and dental online booking, and 35% say it’s a major factor in choosing their provider. That’s huge! Think about it, patients are booking everything online these days, from dinner reservations to flights, so why should their dental appointments be any different? If your practice isn’t offering online booking yet, you might be missing out on attracting new patients or retaining existing ones.
To illustrate just how impactful this can be, let me share a finding that might surprise you:
76% of patients said they would choose a dental provider that offers online forms over one that doesn’t, even if the provider is farther away.
That’s right, patients are willing to drive across town for the convenience of scheduling online! So, if you’re still operating with traditional appointment requests that involve back-and-forth phone tag with your team, you’re not just inconveniencing your patients, you’re potentially losing them to competitors who have embraced this technology.
Speaking of phone tag, let’s break down what happens with a typical appointment request versus true online booking. An appointment request requires your patients to submit a preferred time, but then your team needs to follow up, often days later, to confirm or reschedule. What if you didn’t have to do all that? With dental online booking, the patient sees your available times in real-time, selects an appointment, and it’s automatically added to your calendar. No more email exchanges or voicemails. It’s instant, efficient, and everyone’s happy!
And listen, I get it—making the switch to online booking might seem daunting at first. But I promise, once you start using it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. If I were working in a dental practice today, I’d be thrilled to have dental online booking available. Imagine the time saved when patients can book their routine check-ups or new patient exams without any back-and-forth. It frees up your front desk team to focus on more important tasks, like patient care and follow-up calls for more complex treatments.
What I recommend is starting simple. Implement online booking for regular re-care visits and new patient exams. Trust me, no one’s going to be scheduling their crown prep or implant surgery through your website, that’s not what this tool is for. But for routine appointments, this is a lifesaver.
In next week’s episode, I’ll be diving into what happens after the appointment gets booked and how automation can take things to the next level. If you’re intrigued by this whole dental online booking thing and want to learn more, don’t hesitate to reach out. You can book a call with me directly or chat with Rae, my AI bot, on my website. Let’s get your practice set up for success, and I promise you’ll never look back!
Alright, my friends, thanks for spending your time with me today. I hope you’re as excited about dental online booking as I am, and I look forward to helping you make this transition as smooth as possible.
