Patient no shows and cancellations made less than 24 hours prior to an appointment are the greatest hindrances to scheduling for DSO and non-DSO affiliated dental practices, according to data from the American Dental Association's monthly "Economic Outlook and Emerging Issues in Dentistry" report.
The surveys in the report were conducted the week of October 17. The responses come from 1,170 dentists working in private practices. Read more about the methodology here.
How full DSO affiliated dental practices' appointment schedules were for each respective month:
January: 78.5 percent
February: 87 percent
March: 90.1 percent
April: 90.7 percent
May: 86.8 percent
June: 87.4 percent
July: 85.3 percent
August: 86.7 percent
September: 90.3 percent
October: 81.8 percent
Factors preventing DSO affiliated dental practices' appointment schedules from reaching full capacity:
Trouble filling vacant staff positions: 39.6 percent
Not enough patients making appointments: 41.7 percent
COVID safety protocols: 4.2 percent
Patient no shows/cancellations made less than 24 hours prior: 81.3 percent
Patient cancellations made within 24 hours or more prior: 41.7 percent
Other: 8.3 percent
How full non-DSO affiliated dental practices' appointment schedules were for each respective month:
January: 76.6 percent
February: 83.3 percent
March: 87.6 percent
April: 86.7 percent
May: 86.2 percent
June: 85.9 percent
July: 84.9 percent
August: 86.2 percent
September: 85.8 percent
October: 83.4 percent
Factors preventing non-DSO affiliated dental practices' appointment schedules from reaching full capacity:
Trouble filling vacant staff positions: 31 percent
Not enough patients making appointments: 46.6 percent
COVID safety protocols: 8.4 percent
Patient no shows/cancellations made less than 24 hours prior: 81.9 percent
Patient cancellations made within 24 hours or more prior: 42.3 percent
Other: 6.1 percent