People don't skip appointments. They forget them.

Missed appointments are rarely a choice. Most are simply forgotten, and a forgotten appointment is a wasted chair, a patient whose care slips, and revenue you cannot get back. Reminders and recalls fix two different halves of that problem, and it helps to keep them apart.

Reminders vs recalls: two jobs, often confused

A reminder nudges a patient about an appointment they already have, a day or two before, so they turn up. A recall brings a patient back when they are due for their next check-up, on a clinically appropriate interval. One protects the appointments in your diary this week; the other keeps the diary full for the months ahead. A good system does both, automatically, so nobody at reception is working a spreadsheet of who to chase.

Channels and timing that actually work

Patients read a text far faster than an email, so DentiPoint sends reminders by email, SMS and WhatsApp, in your own branding, on a schedule you control (a typical setup is a nudge 24 hours and 2 hours before). Recalls fire on a risk-based interval in line with NICE recall-interval guidance, so a low-risk patient is not chased too often and a higher-risk one is not forgotten. Consent and opt-out are honoured throughout, which keeps you the right side of UK GDPR.

What this does to your no-show rate

Practices that automate reminders and recalls consistently report fewer DNAs and fuller books, because the reminder does the chasing and the recall does the re-booking. If you want the detail, our guide on reducing dental no-shows and DNAs walks through the numbers and the tactics, from deposits to short-notice waiting lists. Because reminders in DentiPoint are tied to the appointment in your diary, a reschedule moves the reminders with it and a cancellation stops them, so a patient is never nudged about a slot that has already changed. It is all included on every plan, at a transparent price you can check on the pricing page.