Liza Choa
A dental practice in Melbourne, Australia turned on DCRM SmileBridge™ on 21 August 2026.
By 31 August, 11 days later, 18 patients had booked themselves an appointment on the practice website. No phone call. No callback. No front office coordinator chasing a single one of them. 59% happened when the practice was closed!
Estimated case value of those 18 bookings: A$24,300.
What changed in 11 days
| Measure | 1 to 20 Aug · Before | 21 to 31 Aug · After |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiries | 68 | 35 |
| Booked | 43 | 28 |
| Booking rate | 63.2% | 80.0% |
| Enquiries lost to no answer | 18 | 6 |
The booking rate went from 63.2% to 80.0%. Enquiries lost because nobody answered dropped from 18 to 6.
Same practice. Same team. Same ads. The only thing that changed was how a patient books.
Frequently asked questions
What is DCRM SmileBridge?
An add-on to the DCRM SmileEngine form that writes appointments directly into a dental practice management system. The patient books a real slot from the live diary. The practice management system confirms the booking back to DCRM automatically.
Can patients book their own dental appointment online without staff involvement?
Yes, where the booking form is integrated with the practice management system. In this practice, 18 of 23 form bookings over eleven days involved no staff contact at all.
Which practice management systems can DCRM integrate with?
Any practice management system that provides API access to your account. The practice requests the key from their provider and the integration is built and tested from there.
How long does the integration take to set up?
The practice’s only task is obtaining API access from their provider. Build and testing happens after the key is handed over. We can have this live for you in as little as 7 days.
Does online self-booking reduce front office workload?
It changes what the workload is. Straightforward bookings happen without staff. The time freed up goes to enquiries that need a conversation, such as implants, cosmetic treatment and anxious patients.
Does self-booking cannibalise phone bookings?
Not in this case. Enquiries lost to no answer fell from 18 to 6, which suggests the form captured people who would otherwise have gone unanswered.
Written by
Liza Choa
Liza Choa is the founder of DCRM and Practice Growth Studio, a boutique dental marketing agency working behind the scenes with some of the most respected dental practices in Australia. She has spent over a decade helping practices grow and scale.
She built DCRM after seeing the same problem in practice after practice. The enquiries were already there, but the new patient numbers did not reflect it. DCRM bridges that gap, so practices increase the return on the marketing they are already paying for.
Disclaimer: The figures in this case study reflect the results of one dental practice over a defined period, and were taken from that practice’s DCRM account at the date stated. The practice is not identified, and identifying details have been removed or generalised. Results vary between practices and depend on factors outside the platform, including enquiry volume, treatment mix, pricing, location, team capacity and how consistently the practice follows up. These figures are not a prediction, projection or guarantee of the results any other practice will achieve. Data is reported as recorded in the platform and has not been independently audited. No patient information is disclosed.
