Liza Choa
Quick answer
What happens to a dental enquiry that arrives after the practice has closed?
Usually it waits until morning, and by then the patient may have moved on. At one practice, a Facebook ad enquiry arrived at 7:54pm on a Monday with the doors shut. The patient asked 1 question, got a booking link and booked themselves in by 8pm. The coordinator moved it to a longer slot the next morning.
A prospective patient came off a Facebook link at 7:54pm on a Monday evening, asked 1 question, and had booked themselves an appointment through SmileBridge™ by 8:00pm. 6 minutes and 15 seconds, nobody at the practice awake.
At 8:04 the next morning the coordinator opened it, saw the booking was in the wrong slot, and updated it.
That is not a failure of the system. That is the system doing exactly what it is supposed to do, and it is the most useful case study in this whole set.
The numbers
- From the enquiry to a self-booking
- 6minutes
- Of texting to fix it the next morning
- 21minutes
- Messages from a human, all the next morning
- 4
- Monday 14 September, 7:54pmEnquiry arrived
- 7:55pmQuestion asked, and the booking link sent
- 8:00pmSelf-booked, 6 minutes 15 seconds after the enquiry
- Tuesday 15 September, 8:04amThe coordinator opened it
- 8:25amRebooked correctly
The 6 minutes
Automatic text · 7:54pm
Hi, [name] here from [the practice]. I saw your enquiry. How can I help?
Patient · 7:55pm
Is your new patient offer still available?
Automatic text · 7:55pm
In the meantime, if you would like to book now, here is the link:
Automatic text · 8:00pm
Hi, you are all booked in with us here at [the practice]. Date: Sep 21, 2026. Time: 10:00 AM.
1 question, 1 link, 1 confirmation. Done in 6 minutes on a Monday night.
What the coordinator found at 8:04 the next morning
Tuesday 15 September
Coordinator · 8:04am
Good Morning, we are still running the New Patient package, this covers Comprehensive Exam, 2 x-rays and a Clean. But the appointment time you have booked is in an emergency spot, so it has limited time. What is the treatment you are wanting for your visit?
The 10am slot on 21 September was an emergency slot. Short, meant for someone in pain. This patient wanted a comprehensive exam, 2 x-rays and a clean, which needs a proper appointment.
The patient replied at 8:09. By 8:16 they had been offered 2:50pm the same day with a different dentist. By 8:25 it was rebooked, with the date of birth taken to finish the patient file.
Patient · 8:23am
Yes that’s fine. Can I book that in Monday the 21st at 2:50 pm? Please
In plain English
The patient clicked a Facebook ad on a Monday night and made an enquiry at 7:54pm. The practice was closed. Nobody was going to call them back until the morning.
That overnight gap is where dental leads go cold. By 8am they have slept on it, scrolled past another practice's ad, and moved on with their day. When the phone rings, it is a number they do not recognise, and they are at work or in the car.
This patient did not have to wait for opening hours. They asked 1 question, got a link, and chose their own appointment from their phone. SmileBridge™ had them booked in by 8pm, 6 minutes after they first got in touch.
That booking is what mattered. When the coordinator arrived on Tuesday, they were not chasing a lead. They were talking to a patient who had already chosen the practice.
Yes, the patient picked the wrong slot. That took 21 minutes of texting to fix. A patient who books somewhere else overnight cannot be fixed at all.
Frequently asked questions
Did the self-booking stick?
Not as made. It was rebooked the next morning to a longer slot with a different dentist, which was the right outcome.
Is a booking in the wrong slot a problem with the form?
It is a problem with which slots were open to it. The form can only offer what you release.
How long did the fix take?
21 minutes of texting, from 8:04 to 8:25 the next morning.
Do patients really book dental appointments after hours?
Yes, and it is the main reason this exists. In one Victorian practice, 59 per cent of self-bookings were made while the doors were shut, including an All-on-4 consultation at 12.52am on a Sunday.
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.
