Liza Choa
Quick answer
How fast should a dental practice call back a web enquiry?
While the patient is still interested. At one practice, DCRM rang the front desk and then the patient 5 minutes after an Invisalign pop-up form landed. The $7,000 case was booked 12 minutes 52 seconds after the form. The patient worked shifts, and 8:20 in the morning was the window they had.
A$7,000 of orthodontic work, booked 12 minutes and 52 seconds after a pop-up form was filled in on a Wednesday morning.
I have the full call recording for this one, and the most interesting thing in it is a sentence the patient says about shift work.
The numbers
Every step below is stamped on the enquiry’s card in the SmileEngine™ Pipeline.
- From the pop-up form to a booking
- 12minutes
- Until the automatic SMS went out
- 12seconds
- On the phone, roughly
- 4minutes
- Case value
- $7,000
- 8:20amPop-up form submitted, on the practice’s Invisalign page
- 8:21amAutomatic SMS sent, 12 seconds later
- 8:26amThe practice rang
- 8:33amBooked, after a call of roughly 4 minutes
The treatment was orthodontic: Invisalign.
What they wrote, and then what they said
The form, on the practice’s Invisalign page, at 8:20am:
Pop-up form · 8:20am
I would like to discuss possibly starting Invisalign treatment
“Possibly”. This is somebody who has not decided.
12 seconds later an SMS went out saying a call was coming, with a short video about the practice behind it. At 8:26am, DCRM called both the front desk and the patient, and connected the call, and this is the conversation:
Patient, on the call
I know a bit, but it’s most time I’ve actually looked into it.
I do shift work, so it’s just really working around when you guys are available.
Thursday would be great, please.
Do you have any time, like, midmorning?
Amazing. That’s perfect.
4 minutes, start to finish. A first week of August consultation, mid-morning on the Thursday, with the health fund and the date of birth taken on the same call.
In plain English
This patient wrote “possibly”. They had not made up their mind.
That is the most fragile moment in any enquiry. The interest is real, but it fades fast. An hour later, they are back at work. By the afternoon, the thought has gone. By the next day, they may have booked somewhere else, or not at all.
Now… at most practices, a web form sits in an inbox until someone gets to it. Between patients, or after lunch. That is not a team problem. The front desk is busy looking after the people already in the practice.
This is where CallBridge™ did its job. Nobody had to notice the form. At 8:26am, DCRM rang the front desk. The moment the coordinator picked up, it rang the patient and joined the 2 calls together.
So the coordinator did not have to find the enquiry, look up a number or dial. They picked up the phone and the patient was on the other end. Still interested. Still thinking about Invisalign.
That is speed to lead. Not a faster inbox. A conversation, 6 minutes after the enquiry, while the patient still cares.
From there, it was all people. The coordinator answered the questions, found a mid-morning Thursday that suited, and took the health fund and date of birth on the same call.
The automation is there to cover off speed. Your team is there for the relationship and to build trust. They complement each other beautifully.
Frequently asked questions
How does the automatic call work?
CallBridge is part of the SmileEngine™ Pipeline. When a website enquiry comes in, it rings your front desk. When your team picks up, it rings the patient and connects the 2 calls. Your team never has to find the enquiry or dial a number.
How long between the web form and the call?
5 minutes and 19 seconds. A text went out 12 seconds after the form, letting the patient know a call was coming.
Does the automatic call replace the front desk?
No. The automation is there to cover off speed. Your team is there to talk to the patient, building relationships and trust.
Did the booking hold?
The consultation was booked, then rescheduled twice in August, once because the patient had the time wrong. Both reschedules were handled on the phone.
Where does the $7,000 come from?
It is the value of the orthodontic case, not a price quoted on the call. The coordinator said costs would be covered at the consultation.
Do we need call recording for this to work?
No, but without it you lose the detail. “I do shift work” is the most useful thing anyone said and it only exists because the call was recorded.
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.
