How Dentists Measure Case Acceptance
Dental case acceptance is the share of presented treatment the patient accepted, counted in the same week with the same fee rule.
Dental case acceptance is the share of presented treatment the patient accepted, counted in the same week and with the same fee rule. It matters because a practice cannot tell whether the consult worked until presented dollars and accepted dollars are written down. Follow-up on treatment that was never scheduled is a later list. This guide explains what to count as presented and accepted, how to split accepted visits that are already booked from those that are not, which visit types stay out of the general rate, and how to read a labeled week before changing the presentation.
Dental Case Acceptance Counts What Was Presented and Accepted
Dental case acceptance starts when a dentist or treatment coordinator presents a plan and records the fee the patient was shown. The outcome is a yes, a no, or a “not now” attached to that presented amount. A feeling that “people are saying yes” is not the rate. The rate is accepted dollars divided by presented dollars for one defined week.
Count a plan as presented only when the patient heard the recommendation and saw the fee. A note in the chart that nobody reviewed with the patient is not a presentation. Count it as accepted when the patient agrees to the presented care, whether or not a visit is on the book yet. The scheduling step is the next column, not a substitute for acceptance.
Use the same week and the same fee rule
Pick one week as the unit, such as Monday through Sunday, and do not mix last month’s presentations into this week’s rate. Use the fee that was shown to the patient, not a later adjustment and not a production number from a visit that already happened. If the practice discounts at the desk, record the fee after that discount so the accepted amount matches what the patient agreed to pay.
Write the rule in one sentence the coordinator can repeat: “Presented is the fee reviewed with the patient this week. Accepted is the portion the patient agreed to.” Dental case acceptance breaks when one office uses the full plan fee and another uses only the visit that was booked the same day.
Name one owner for the presented-treatment log
One person owns the presented-treatment log at each location, often the treatment coordinator, with a backup for days off. The dentist presents the care. The owner writes presented, accepted, and scheduled before the week closes. A multi-location group uses the same fee rule at every office so a roll-up does not compare different definitions.
Split Accepted-and-Scheduled From Accepted-and-Unscheduled
Acceptance and a booked visit are different events. A patient can accept a crown and leave without a time. That case is accepted and unscheduled. A patient who accepts and leaves with a reserved appointment is accepted and scheduled. Dental case acceptance includes both. The schedule rate is a second number.
The follow-up list for accepted care that has no appointment is unscheduled dental treatment. Work that list after the week’s acceptance numbers are closed. Do not wait for follow-up to decide whether the presentation counted. If the call never reaches a presentation, it is not case acceptance. Why dental leads don’t book covers inquiries that stop before a plan is shown.
A workable close of the consult:
- State the care and the fee the patient just heard.
- Mark accepted, declined, or deferred, and the dollar amount for each.
- If accepted, offer two real times before the patient leaves.
- If the patient cannot book, the record gets a dated follow-up, and the amount stays in accepted-and-unscheduled.
Deferred is not a silent yes. If the patient says they need to talk with a spouse, record deferred and the amount still open. Move it to accepted only when they agree.
Keep Hygiene, Emergency, and Specialty Consults in Their Own Columns
A general dental case acceptance rate should describe treatment plans presented in the general practice: fillings, crowns, and other care the dentist recommended at that visit. It should not absorb every appointment on the book.
Leave these out of the general rate:
- Hygiene visits with no treatment plan presented
- Same-day emergency visits that only solve the day’s pain, unless a separate plan was presented and priced
- Specialty consults that belong to another schedule, such as a periodontal consult
Periodontist marketing shows why a specialty consult needs its own column. A general office that refers that patient out should not also count the periodontist’s fee as its own accepted treatment. If the general dentist presents a plan and the patient accepts part of it, count only the part that was accepted at that presentation.
Same-day treatment the patient accepts and starts can sit in accepted-and-scheduled. The fee is still the fee they were shown. Do not add a second “accepted” when the visit is completed. Completion is production. Acceptance already happened.
Read a Labeled Week Before You Change the Presentation
Dental case acceptance improves when the owner reads one week with the rule held still. The numbers below are an example, not a benchmark, and they are not a target rate.
Assume one general practice, one week:
- Presented: $20,000 across 25 plans
- Accepted: $12,000
- Of the accepted amount, scheduled before the patient left: $8,000
- Accepted and still unscheduled: $4,000
- Declined: $5,000
- Deferred: $3,000
Example dental case acceptance is $12,000 ÷ $20,000 = 60%. Example scheduled-from-accepted is $8,000 ÷ $12,000 ≈ 67%. The $4,000 still unscheduled is the follow-up list, not a failure of the acceptance math. Declined and deferred stay out of the accepted numerator. Use the practice’s own fees and plan counts. How to calculate cost per booked dental patient is a different ratio: marketing spend divided by new patients booked. Do not divide ad spend by accepted treatment and call that case acceptance.
If the accepted share falls, look at the presentation and the fee the patient saw. If acceptance holds and scheduling falls, look at whether the desk offered real times. Change one of those steps, then read the next week with the same rule.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does dental case acceptance include?
Dental case acceptance is the accepted dollar amount divided by the presented dollar amount for plans the patient actually heard. It includes accepted care that is already scheduled and accepted care that still needs an appointment. It does not include a chart note nobody reviewed, a hygiene visit with no plan, or a specialty fee presented in another office.
Does a verbal yes count as dental case acceptance?
Yes, if the patient agreed to the care and the fee that were just presented, and the coordinator records the amount. The yes does not require a reserved appointment. If they need more time, record the amount as deferred until they agree. A verbal yes with no dollar amount cannot be used in the rate.
How is dental case acceptance different from unscheduled treatment?
Dental case acceptance measures what was presented and what the patient accepted in a defined week. Unscheduled treatment is the later list of accepted care that has no appointment. A practice can have a high acceptance rate and a long unscheduled list if checkout never offers a time. Close the acceptance numbers first, then work that list.
How often should a practice review dental case acceptance?
Review the presented, accepted, and scheduled amounts every week, using the same fee rule. A monthly total is a second view, built by adding the weeks. Recalculate in the same week the practice changes the presentation, the discount rule, or who owns the log. Do not adopt another office’s percentage as a target.
Close the Week’s Numbers, Then Follow Up
Dental case acceptance is usable when every presented plan has a fee, an accepted or declined or deferred mark, and a scheduled amount that is separate from acceptance. One person owns the log. Hygiene, emergencies, and specialty consults stay in their own columns. Read the week before changing the consult.
Top Dentistry’s marketing ROI calculator can place that week’s accepted treatment next to marketing spend once the acceptance numbers are real. The rate itself still has to be counted in the practice first.