Why Your Old Recall System is Outdated and Ineffective

The days of the routine cleaning are over. 

Practices are moving away from the outdated "Six Month Recall" system with the gimmicky recall postcard and reliance on the automated sms reminder. 

Why? Because it doesn't work as well in this day and age.

How did we get here?

In the past, we waved off patients once their treatment was complete with a "everything is fine, see you in six months!" and off they went. What we've been doing for decades is inadvertently minimising the importance of periodontal health and preventive care visits (recalls) just by treating it as routine or an afterthought. Sometimes, it's only when the disease is severe that we pay attention.

We've trained our patients and ourselves to value everything else more (for example, restorative and cosmetic dentistry). We spend a lot of time and expense on continuing education and training, patient education and marketing on all other aspects of dentistry, especially the treatment of high value. In the mean time, we have lessened the value and importance of our PC programs in the eyes of our patients. 

How do we know? 

When we look at the "Recall Success Rate" of practices (number of patients who prebook PC visits in advance and keep these appointments), this percentage is a direct reflection of the health of the practice's PC program. Personally, I have seen the recall success rate (RSR) as low as 3% but the norm ranges from 30-60%. 

For a practice with a 30% RSR, that means that only 30% of their patients value returning for their recalls. It also implies that our success rate for educating patients and communicating the importance of perio health is at best 30%. There is lots of room for improvement!

At front desk, we should be very concerned about the other 70% who did not schedule. 

This now requires additional time, effort and expense by the FDC to chase up and encourage patients to come back when they're due. For most practices, it's an endless cycle and the overdue recall lists get longer and longer.

The old recall system is broken. Accepting this will save you a lot of heartache! 

Changing our mindset and refocusing on individualised periodontal health management is the only way to build a robust hygiene and preventive care department in your practice. 

It's a team effort and the FDC has a strategic role to fulfil.

Would you like to learn more about the FDC's role in building a successful preventive care and hygiene program in your practice?

You can! Module 8 Preventive Care (Recall) and Hygiene Protocols is coming soon (mid-Jan 2022)