Every missed appointment is an empty chair earning nothing. Your agent knows which ones will be empty before they are.
DNA (Did Not Attend) rates in dental practices run between 5% and 15% — and in some urban practices, over 20%. Each missed appointment costs £50–200 in lost chair time, depending on the treatment scheduled. Simple SMS reminders help but don't differentiate between a routine checkup (low DNA risk) and a root canal treatment (high DNA risk) or a Monday morning appointment (moderate risk) versus a Friday afternoon (high risk). Your DNA agent goes beyond reminders by scoring each appointment's no-show risk based on patient history, treatment type, timing, and patterns — then deploys escalating interventions for high-risk slots while leaving low-risk appointments alone.
What Your Agent Actually Does
Your agent predicts which appointments are most likely to be missed and takes targeted action — so your chair stays occupied and your revenue stays on track.
Scores each appointment for DNA risk
Patient DNA'd their last two appointments? Root canal booked at 4:30pm on a Friday? First visit after a long gap? Your agent scores each appointment based on historical patterns and known risk factors, flagging the high-risk ones for extra attention.
Deploys escalating interventions
Low-risk appointment: standard reminder. Medium-risk: personalised message with warm, specific language. High-risk: phone call task for reception, plus overbooking logic to protect the slot. The level of intervention matches the level of risk.
Learns practice-specific patterns
Every practice has different DNA patterns — some see higher DNAs on certain days, for certain treatments, or in certain patient demographics. Your agent learns your practice's specific patterns over time, improving its predictions as data accumulates.
Manages short-notice cancellation lists
When a cancellation does happen, your agent contacts patients from the short-notice list — prioritised by treatment need and likelihood of accepting — to fill the gap before the appointment time arrives.
Reports on DNA trends and financial impact
Monthly DNA reporting: rate by clinician, by day, by treatment type, with estimated revenue impact. You can see where the problem is worst and whether interventions are working.
The real numbers.
| Basic SMS reminder service | £500–£1,200/year |
| Lost chair time from DNAs (at 10% rate) | £5,000–£15,000/year |
| Receptionist time calling patients manually | £1,000–£3,000/year |
| Realistic annual cost | £5,000–£15,000 |
| Agent build (one-off, configured to your practice data) | £3,000–£5,000 |
| Monthly running costs (hosting + AI usage + messaging) | £120–£200/month |
| Realistic first-year total | £4,440–£7,400 |
A 2-3 percentage point reduction in DNA rate typically recovers £5,000–15,000 per year in chair time that would otherwise be lost. For most practices, the agent pays for itself within the first few months.
The key insight is that not all appointments carry the same risk. Treating every appointment the same — one reminder text — wastes effort on low-risk appointments and doesn't do enough for high-risk ones. Your agent targets effort where it matters.
Good fit / not a fit.
This works brilliantly for:
- Any dental practice with DNA rates above 5%
- Practices in urban areas where DNA rates tend to be higher
- Practices currently using basic SMS reminders with limited effect
- Practices offering high-value treatments where a DNA is particularly costly
This probably isn't for you if:
- Your DNA rate is already below 3% and you're happy with your current reminder system
- Your practice is very small with few daily appointments and manual calling works fine
- You have a dedicated patient liaison team managing attendance
Let's talk.
We'll start with your current DNA rate (if you know it), your reminder system, and what a typical day looks like in terms of missed appointments. Usually a 10-minute conversation.
hello@nimblecroft.com