No-show cost calculator for dental and medical offices

Put in your own numbers to see what no-shows cost each year, what reminders and waitlist backfill could win back, and whether a reminder tool pays for itself.

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How the math works

• Missed appointments = appointments per week × weeks open × no-show rate.
• Revenue lost = missed appointments × average revenue per appointment. This is gross revenue; some costs (supplies, lab fees) aren't spent when a patient doesn't come, so your true loss is somewhat lower.
• Recovered = missed × % prevented by reminders, plus the remaining missed × % refilled from a waitlist.
• Net gain = recovered revenue − 12 months of tool cost. Staff time saved on confirmation calls is a bonus and isn't counted.

The defaults are examples, not benchmarks for your practice. The Cochrane authors rate their evidence low to moderate quality, and results vary by patient population, so measure your own rate before and after.

Next steps

• AI appointment reminders for dental and medical offices: ranked tools, plus the HIPAA and texting rules to settle first
• Weave vs NexHealth: pricing and AI features side by side
• AI scheduling and phones for dental offices
• AI time-savings ROI calculator

Sources

1. Dantas et al., "No-shows in appointment scheduling: a systematic literature review," Health Policy, 2018 (average no-show rate across 105 studies: 23.0%)
2. Cochrane review: mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments (8 trials, 6,615 participants)
3. Weave pricing (checked Oct 20, 2026)
4. Open Dental fees

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