Dental appointment reminder messages: a template for every visit type

Dental appointment reminder messages work when they are short and ask the patient for one thing. This guide gives you a template for every visit type in a dental clinic: copy it, replace the text in square brackets and send it from your clinic's WhatsApp number.

Reminders are worth the effort. A 2013 Cochrane systematic review found that text-message reminders raise attendance compared with no reminder, work as well as phone-call reminders, and cost less per attended appointment than calls in the two studies that measured cost (Cochrane review of appointment reminder messages).

Every message names the patient and the clinic and asks for one thing; reminders also give the day, date and time. Clinical instructions come from the treating dentist for each patient; these messages handle the logistics only.

First-visit booking confirmation

Send it as soon as the visit is booked. A new patient does not know where you are or what to bring, and the message answers both.

Hi [patient name], your first appointment at [clinic name] is booked for [day] [date] at [time] with Dr [dentist name]. Find us here: [map link]. Please bring your insurance card if you have one, and any previous dental X-rays. To change the time, reply to this message.

Reminder before a long orthodontic or implant session

A long session holds the chair for an hour or more, and a gap that size is hard to fill on the day. Send the reminder the day before, say how long the session takes and ask for a clear reply.

Hi [patient name], a reminder of your session at [clinic name] tomorrow, [day], at [time]. It takes about [duration], and we have set the whole time aside for you. If you cannot make it, please tell us today so we can offer the slot to someone who is waiting. Reply 1 to confirm or 2 to change the time.

Deposits also help with long sessions; see how booking deposits reduce cancellations.

Check-up recall reminder

Skip the blanket "every six months". NICE guidance asks the dentist to set each patient's interval between check-ups by need: no shorter than 3 months, and up to 12 months for under-18s or 24 months for adults (NICE guideline on dental recall intervals). So the message points to the check-up the dentist recommended, not a fixed six months.

Hi [patient name], it is time for the check-up Dr [dentist name] recommended after your visit in [month of last visit]. Pick a time that suits you here: [booking link], or reply and we will book it for you.

Send it at the start of the month it falls due. If there is no reply, send one more reminder a week later, then stop.

Message after an extraction

Send it on the evening of the extraction. It tells the patient where the aftercare instructions are and whom to call, and the instructions themselves stay exactly as the dentist wrote them.

Hi [patient name], we hope you are comfortable after your visit to [clinic name] today. The aftercare instructions Dr [dentist name] gave you are on the sheet you took home [or: at this link]. If you have a question or anything worries you, call us on [clinic phone].

Rebooking a missed appointment without embarrassing the patient

Send it on the same day, once the appointment time has passed. It carries no blame and offers two ready times, so the patient only has to choose.

Hi [patient name], we missed you at your [time] appointment today and hope all is well. Would you like a new appointment? Our next free times are [first option] or [second option].

If the same patient keeps missing visits, agree on one rule the whole team applies. Our clinic no-show and cancellation policy template is ready to adapt.

When to send each message

To choose the hour, read the best time to send appointment reminders.

If your clinic runs on Clinic Tek, it sends a WhatsApp confirmation when a visit is booked and a reminder the day before with buttons to confirm, cancel or reschedule. The patient's answer shows on the schedule straight away. See WhatsApp appointment reminders for clinics and Clinic Tek dental clinic software, and send the other messages in this guide from your clinic's number. The Clinic Tek pricing and free trial page lists what the plan includes.