The Silent Deal-Breaker in Your Practice

Table of Contents

• The Real Cost of Friction
• Contact Forms Aren’t Cutting It
• What Frictionless Scheduling Feels Like
• Why Your Team Will Thank You
• Online Scheduling for Dentists and the ROI of Convenience
• What Makes Our Scheduler Different
• Getting Started Is Easier Than You Think
• FAQ

The Real Cost of Friction

In dental marketing, friction is anything that makes it harder for a patient to book an appointment. It shows up in all sorts of sneaky ways:

• That “Call us during office hours” message on your website.
• Long intake forms just to request a time.
• The dreaded “We’ll call you back to confirm.”
• Or worst of all… getting put on hold to the tune of “Careless Whisper.”

Every one of those moments creates a place where a potential patient can (and often does) bail. A drop-off point. In fact, nearly 1 in 5 people abandon the booking process if it feels like too much work or takes too long. And guess what? Most of those people never come back.

Now multiply that by how many visitors land on your site each month. Ouch. Most of those would-be patients aren’t rejecting your actual service; they’re rejecting inconvenience.

They order dinner, groceries, and dog food from their phone. They expect to schedule you the same way. So when booking a teeth cleaning feels more complicated than ordering a pizza, your practice starts to look… well, a little behind the times. The truth is, people expect 24/7 access to everything.

64% of appointments are booked outside standard office hours. That means more than half your potential bookings are happening while your lights are off and your team’s at home in pajamas. So the moral of this story is that friction costs you clicks, reputation, and butts in chairs. The solution isn’t complicated, though! You just have to meet people where they are, which is online, on their time, and on their phones. Probably in between scrolling viral TikTok videos.

Contact Forms Aren’t Cutting It

Let’s play a quick game called “When Was the Last Time You Enjoyed Filling Out a Contact Form?”

We’re really good at this game, so we’ll go first and guess. Is the answer “never”? Yeah, it’s never.

Nobody gets excited about typing their name, phone number, and “reason for visit” into a digital abyss, then waiting for a mystery call that may or may not happen tomorrow. Contact forms used to feel “modern.” Now they feel like digital carrier pigeons.

The reality is that contact forms are where patient interest goes to die. Someone fills it out, hits submit, and immediately moves on with their day. Meanwhile, you’re left trying to chase them down during office hours while they’re in a meeting, juggling kids, or just plain don’t remember their submission.

All that delay is friction. (You can probably tell by now that this is our vocabulary word for the day.)

People don’t want to “request” an appointment. They want to book one instantly. That means tapping a time that fits, hitting confirm, and getting a “You’re all set!” message without a single phone call or even scheduling email.

When you replace that old-school “request an appointment” button with real-time online booking, you’re removing a wall between you and your next new patient.

What Frictionless Scheduling Feels Like

Frictionless scheduling is simple, fast, and delightfully boring in the best possible way. Because the less time people spend figuring out how to see you, the faster they actually see you. (It took us a while to come up with that little nugget of wisdom, and it’s pretty good, right?)

Here’s what it looks like in action:

Real-time availability — no double-booking, no awkward “sorry, that time’s taken” calls.

Instant confirmation — patients know right away that they’re in.

Mobile-first design — perfect for the 80% of people searching for dentists on their phones.

No logins or downloads — just tap, pick, and confirm.

24/7 access — your website doesn’t need to sleep, even if you do.

And to sweeten the deal, our Online Scheduler integrates seamlessly with your existing practice management software — Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental, and others — so your schedule stays synced without extra work from your team.

When scheduling feels this easy, patients book faster, show up more, and think of your practice as modern, organized, and refreshingly stress-free.

Why Your Team Will Thank You

At My Social Practice, we are of the firm belief that your front desk team deserves a standing ovation.

They’re juggling phones, greeting patients, managing cancellations, checking insurance, answering the same five questions all day, and still managing to smile when someone walks in late with a latte.

They are the heartbeat of your practice, but they’re also buried under tasks that technology can easily handle.

Every phone call for a simple cleaning or checkup scheduling gobbles up time your team could spend actually talking to patients who need help, rather than transcribing voicemails or chasing down missed calls.

(Psst. Friction.)

That’s where online scheduling comes in. It doesn’t replace your team; it rescues them.

Fewer phone interruptions means:

• More time for genuine, face-to-face conversations at check-in.
• More attention on patient relationships and treatment acceptance.
• Less stress (and fewer sticky notes).

Your front desk can focus on the high-value, human things that only they can do while your online scheduler handles the “book and confirm” routine in the background.

And as we all know, a less-frazzled team means a happier office, smoother days, and patients who feel the difference the second they walk in.

So yes, your staff will thank you. Probably with cupcakes. Maybe even applause.

Online Scheduling for Dentists and The ROI of Convenience

Convenience sounds nice, but revenue sounds even better.

Every time someone lands on your website ready to book but bounces because they have to call… that’s money walking out the door.

Now imagine if you could capture even 10% more of those ready-to-book patients. You know, the ones scrolling at 11 PM, credit card (and dental insurance) in hand. What would that mean for your bottom line?

Here’s a real-world snapshot:

One family practice in South Independence, MO added the My Social Practice Online Scheduler and saw, in just one month:

• 173 total appointments booked
• 44 new patients
• $8,624 in new patient revenue
• $47,947 total revenue

All because they removed a little bit of friction and made it easy for patients to book themselves.

Plus, online scheduling systems automatically send confirmations and reminders that cut down on no-shows (which, as every dentist knows, are the true enemy of productivity). Some even auto-fill cancelled slots with patients on a waitlist, no calls required.

The result? More appointments. Fewer no-shows. A schedule that basically manages itself.

When you add it all up, online scheduling is one of the fastest, easiest, most reliable growth levers in your practice.

Think of it this way: friction costs you money.

Convenience makes you money.

What Makes Our Scheduler Different

We get that there are a lot of online scheduling tools out there. But most of them were built for hair salons, yoga studios, or restaurants, not dental practices.

That’s why we created the My Social Practice Online Scheduler. It’s designed specifically for dentists, keeping in mind all the details that make running a dental office uniquely, well, dental.

Here’s what sets it apart:

Seamless PMS Integration

It syncs in real time with Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental, and more, so you never double-book or spend time manually updating your schedule.

Mobile-Optimized (Because That’s Where Patients Are)

Over 80% of patients research healthcare providers on their phones. Our scheduler looks and works perfectly on any screen; no pinching, zooming, or cursing at tiny buttons.

Customizable Appointment Types & Durations

Not every visit is a cleaning. You control what services appear online, how long they take, and which providers are available.

Beautiful, Intuitive Design

A clean, user-friendly interface that makes your practice look as professional online as you are in person.

We Handle Setup and Support

Our team connects the scheduler to your PMS, helps you customize it, and makes sure everything runs smoothly so you’re live (and booking) in about a week.

In short, our online scheduling for dentists is designed to make life easier for patients, staff, and you.

Getting Started Is Easier Than You Think

Adding online scheduling to your practice might sound like a big project, but remember how we’ve talked a lot about friction? Well, My Social Practice is big on reducing it for our clients.

Most dental practices are up and running within a week, and we handle nearly all the setup.

Here’s what it looks like:

Step 1: Schedule a Quick Demo

We’ll show you exactly how the system works and answer your questions, no tech degree required.

Step 2: Connect Your PMS and Set Your Preferences

We integrate directly with Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental, and more. You’ll choose which appointment types, durations, and providers show up online.

Step 3: Go Live and Start Booking Appointments

Once we flip the switch, you can yell, “It’s alive!” and patients can start booking instantly from your website, Google profile, or social media. You’ll literally wake up to new appointments on your calendar.

That’s it. No downtime, no disruption, no stress.

We’ll even help you promote your new scheduler, because when patients know they can book anytime, they actually will.

Frequently Asked Questions

About the Author: Megan Nielsen is an SEO strategist and the Grand Overlord of copywriting at My Social Practice. My Social Practice is a dental marketing company that offers a full suite of dental marketing services to thousands of dental practices throughout the United States and Canada.