How to Set Up Patient Recalls

Patient recalls help bring patients back for routine checkups and follow-up treatments. MyDentalPractice automates the recall process so you do not lose patients to forgetfulness.

What Are Recalls?

A recall is an automated reminder sent to a patient when they are due for a repeat visit. Common recall types:

Routine Checkup — Every 6 months

Cleaning/Scaling — Every 6 months

Orthodontic Follow-Up — Monthly

Periodontal Maintenance — Every 3-4 months

Post-Surgical Review — 1 week, 1 month after surgery

Configuring Recall Types

Go to Settings → Recalls

Click + Add Recall Type

Configure:

- Name — e.g., "6-Month Checkup Recall"

- Interval — How often (e.g., every 6 months)

- Trigger — From last visit date or last treatment date

- Message Template — The SMS/email sent to the patient

- Reminder Sequence — When and how many reminders to send

Reminder Sequence Example

Reminder	Timing	Channel
First	2 weeks before due date	SMS
Second	On due date	SMS + Email
Third	2 weeks after due date	SMS
Final	1 month after due date	Phone call (manual task)

Assigning Recalls to Patients

Automatic Assignment

When a patient completes a qualifying treatment, the recall is automatically scheduled based on the recall type configuration. For example, after a "Scaling and Polishing" treatment, a 6-month recall is automatically created.

Manual Assignment

Open the patient record

Click the Recalls tab

Click + Add Recall

Select the recall type and due date

Click Save

Managing Recalls

Navigate to Recalls in the sidebar to see:

Due This Week — Patients whose recalls are coming up

Overdue — Patients who have passed their recall date

Upcoming — Recalls due in the next 30 days

Completed — Patients who have booked or completed their recall visit

Actions

For each recall, you can:

Send Reminder — Manually trigger a reminder

Book Appointment — Create an appointment directly from the recall

Snooze — Postpone the recall by a set period

Close — Mark as completed or no longer needed

Recall Analytics

View recall performance at Analytics → Patient Engagement → Recalls:

Total recalls sent this month

Response rate (patients who booked after recall)

Overdue patient count

Revenue generated from recall visits

For bulk outreach, see How to Send Bulk Communications. For appointment reminders, see SMS Reminders.

How to Set Up Patient Recalls