Set these up once and your calendar fills itself.
This is the single most valuable email automation for any dental office. When a patient's last cleaning was 5 months ago, automatically send a series of reminder emails over 3–4 weeks until they book. The key is making it feel personal, not like a generic blast, and giving them a direct, frictionless way to book.
You have patients who went quiet. Maybe they moved practices, maybe life got busy. A simple reactivation campaign, 2–3 friendly emails, brings back 8–15% of dormant patients. That's a lot of production from people already in your system. Make the message feel like you noticed them specifically, not like a mass email blast.
Patients who left with a treatment recommendation but didn't schedule are your warmest leads. A 2-part email series, gentle educational follow-up plus a direct booking nudge, converts 20–30% of open treatment plans. Never send the same generic "you have treatment recommended" message twice, escalate the messaging gently.
Two days after a successful appointment (not after a difficult procedure, you'll need to filter these out), send a short, warm email asking for a Google review. Include the direct link to your Google review page. Most practices 3–5× their review count within 90 days of setting this up.
Use these as your starting point. Customize with your practice name and doctor's name.
Your smile is due for its regular checkup! It's been about 6 months since your last visit with us, which means it's the perfect time to schedule your cleaning and exam.
Regular cleanings prevent small problems from becoming big (expensive) ones. Most patients are in and out in 45–60 minutes.
👉 Click here to book your appointment online →
Or just reply to this email and we'll get you scheduled.
Looking forward to seeing you,
[Doctor Name]
[Practice Name]
We noticed it's been a while since your last visit with us, and we just wanted to check in.
We understand life gets busy, but regular dental care is one of the best investments you can make in your health. Small issues caught early are always easier (and less expensive) to treat.
We'd love to welcome you back. New X-rays are on us for returning patients this month, just mention this email when you book.
👉 Book your welcome-back appointment →
Warmly,
[Doctor Name]
[Practice Name]
It was great seeing you at your recent exam! I just wanted to follow up about the treatment we discussed, [general treatment area, e.g. "a small cavity we noticed"].
I know it's easy to put these things off when there's no pain, but early treatment is almost always simpler and less costly than waiting. The small issue we found can typically be handled in one short appointment.
If you have any questions about what was recommended or want to talk through your options before scheduling, just reply to this email or give us a call. We're always happy to chat.
👉 Schedule your treatment appointment →
Take care,
[Doctor Name]
⚠️ HIPAA note: Don't include specific diagnosis details in automated emails. Keep subject lines and body copy general, "your recommended treatment" rather than "your cavity in tooth #14." Always consult your compliance guidelines before sending health-related communications.
Follow these steps in order. Total setup time: 2–3 hours.
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1
Choose and Set Up Your Email Tool
For dental offices, we recommend two options: Mailchimp (free for up to 500 contacts, great for recall campaigns) or ActiveCampaign (from $15/month, better for complex conditional flows). If you're already using a dental-specific platform like Weave or NexHealth, use their built-in email features instead. Sign up, import your patient contact list, and verify your email sending domain.
⏱ 30 minutes -
2
Segment Your Patient List
Create three audience segments: (1) Active patients due for recall, last visit 5–7 months ago, (2) Dormant patients, last visit 18+ months ago, (3) Open treatment plans, patients with recommended treatment not yet scheduled. Most dental PMS systems (Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Curve) let you export these lists as CSV files. Import them into your email tool and tag each segment appropriately.
⏱ 30 minutes -
3
Build Your Recall Reminder Automation
In Mailchimp: Customer Journeys → Create Journey → Trigger: "Tag Added" (when you tag someone "Recall Due") → Wait 1 day → Send Email 1 → Wait 7 days → Check tag "Booked" → If NOT booked: Send Email 2 → Wait 7 more days → Send Email 3. In ActiveCampaign, use the same logic with their automation builder, it's even more flexible with conditional splits.
⏱ 45 minutes -
4
Build the Win-Back and Treatment Follow-Up Automations
Repeat the process for your dormant patient segment (trigger on "Dormant Patient" tag) and your treatment plan segment (trigger on "Open Treatment Plan" tag). Copy and customize the email templates above. Keep the tone warm and personal, patients should feel like you remembered them specifically, not that they're receiving a mass email.
⏱ 30 minutes -
5
Activate, Tag, and Monitor Results
Turn on all three automations. Then, and this is the part most practices miss, build a routine of tagging patients correctly. When a patient books their recall, tag them "Recall Due - [Month]" in your email tool. When treatment is recommended, tag them "Open Treatment Plan." Review your automation results every 30 days: open rate (aim for 35–45%), click rate (aim for 8–12%), and appointments booked from automations.
⏱ 15 minutes to activate, then ongoing
"I set up 3 email automations on a Saturday afternoon. By the following Monday I had 11 new appointment requests in my inbox, all from patients I thought we'd lost. In the first month we recovered $22,000 in production from people who'd gone quiet. My front desk now spends their time helping patients instead of making recall calls."
Ready to Fill Your Schedule?
Start with Mailchimp's free plan and get your first recall automation running this weekend.
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