Handling new-patient enquiries: a UK dental reception playbook

Disclosure. This site is published by the company behind Dental Mastery, which sells enquiry capture and follow-up services to dental practices. Everything here works with or without any supplier.

Most practices spend far more effort getting the phone to ring than on what happens when it does. Reception is where a new-patient enquiry becomes a booking or disappears. This playbook covers the whole enquiry, from the first ring to the follow-up, for the team that handles it.

Before the phone rings

• Prices are already public. The GDC expects a simple price list in reception and clear prices on the practice website, so that patients should not have to ask ^[1]. Reception should have the same list to hand, with any "from" ranges explained.
• Everyone knows what is bookable today: new-patient slots, consultation slots, and who sees what.
• One place to log enquiries, whether a CRM, the practice system or a shared sheet.
• Cover for busy times: who answers when reception is checking patients in, and at lunch.

Answering

Answer with the practice name and your own name, then let the caller explain. New-patient callers are often comparing practices; the first minute decides whether they keep talking. Where calls go unanswered, a same-day callback routine matters more than any script. The missed-call callback workflow sets one out.

Reception desks are public places. The GDC is clear that patients and their treatment should not be discussed where others can overhear ^[3], so take new-patient calls where the conversation cannot be heard by people in the waiting area, or call back from somewhere that is.

What to capture on every enquiry

Capture only what you need to book and follow up. Medical history belongs in the clinical record, collected at the appointment, not in an enquiry log. Information given for booking should be used for that purpose only ^[3].

Offering the next step

The aim of a first call is a booked appointment, not a sale. Offer two specific times rather than asking when suits them. If the caller wants a price, give it or the range, and explain that the exact cost depends on an assessment; under the GDC standards, options and costs are explained as part of consent, and patients must have a reasonable amount of time to decide ^[2]. Pressure at reception does not belong in that process. The price enquiry scripts show how this sounds in practice.

When they do not book

• Agree a specific callback time before the call ends, and log it.
• If they want to think about it, offer to send the price information in writing.
• Try twice more over the next few working days, then close the enquiry with a reason.
• Never mark an enquiry as lost without recording why: price, timing, distance, chose another practice.

Measuring it

Each week, look at four numbers from your phone system and log:

1. New-patient calls received;
2. calls not answered, and how many of those were called back the same day;
3. enquiries that booked;
4. enquiries closed without booking, and the reasons.

The missed-call opportunity calculator turns the first two into an estimate of bookings lost each month, using your own figures. For how that tracking connects to marketing, see how Dental Mastery handles enquiry capture.