For UK private dental practices
Treatment plans are being presented, and patients are quietly declining them
Most dental teams have had no formal training in converting enquiries or presenting treatment plans. At a typical acceptance rate, a practice presenting substantial treatment plans can leave a six-figure sum on the table each year.
Two minutes. Solva follows up with specific team training and case conversion options.
- New patient enquiries frequently do not convert into booked appointments
- Patients attend consultations but do not proceed with recommended treatment plans
- High number of 'shopper' calls focused solely on price, with little conversion
- Clinical team members feeling frustrated by patients declining necessary treatment
- Inefficient use of clinical and administrative staff time due to repeated consultations without conversion
- Increased administrative burden from chasing unaccepted treatment plans and managing patient attrition
- Significant loss of potential revenue from unaccepted treatment plans, directly impacting practice profitability
- Reduced return on marketing investment as new patient enquiries fail to convert into revenue
- Delayed or foregone necessary treatment leading to worsening oral health
- Increased risk of preventable dental conditions requiring more invasive future interventions
- Negative word-of-mouth and online reviews from patients feeling pressured or misunderstood
- Perceived lack of professionalism or patient-centricity, damaging the practice's brand
- A primary root cause is the lack of formal, patient-centred communication and ethical sales training for both reception and clinical teams.
- This leads to defensive handling of price enquiries and clinical jargon-filled treatment presentations that patients find difficult to understand or value.
- Systemically, many private dental practices operate without clear conversion rate tracking or a structured follow-up protocol for unaccepted treatment plans, resulting in missed opportunities and unaddressed patient concerns.
Average dental practices achieve 50-60% case acceptance rates, while high-performing practices reach 70-80%. (Practicenumbers.com, 2024)
Source: https://practicenumbers.com/blog/tracking-case-acceptance-rates-for-dental-practice-growth/
How to fix it
Audit your current conversion rates at each stage: enquiry to appointment, appointment to treatment plan, and treatment plan to accepted case. Train your reception team on telephone enquiry handling, price presentation, and objection responses. Train your clinical team on patient-centred treatment plan presentation using visual aids and staged treatment options. Implement a follow-up protocol for unaccepted treatment plans. Review your treatment plan format to make it clearer and more compelling.
Frequently asked questions
Why does this problem persist?
Private dental practice revenue depends on two conversion rates: enquiry to appointment, and treatment plan to accepted case. Most dental teams have received no formal training in either. Reception staff handle price enquiries defensively, and clinicians present treatment plans in clinical language that patients find difficult to understand or act on. A 10-percentage-point improvement in treatment plan acceptance rate on a practice with £500,000 of presented treatment can add £50,000 to annual revenue without a single new patient.
What is the cost of leaving it unaddressed?
A dental practice presenting £500,000 in treatment plans annually, improving its acceptance rate from 47% to 68%, can increase annual revenue by £105,000. Dental team conversion training costs typically range from £1,000 to £5,000 per person or team. (Campbell Academy, Ashley Latter, 2026)
This is exactly what I do with UK private practices. Answer the few questions above and I'll come back personally with where to start. Paul.