New Patient Phone Script and Call Sheet

Marketing gets people to call. The phone call decides whether they become patients. Most practices spend thousands a month generating calls and nothing at all on what happens during them, which is why so many new patient calls end with "we'll mail you some information" instead of an appointment. This template gives you a call flow, a sheet to write on while you are talking, and written responses to the objections that come up most.

How to run this at the front desk

Put a stack of blank call sheets at every phone that can take a new patient call, including the back office phone that gets the overflow. Writing on paper while the caller talks is faster and less distracting than navigating software fields, and you can enter everything after the call. The caller hears you listening instead of typing.

Take the phone number first, right after the name. Calls drop, callers are driving, and children interrupt. If you have nothing but a first name when the line goes dead, you have lost a new patient. Everything else on the sheet can be reconstructed; the number cannot.

Offer two specific times rather than asking "when works for you?" An open question invites the caller to think about their calendar, their spouse, and their work schedule all at once, and the usual result is "let me call you back." Two specific options is a decision they can make in five seconds. If neither works, offer two more.

Finally, keep the sheets secure. They contain names, birth dates, insurance identifiers, and health information, so they are protected health information the moment you write on them. Keep them out of patient view during the day, enter them, then shred or file them per your policy. The HIPAA checklist covers the physical safeguards side of this.

Who owns it, and how to train it

Whoever answers the phone owns it, which in most practices means more than one person. That is exactly why a written flow matters: three people answering three different ways produces three different experiences of your practice.

Train it by role-playing, not by handing out the sheet. Two people, one takes the call, one plays a caller with a specific situation (severe pain, price shopper, nervous patient, out-of-network plan). Ten minutes a week is enough. The objection responses in particular need to have been said out loud before they are needed, because reading a paragraph for the first time on a live call sounds exactly like reading a paragraph for the first time on a live call.

Record and review calls if your phone system supports it and your state's recording laws allow it, with appropriate notice. Listening to your own calls is uncomfortable and unusually effective. If recording is not practical, have the manager sit in on a few calls each month.

What good looks like

A good new patient call ends with an appointment on the calendar, forms on their way, and the caller knowing the name of the person they spoke to. It usually takes six to ten minutes, and it includes at least one moment where the caller said something personal and the person on the phone responded to it rather than moving on to the next field.

Measure it. Count new patient calls and count how many book. Practices that have never measured this are often surprised: calls that end without an appointment are usually not price objections, they are calls where nobody ever offered a specific time. The daily tracking table exists to make that visible, and the "if no, why" column is where the pattern shows up.

Good also means missed calls get returned the same day. A voicemail from a new patient is a lead with a shelf life measured in hours; they are calling the next office on the list. Assign the voicemail box to a person, not to the team.

Common mistakes

Quoting a price and hanging up. A price with no context invites comparison shopping on a number alone. Explain what the visit includes, then give the number, then offer a time.

Saying "we don't take your insurance." Out of network is not the same as not accepted. Explain what actually happens: you file the claim, the benefits still apply, the patient portion may be higher. See should you drop a PPO for the business side of that decision.

Missing the urgency screen. Facial swelling with difficulty breathing or swallowing is a medical emergency, not a dental appointment. Every person who answers the phone needs to know your office protocol for that.

Not asking how they heard about you. This is the only marketing attribution most practices will ever have, and it takes four seconds. Ask it on every call and record it.

Letting the call end without a next step. If they will not book, get permission to follow up and write a date on the sheet. A call sheet with a follow-up date is a lead; one without is a lost call.

Forgetting the rest of the household. One call can become three appointments. Ask every time.

Related ChairsideSource resources

• Course lesson: the first call
• Front desk scripts: what to say in the ten hardest calls
• Insurance verification worksheet
• How to reduce no-shows and last-minute cancellations
• Marketing and patient acquisition

This guide is educational content and does not constitute legal, financial, tax, or clinical advice. Laws and regulations vary by state and change over time. Consult your own dental-specific attorney, CPA, and state dental board before acting.