Dentist Schedules: Time Management Meets Dental Management

Post comments about dentists open for evening hours to our blog.

Dentists are busiest on Monday, with Tuesday and Thursdays as runners-up. Time management turns out to be an importantdental management
issue.

Just over half (55%) of practices offer evening hours, and 37% let patients make weekend appointments.

"Weekdays after 4 and Saturdays are good times for patients," observed one dentist.

We asked dentists which is their busiest day of the week.

• Monday 28%
• Tuesday 20%
• Wednesday 14%
• Thursday 20%
• Friday 5%
• Saturday 13%
• Sunday 0%

Many patients expect evening and weekend hours… and if you can’t accommodate them, then they’ll find a dentist
who can!

Here are some comments from dentists about the best hours to be open:

Morning!

• "Early morning hours are good." (Connecticut dentist)

Afternoon!

• "Patients like
  afternoon hours." (Athens Greece dentist)

Evenings!

• "Evenings are popular." (Maryland pediatric dentist)
• "I prefer the evening." (Jordan orthodontist)
• "8:00 am to 7:00 pm seems to be best."
• "I am open until 7pm 2 days a week. Early morning works as well." (Georgia dentist)
• "Thursday is busiest because it is the day we are open into the evening." (Texas dentist)

Weekends!

• "Weekdays after 4 and Saturdays are good times for patients." (General dentist)
• "Saturday morning and early afternoon appointments are very popular with our patient population. We have been offering appointments every other Saturday since we opened 6 years ago. With our appointment reminder system, we rarely have no-shows." (Ohio
  prosthodontist)

Not open on Fridays

• "We work Monday through Thursday, so after the 3-day weekend, Monday is busy. On Friday, if the weather was nice, patients always cancelled. We work Tuesday evenings instead. The staff and I love 3-day weekends. Nice quality of life. I highly recommend it." (Pennsylvania dentist)

Going to have to open on Fridays

• "With the new economy, I will need to start opening on Fridays and take what I can get. Going broke in Alaska!" (Alaska dentist)

Save Fridays for major cases like dental implants
and sedation dentistry

• "Friday is a highly productive day because I see only high production cases without all of the small procedures interrupting my case."

 

Note: Survey sample included 64 respondents.