Recall + Waitlist: bring patients back AND fill the gaps they leave
A recall system for the dental practice brings prophylaxis and check-up patients back into the book. But every cancelled hygiene appointment leaves an empty chair. TerminJet combines both: recall automatically invites patients at the due interval, and the waitlist refills freed-up slots in minutes, by WhatsApp or SMS.
A recall without a waitlist only fills the book halfway.
Recall brings patients back. But cancellations at short notice are common precisely with prophylaxis and check-ups. What counts then is the time until the slot is refilled.
- 5-15%
- typical loss and no-show rate at appointment-based practices
- < 60 sec.
- from the cancellation to the replacement offer sent to the waitlist
- 6-12 mo.
- usual hygiene recall interval that is triggered automatically
- 0
- calls needed to refill a freed-up chair
A hygiene patient cancels at 7:40 in the morning
The same event, two worlds. On the left, today's effort at the front desk, on the right, with recall and waitlist from TerminJet.
- The cancellation lands in the calendar, the 60-minute slot at the hygiene chair stays empty.
- An assistant would have to phone through the recall list and waitlist between patients.
- Most of the time there is no time for it, the slot is wasted and the assistant sits idle.
- Due recall patients are only invited again weeks later, some not at all.
- The cancellation automatically sets the chair to free and starts the refill.
- The waitlist is ranked by treatment type, clinician and availability.
- The right person immediately gets an offer by WhatsApp or SMS and replies yes.
- In parallel, recall invites due hygiene patients before they ever slip through the cracks.
Two mechanics, one continuous flow
- Schritt 01
Recall invites at the due interval
TerminJet recognises when prophylaxis or a check-up is due again and invites patients automatically at the stored interval, with a direct link to booking on your practice website. No index cards, no list to phone through.
- Schritt 02
Whoever cancels does not drop out, they move to the waitlist
If someone cancels or reschedules, the person is noted for an alternative appointment. At the same time, the freed-up chair is immediately released for refill.
- Schritt 03
The waitlist refills the chair
The engine ranks those waiting by treatment type, the right clinician, chair, waiting time and reliability, and sends the best person an offer by WhatsApp or SMS. If no one responds, the next person automatically moves up.
- Schritt 04
You keep the final say
Pain appointments, acute cases and special rules run by your logic. The engine suggests, the team sees every step in the history and can step in at any time. No black-box automation.
Recall that runs on its own instead of getting lost in the daily rush
Prophylaxis lives on patients coming back. The dental template automatically invites patients at the due hygiene or check-up interval and suggests open slots that fit the chair and clinician. That turns recall from a good intention into plannable revenue, without anyone working through a list.
Dental recall and waitlist combined, so no chair stays empty
The real loss does not happen at booking, it happens with the short-notice cancellation. The waitlist fills exactly the gaps your recall patients leave, automatically and in minutes. Anyone who wants to be seen soon lands on the list and gets the freeing-up slot offered where messages are actually read.
Recall tool, practice software, or both in one
Roger, principa, CGM and etermio each solve their part well. The difference lies in whether recall and automatic refill run together in the same system, white-label on your own domain. Observed market signals, please check current terms with the provider.
| TerminJet | Recall tools (e.g. Roger, principa) | Practice software modules (e.g. CGM) | Online booking (e.g. etermio) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recall automated | partial | |||
| Refill freed-up slots automatically | rarely | |||
| Waitlist with ranking and offer by WhatsApp/SMS | partial | |||
| White-label on your own domain | partial | in the practice software | ||
| No portal lock-in, no commission | ||||
| EU hosting, AES-256 encryption | depends on provider | depends on provider | depends on provider | |
| Set up and supported by an agency in Germany |
Features that fit chairs, clinicians and appointment types
Chair- and clinician-dependent logic
Every appointment type needs the right combination of clinician, treatment chair and duration. TerminJet only allows appointments where everything fits, with no double booking and no 15-minute gap that no one fills.
Hygiene and check-up cleanly separated
Prophylaxis with the clinician or the hygienist, check-up with the dentist. Recall and waitlist know the difference and only suggest slots that fit clinically and in time.
Pain appointments routed correctly
Acute cases need different rules than a hygiene visit. Reserved pain slots and dedicated routing rules make sure urgent patients find a place quickly, without blowing up the day plan.
Reminders that cut no-shows
Automatic reminders by email and WhatsApp reduce missed appointments. If someone does cancel, the gap is immediately released for refill.
Entirely in your own language
Appointment types, notice texts, confirmations, every term is adjustable. The practice speaks to patients the way it always does, not in standard software wording.
Multiple clinicians and locations
Routing by location, role and appointment type. Round-robin and multi-clinician logic are part of the model, not a workaround for growing practices.
Common questions about recall and waitlist
What does the waitlist add on top of a pure recall system?
Recall brings due patients back, but it cannot catch a short-notice cancellation. The waitlist refills exactly those freed-up chairs automatically, by WhatsApp or SMS, in minutes instead of after laborious phoning. Only the two together truly fill the book.
Is this another portal like Doctolib or Jameda?
No. There is no marketplace and no portal lock-in. Recall, booking and waitlist run white-label on your own practice website. Patients book with you, not in a directory that also lists the practice next door.
Can TerminJet run alongside our practice software?
Yes. TerminJet handles recall, online booking, rescheduling and automatic refill via your website. How closely we connect to your existing practice software we clarify in the audit based on your interfaces. You can find more under Integrations.
Are patients contacted automatically?
Only within the scope you approve, and only to contacts with documented consent under GDPR. The engine suggests, your team sees every step and can step in. You keep the final say.
Where is the patient data held?
On EU servers at Hetzner in Germany, with AES-256 encryption of sensitive data and documented consent. It is your own instance, not shared SaaS. Details are on the Security page.
Do we have to do the setup ourselves?
No. We set up the dental template to your workflow, with clinicians, chairs, appointment types, recall intervals and waitlist rules, integrate it into your website and support it on an ongoing basis. You get a finished system, not an empty tool.
Let recall and waitlist run the numbers on your real figures
Sign up. We show recall and refill on the dental template and work out in the free audit how many hygiene and check-up slots you can realistically win back. This form feeds straight into the engine.