Frequently asked questions
How much revenue does a missed call actually cost a dental practice?
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The average new dental patient is worth $1,200–$1,500 over their lifetime, and the average appointment is worth $250–$400. A typical dental office misses 4–6 calls per day — at a 30% miss rate on 15 daily calls. That's roughly $3,000–$5,000 in lost monthly revenue, or $36,000–$60,000 annually — from calls alone.
What percentage of calls to dental offices go unanswered?
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Studies consistently find that 25–40% of inbound calls to dental offices go unanswered or abandoned before they're answered. The problem peaks at lunch hours, during procedures, and on Mondays when appointment volume spikes. Front-desk staff simply can't cover every call while managing in-office patients.
Do missed callers just call back later?
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No. Research shows 62% of callers who can't reach a business on the first attempt will not call back — they'll call a competitor instead. For dental offices in local markets, each unanswered call is effectively a referral to a nearby practice. The patient who needed a cleaning found someone else the same afternoon.
What's the actual ROI of an AI receptionist at $99/month?
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At $99/month ($1,188/year), Parlo typically recovers 10–25x its annual cost in recaptured bookings for most dental and service practices. A practice missing just 5 calls per day at $250 average appointment value can recover $30,000+ annually — compared to $1,188 in annual software cost. The math usually takes about 30 seconds to run, which is why we built this calculator.