Every successful dental practice runs on systems, not chance.
When a new patient discovers your clinic, books an appointment, accepts treatment, and eventually refers others, that’s not luck, it’s a systemised journey.
Yet for many practices, the patient experience feels disjointed. Leads slip through the cracks. Consultations don’t convert. Follow-ups never happen. And before long, growth stalls, not because the dentistry isn’t excellent, but because the journey isn’t.
At Foxstern Dental Growth Partners, we help practices build sustainable systems that turn patient journeys into predictable growth engines.
Our model breaks that journey into five key stages.
By understanding and tracking each one, you can quickly diagnose where your process is breaking down and fix it before it costs you revenue.
1. Acquisition & Awareness – Getting Found and Remembered
Every patient journey begins long before the first phone call. It starts with a moment of need, a toothache, a chipped veneer, or a desire for a brighter smile. From there, patients search for answers.
That’s where your practice must show up, not just with ads, but with authority and education.
Your key touchpoints
- Online presence: Google search, social media, and local ads.
- Referrals: Word-of-mouth from existing patients and other healthcare professionals.
Your goal
Be visible, valuable, and verifiable. That means ranking for high-intent local searches, maintaining consistent branding across all platforms, and producing content that educates, not just sells.
Roles and responsibilities –
| Role | Core Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Marketing | • Build online visibility through Google Ads, SEO, and social media campaigns. • Manage content strategy, blogs, videos, and patient education. • Create brand consistency across digital and offline touch points. • Track lead sources and campaign performance. |
| Sales / Business | • Set lead targets and monitor cost-per-acquisition (CPA). • Ensure alignment between marketing spend and business goals. • Allocate budgets based on ROI. |
| TCO | • May not be directly involved yet but should collaborate with marketing to understand messaging, offers, and lead quality. • Provide patient insights to refine marketing tone and targeting. |
| Reception | • Respond promptly to incoming calls, emails, and chat enquiries. • Log every enquiry accurately into the CRM system. • Reflect brand tone and warmth in all communications. |
| Dentist | • Participate in brand storytelling, team videos, blogs, and photos. • Provide expert insights for marketing materials to ensure clinical accuracy. • Be visible as the “face of trust.” |
When patients find your name during their moment of need, you’ve already started earning their trust.
2. Consideration & Consultation – Turning Interest into Connection
Once awareness is achieved, the patient shifts from searching to choosing. They’re evaluating your website, reading your Google reviews, checking your Instagram page, and comparing your clinic to others nearby.
This stage is make-or-break. It’s where digital impressions turn into real enquiries.
Your key touchpoints
- Website experience: Easy navigation, treatment pages that speak in plain English, and visible team profiles that humanise your brand.
- First contact: Whether via a web form, phone call, or chat bot, this is your chance to make them feel heard, not processed.
Your goal
Build confidence through clarity. Explain your treatments simply, showcase real results, and ensure your reception or Treatment Coordinator responds quickly and warmly.
Roles and responsibilities
| Role | Core Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Marketing | • Deliver retargeting ads to re-engage visitors. • Optimise website UX for conversion (CTA buttons, online booking, chatbots). • Support follow-up campaigns with automated emails or lead nurturing flows. |
| Sales / Business | • Review enquiry-to-booking conversion rate. • Analyse performance by channel to prioritise top-converting campaigns. • Train front-desk and TCO teams to handle leads efficiently. |
| TCO | • Manage consultation bookings and pre-assessment calls. • Provide personalised information packs or videos before appointments. • Begin rapport-building and identify patient motivations. |
| Reception | • Handle booking logistics, confirmations, and reminders. • Maintain excellent phone/email etiquette. • Reduce friction in scheduling and ensure quick response times. |
| Dentist | • Support consultations with approachable communication. • Be available for introductory content or Q&A videos. • Align clinical explanations with the marketing message to ensure consistency. |
The faster and more human your communication, the higher your conversion rate at this stage.
3. Treatment Plan & Acceptance – Converting Trust into Commitment
At this stage, the patient has walked through your doors. They’ve met your team, discussed their goals, and are ready to hear your recommendations.
This is the “sales” stage of dentistry, though most clinicians prefer to call it “education.”
And rightly so. Acceptance comes from understanding and reassurance, not pressure.
Your key touchpoints
- Visual communication: Use X-rays, intraoral photos, or 3D scans to explain the diagnosis clearly.
- Transparency: Discuss costs, finance options, and timelines with honesty.
- Empathy: Address fear and hesitation directly; comfort builds commitment.
Your goal
Create clarity that leads to a confident “yes.” Every successful case acceptance system depends on communication, visual tools, and consistent follow-up.
Roles and responsibilities
| Role | Core Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Marketing | • Supply visual assets (before/after galleries, testimonial videos) that strengthen patient confidence. • Design treatment brochures and financing materials. |
| Sales / Business | • Monitor treatment acceptance rate and average case value. • Evaluate TCO performance and identify conversion bottlenecks. • Ensure finance options are presented consistently. |
| TCO | • Lead the consultation process, explaining options with clarity. • Use visual aids (X-rays, scans, smile simulations) to support understanding. • Follow up on pending decisions within 24-48 hours. • Track every lead in the CRM and report outcomes. |
| Reception | • Schedule follow-up appointments and assist with paperwork. • Ensure seamless communication between patient, TCO, and dentist. |
| Dentist | • Present clinical findings with empathy and authority. • Reinforce treatment benefits without pressuring. • Build long-term trust through transparency and education. |
Stage Goal: Turn understanding and trust into treatment acceptance
Many top practices assign this process to a Treatment Coordinator (TCO), a dedicated role focused on patient understanding and trust-building.
4. Treatment & Completion – Delivering on the Promise
Once treatment begins, your focus shifts to experience.
This is where every expectation set in stages one to three must now be fulfilled or exceeded.
Your key touchpoints
- Exemplary clinical care: Comfort, communication, and consistency matter as much as clinical outcomes.
- Progress updates: Keep patients informed and involved at each step.
- Post-treatment review: Take time to ensure satisfaction and capture testimonials while the experience is still fresh.
Your goal
Deliver seamless care that patients remember for the right reasons.
This is where a dental CRM system like Boxly becomes invaluable, integrating reminders, progress tracking, and post-treatment follow-ups. Adding a chat bot to your website ensures no message or question goes unanswered, even after hours.
Roles and responsibilities
| Role | Core Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Marketing | • Capture patient testimonials, case studies, and smile stories (with consent). • Document transformation journeys for content marketing. |
| Sales / Business | • Track ongoing revenue from active treatments. • Evaluate operational efficiency (chair time, cancellations, etc.). |
| TCO | • Serve as the patient’s point of contact during treatment. • Check progress satisfaction, answer questions, and manage post-procedure communication. • Flag any dissatisfaction early to prevent negative experiences. |
| Reception | • Manage scheduling, rescheduling, and reminders. • Keep communication clear about costs, appointments, and aftercare. |
| Dentist | • Deliver exceptional, patient-centred care. • Explain each step to reduce anxiety. • Conduct post-treatment check-ins and ensure outcomes match expectations. |
A smooth, supported experience here sets the tone for long-term loyalty.
5. Retention & Advocacy – Turning Patients into Ambassadors
The journey doesn’t end when treatment does.
In fact, this final stage determines whether your growth becomes sustainable.
A loyal patient base doesn’t just bring predictable income; it drives word-of-mouth referrals, your most powerful form of marketing.
Your key touchpoints
- Follow-up systems: Automated recall reminders, seasonal email campaigns, and check-in messages that keep patients engaged.
- Experience management: Create a warm, consistent in-practice environment that patients look forward to revisiting.
- Referral and review strategy: Encourage Google reviews, patient stories, and community recommendations.
Your goal
Transform satisfied patients into active advocates. When you deliver a world-class experience and then ask, politely, for feedback or referrals, most patients are more than happy to help your practice grow.
| Role | Core Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Marketing | • Run recall and reactivation campaigns. • Manage email newsletters, referral incentives, and review requests. • Monitor patient lifetime value (LTV) and retention analytics. |
| Sales / Business | • Track retention rate and referrals as key growth KPIs. • Develop membership or loyalty plans. • Review patient satisfaction data to guide improvements. |
| TCO | • Conduct post-treatment check-ins. • Encourage testimonials and referrals from satisfied patients. • Coordinate review collection processes. |
| Reception | • Maintain recall reminders and follow-ups. • Ensure a welcoming environment at every visit. • Keep communication ongoing between visits. |
| Dentist | • Continue delivering consistent, quality care. • Ask for feedback and recommendations personally. • Reinforce trust through continuity of care. |
How to Use This Framework
Think of each stage as a checkpoint.
If patient numbers are steady but revenue isn’t growing, the issue likely lies in Stage 3 (Treatment Acceptance).
If new enquiries are low, it’s Stage 1 (Acquisition).
If you’re losing patients after their first treatment, it’s Stage 5 (Retention).
By reviewing each stage quarterly and assigning clear accountability, your team can diagnose issues faster and fix them before they affect growth.
Final Thoughts
Every practice wants more patients. But what you really need is a better journey, one that turns every enquiry into a relationship, every treatment into trust, and every happy patient into a lifelong advocate.
If you’re ready to map, measure, and optimise your patient journey, start with an audit.
Book a discovery call with Foxstern Dental Growth Partners and we’ll help you identify which stage of your patient journey needs the most attention and how to fix it.
