Patient recall rate benchmarks

Reliable, published recall benchmarks are scarce. The strongest public figures are for dental care: a CDC survey estimate that 66.7% of US adults had a dental exam or cleaning in the past year, and vendor data putting average dental patient retention at 70%. For audiology, ENT, orthodontics, med spa, optometry, and physical therapy we did not find reliable published recall benchmarks. For those, measure your own baseline with the formulas below and track the trend.

We would rather tell you a number does not exist than invent one. Every figure on this page links to its source, and vendor or consultant figures are labeled as such. Sources were last checked on October 7, 2026.

Define the metrics first

Recall and retention numbers are meaningless unless you know how they are calculated. Use these definitions in your own practice:

• Pre-appointment rate: patients who leave a recall-type visit with their next recall visit booked, divided by all patients seen for that visit type.
• Recall completion rate: patients due for a recall visit in a given month who completed one within 60 days of their due date, divided by all patients due that month.
• Overdue rate: patients past their recall due date with nothing scheduled, divided by all active recall patients.
• Retention rate: patients seen in the prior 12 months who were seen again in the current 12 months, divided by patients seen in the prior 12 months.

Pick a window, write it down, and do not change it mid-year.

Published benchmarks we could verify

Measure	Figure	Population or sample	Source
Adults with a dental exam or cleaning in the past year	66.7%	US adults 18+, National Health Interview Survey 2025 early release	CDC FastStats, Oral and Dental Health
Children with a dental visit in the past year	86.9%	US children ages 2 to 17, 2019	CDC FastStats, Oral and Dental Health
Dental patient retention	70% average; 94% top 10%	Vendor benchmark of dental practices with 1 to 7 locations	Henry Schein One, 2026 Catalyst Index (vendor research)
Hygiene re-appointment target	At least 85% (recommended target, not a measured average)	Dental consultancy guidance	ACT Dental, Hygiene Re-appointment Percentage (consultant guidance)

How to read these. The CDC figures describe the whole US population, not patients of a single practice, so a practice whose active patients return at a lower rate than the national average has room to improve. The vendor retention figure uses the vendor’s own definition, which the page does not fully publish. The 85% re-appointment figure is a goal recommended by a consultancy, not an average of real practices.

Where we could not find reliable numbers

• Audiology: no reliable published annual-visit or recall completion benchmark for independent practices.
• ENT: recall is condition-driven and rarely benchmarked; no reliable figure found.
• Orthodontics: retention check completion after debond is not published as a benchmark that we could verify.
• Med spa: rebooking and retention figures appear mostly in vendor marketing without published methods. We did not include them.
• Optometry: we did not find a clean, current national figure for annual eye exams, and no practice-level recall benchmark we could verify.
• Physical therapy: recall is less relevant than plan of care completion. We did not find a reliable completion benchmark. A 2021 PLOS ONE study found that 73% of patients at a large commercial PT provider missed at least one appointment during their episode of care, which shows how easily plans stall.

How to build your own benchmark

1. Pull the data. Most practice management systems can export patients with a last visit date, a recall due date, and a next scheduled appointment.
2. Clean the list. Remove patients who are deceased, moved, transferred, or asked not to be contacted. Otherwise your rates will look worse than they are.
3. Calculate a baseline. Use the four definitions above for the last 12 months, month by month.
4. Pick one lever. Usually pre-appointment at checkout. Our dental recall playbook and optometry recall playbook show what that looks like in practice.
5. Track the trend. Compare each month to your own trailing average. That is the benchmark that matters.

Common measurement mistakes

Counting inactive patients. A recall list full of patients who moved away years ago drags every rate down. Clean the list before you calculate anything, and keep cleaning it monthly.

Measuring too soon. Recall completion for patients due this month is not final until they have had time to come in. Measure each due month about 60 days later, or the rate will always look low.

Mixing visit types. A routine annual visit and a short follow-up after a procedure have different patterns. Measure each recall type separately.

Changing definitions. A software update or a new office manager can quietly change how a report counts patients. Write your definitions down and check the report logic once a year.

Comparing to someone else’s number. A vendor’s retention benchmark uses the vendor’s definition. Your own trend, measured the same way every month, is the number that tells you whether your follow-up is working.

Measurement timeline

Templates

Subject: Recall numbers for [Month]

Team,

Recall numbers for [Month]:

• Pre-appointment rate: [X]% (last month: [Y]%)
• Recall completion (patients due in [Month two months ago]): [X]%
• Overdue patients with nothing scheduled: [Number]
• 12-month retention: [X]%

Focus for next month: [one specific change].

[Your name]

Hi [First name], it’s [Practice name]. You’re due for your next visit in [Month]. Book at [Scheduling link] or call [Phone].

Keep recall reports to aggregate numbers, and keep patient-level lists inside your practice management system rather than in email.

What to measure

• Pre-appointment rate, weekly or monthly. This is the leading indicator.
• Recall completion rate, monthly, measured 60 days after the due month.
• Overdue list size, monthly. It should shrink or hold steady.
• Retention rate, quarterly.
• No-show rate on recall visits, since a booked recall that is missed is not a completed one. Compare against our no-show rates by specialty.

Patients who slip far past due belong in a reactivation campaign; see reactivating lapsed patients.