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Grader

Treatment Acceptance Grader

Industry benchmarks put strong dental practices at 70%+ treatment acceptance while the average sits closer to 35-45% per Levin Group and ADA HPI practice data. Grade your case-acceptance process across ten rules covering plan presentation, financing options, same-day scheduling, follow-up cadence, objection handling, and team training to see which fixes recover the most deferred treatment.

Last updated: May 2026

A treatment-acceptance grade is a structured audit of the practice's end-to-end case-acceptance process: plan presentation, financing options, same-day scheduling, follow-up cadence, objection handling, and supporting team training. Process Score = Sum of Weighted Rule Results (each pass adds its weight; fail adds zero). Top-performing practice acceptance typically target 70%+.

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What is Treatment Acceptance Process Score?

A treatment-acceptance grade is a structured audit of the practice's end-to-end case-acceptance process: plan presentation, financing options, same-day scheduling, follow-up cadence, objection handling, and supporting team training. The score points to the specific changes that recover the most deferred treatment.

The Formula

Process Score = Sum of Weighted Rule Results (each pass adds its weight; fail adds zero)

Financing options and doctor-led handoff carry the heaviest weights because they have the largest documented impact on acceptance lift across practice-management studies.

Worked Example

A 3-doctor general practice with doctor-led handoff in place, CareCredit only (one financing option), no formal same-visit scheduling, no objection scripts.

Doctor handoff: pass (10)
Financing options: fail (only one path) (0 of 15)
Same-day scheduling: fail (0 of 10)
Objection script: fail (0 of 10)
Visual aids and written estimates: assume pass (20)

📌 The grade sits around 50 out of 100 with three high-impact fixes already identified: a second financing path, a same-visit booking default, and documented objection responses. Each of those is a 1 to 2 week implementation.

Why This Matters

Acceptance is operational, not marketing

Practices spending more on marketing while leaving 50% of diagnosed treatment unaccepted are funding the wrong gap. The acceptance process is where the larger recoverable revenue usually sits.

Compounding effect

Each rule above lifts acceptance independently. Practices that adopt 5 to 6 of the strongest rules typically see 15 to 25 percentage points of cumulative lift.

Common Mistakes

❌ Treating acceptance as the doctor's problem only

The treatment coordinator, front office, and recall system all influence acceptance. A doctor with perfect chairside presentation can still lose cases to a broken follow-up workflow.

❌ Optimizing only for the first conversation

Many practices have strong same-day acceptance but lose cases that walk out undecided. A defined 3-touch follow-up sequence recaptures the bulk of those.

Industry Benchmarks

Category	Good	Average	Poor
Top-performing practice acceptance	70%+	50-69%	Under 45%
Financing paths offered	2+ (third-party + in-house)	1 (third-party only)	None offered
Same-visit booking rate	80%+	50-70%	Under 40%

Source: Levin Group Practice Benchmarks and ADA Health Policy Institute Practice Performance Data

Benchmark data sourced from Levin Group Practice Benchmarks and ADA Health Policy Institute Practice Performance Data.

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One of the most common mistakes we see when working with clients: treating acceptance as the doctor's problem only. The treatment coordinator, front office, and recall system all influence acceptance. A doctor with perfect chairside presentation can still lose cases to a broken follow-up workflow.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a healthy treatment acceptance rate for a dental practice?

Top-performing US practices target 70% or higher diagnosed-to-accepted treatment, with the strongest converting 80%+ on basic restorative and 50-60% on elective cosmetic and full-arch cases. The average dental practice sits closer to 35-45% per Levin Group benchmarks, leaving significant revenue on the table that can be recovered with process changes rather than more marketing spend.

How does financing affect dental treatment acceptance?

Cost is the single most cited reason patients defer treatment. Practices offering at least two financing paths (third-party plans like CareCredit, plus an in-house payment plan or membership plan) typically see treatment acceptance lift by 10-20 percentage points compared to fee-only presentations.

Why do patients accept treatment in the chair but never book?

Without a same-visit booking, a yes in the chair becomes a maybe by the end of the day and a no by the end of the week. Practices that book the next treatment appointment before the patient checks out recover the bulk of those losses. Pair that with a 3-touch follow-up sequence over 2 to 3 weeks for any patient who left without booking.

Should the dentist or the treatment coordinator present the plan?

The doctor-led handoff is the higher-converting pattern: the dentist verbally hands the case to the treatment coordinator at the chair while the patient is still seated. This preserves clinical authority and reduces the perception that the financial conversation is separate from the clinical one. Practices that adopt this pattern often see a 15-25% lift in acceptance.

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