Recall & reports · 6-minute read

How to Pull Your Overdue Recall and Unscheduled Treatment Lists in Dentrix, Open Dental and Eaglesoft

Reactivation starts with two lists: patients past due for hygiene with nothing on the schedule, and treatment that was presented but never booked. Every major practice management system can produce both. This guide shows where to find them in Dentrix, Open Dental and Eaglesoft, which filters to set, and how to turn the output into a call list your team can finish.

Before you start: menu names change between versions and editions. The paths below come from each vendor's own documentation, linked in each section. If your screen looks different, search your system's help for the report name.

What a usable call list needs

Whatever system you use, the export should give a caller everything needed to book the patient on the first conversation, and nothing more:

• Name and best phone number. Mobile first if your system stores it separately.
• What the patient is due for. Prophy, perio maintenance, or the specific treatment and its fee.
• Last visit or due date. This sets the priority and the tone of the call.
• Provider. So the caller can say "Dr. Lee asked us to reach out."
• Do-not-contact flags. Anyone who asked not to be called comes off the list before it's printed.

Leave out clinical notes, balances and anything the caller doesn't need to book. Less information on the list means less information to protect.

Open Dental

Overdue hygiene: the Recall List. In the Appointments module, click Lists in the toolbar, then Recall. The list shows patients due for a recall who aren't yet scheduled. Set From/To to the due-date range you want (leave From blank to include patients who have never completed a recall), choose the Recall Type (Prophy, Perio or All), filter by Provider if needed, and click Refresh List. Check Include Reminded so patients who already got automated reminders stay on the list; for a phone campaign, they're exactly the people you want. (Open Dental manual: Recall List)

Unscheduled treatment: the Treatment Finder report. Open Standard Reports, go to the Lists section and click Treatment Finder. It lists active patients with treatment-planned procedures and no scheduled appointment. Use TP Date From/To to limit it to the last 12 months, and check Include secondary insurance and no insurance so uninsured patients aren't left out. (Open Dental manual: Treatment Finder)

The same Lists menu also has an Unscheduled List of no-shows and cancellations that were never rebooked, and an ASAP List of patients who want the first available opening. Both are useful when you need to fill a short-notice gap. (Open Dental manual: Appointment Lists)

Dentrix

Overdue hygiene: the Continuing Care List. Dentrix calls recall "continuing care." The Continuing Care List finds patients who are past due, and it can be generated two ways: the traditional list from the Appointment Book, or a more interactive version from Letters & Custom Lists in the Office Manager. Filter to patients with no scheduled appointment and a due date in the past. (Ask the Dentrix Expert, DrBicuspid)

Unscheduled treatment. In Dentrix Enterprise, open the Office Manager, go to the Reports menu, point to Lists and click Unscheduled Treatment Plans. Other Dentrix editions have an equivalent report; check your version's Reports Reference. (Dentrix Enterprise blog)

Dentrix also recommends logging every call outcome in the patient's Office Journal so the next caller knows what was said.

Eaglesoft

Overdue hygiene: The Money Finder. Go to Activities > Practice Management > The Money Finder and set the filters for your target group, for example patients with no scheduled appointment and a recall date within the last six months. Run it again with older date ranges to build the 6-to-18-month and 18-to-36-month groups. (The Crew Process: Eaglesoft)

Recall reports and tracking. Patterson's support site has step-by-step articles on Eaglesoft's recall report and on setting up recall tracking. (Patterson Support: Eaglesoft Recall Report)

Eaglesoft's InContact tool, opened from the telephone icon on the Virtual Front Desk, is built for working a call list and recording each contact.

Turn the export into a call list

1. Remove the do-not-contact patients first. Moved away, transferred care, deceased, or asked not to be called.
2. Split hygiene by months overdue. 6 to 18 months is your best group; 18 to 36 months gets a lighter touch; over 3 years is lowest priority.
3. Sort treatment by date presented, then fee. Plans from the last 90 days first, then the highest-value plans.
4. Release openings before anyone dials. Callers who can offer two specific times book far more than callers who say "call us when you're ready."
5. Log every outcome the same day. Booked, declined and why, no answer, or remove from list.

How often to pull the lists

Pull hygiene weekly while you're working through a backlog, then monthly once it's under control. Pull unscheduled treatment weekly, so recently presented plans get a call while the conversation with the doctor is still fresh. Keep a simple count each time you pull: how many patients are overdue and how much treatment is open. If those numbers aren't shrinking month over month, the list is being pulled but not called.

Keep patient information protected

A recall list is protected health information. Keep it inside your practice management system or a secure, access-controlled location. Don't email spreadsheets of patient names and phone numbers to personal accounts, and don't share the list with any outside company until a HIPAA business associate agreement is signed.

Related: How to reactivate overdue and inactive patients (with call script) · Unscheduled dental treatment: how to get it booked