Practice management
Case acceptance
Case acceptance is the share of recommended dental treatment that patients agree to schedule or pay for, often measured as a percentage of treatment presented.
The ADA states that the success of any dental practice is directly related to patients' acceptance of the dentist's treatment recommendations. Case acceptance puts a number on that. Practices often calculate it as treatment accepted divided by treatment presented, in dollars or in cases, but there is no single required formula, so each practice should define its own and use it the same way each month. A low figure can point to many causes, including fees, trust, scheduling or how the case presentation went. The ADA also advises that patients who need more extensive care return within one week to discuss options, since delay makes follow-through less likely.