---
title: "What Is No-show rate? Dental Practice Glossary | Copeland Consulting Services"
description: "The no-show rate is the share of booked appointments that patients miss without notice, usually shown as a percentage of appointments scheduled over a period."
url: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/no-show-rate
publisher: Copeland Consulting Services
email: drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com
contact: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact
---

Practice management

# No-show rate

The no-show rate is the share of booked appointments that patients miss without notice, usually shown as a percentage of appointments scheduled over a period.

To find the no-show rate, divide missed appointments by appointments booked in the same period. A systematic review of dental appointment no-shows in PMC found that all included studies were retrospective, with no-show rates ranging from 13.5 percent to 48 percent. The review also reports that patients with a prior no-show were more likely to miss later visits. The wide range shows that settings differ, so a practice should compare itself with its own past results first. Teams often track the rate by provider and appointment type. Responses include reminders and a clear [cancellation policy](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/cancellation-policy). See also [no-show](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/no-show).

[Next stepPractice consulting with Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact?topic=consulting)

## Related terms

-   [No-show](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/no-show)
-   [Cancellation policy](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/cancellation-policy)
-   [Hygiene recall](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/hygiene-recall)
-   [Key performance indicator](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/key-performance-indicator)

## Sources

1.  [PMC, Managing Dental Appointment No-Shows: A Systematic Review](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13400385/)
2.  [PMC, Managing Dental Appointment No-Shows: A Systematic Review](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13400385/)

## Talk with Dr. Copeland

[Contact Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact)[Email](mailto:drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com)