---
title: "What Is Patient retention? Dental Practice Glossary"
description: "Patient retention is the share of patients who keep returning to the same practice over time, often measured by active patients or those who rebook preventive..."
url: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/patient-retention
publisher: Copeland Consulting Services
email: drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com
contact: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact
---

Practice management

# Patient retention

Patient retention is the share of patients who keep returning to the same practice over time, often measured by active patients or those who rebook preventive visits.

Retention describes how well a practice keeps the patients it already has. The ADA says that taking time to get to know patients on a personal level, and letting them get to know the dentist, goes a long way toward patient retention. Retention is closely tied to [recall](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/recall), because patients who stay on a recall schedule keep coming back. It also relates to [patient experience](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/patient-experience). Practices usually define an active patient by visit date and track the count over time.

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

## Related terms

-   [Recall](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/recall)
-   [Patient experience](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/patient-experience)
-   [Patient referral](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/patient-referral)
-   [Hygiene recall](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/hygiene-recall)

## Sources

1.  [ADA, How to Cultivate Loyal Dental Patients](https://www.ada.org/resources/practice/practice-management/how-to-cultivate-loyal-dental-patients)

## Talk with Dr. Copeland

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