1 in 5 dental patients miss their appointments

Keeping your scheduled dental appointments is important for your health and the health of others in our community. That is why we have a dental no-show/missed appointment policy in order to make more appointments available to patients. 

What is a no-show/missed appointment?

A no-show/missed appointment is when a patient does not come to their scheduled appointment, and does not contact the clinic or the scheduling team ahead of time to cancel or reschedule. 

What is the dental appointment no-show/missed appointment policy?

After two (2) no-shows/missed appointments, a patient will not be able to schedule a dental appointment for three months. During this three-month period, the patient can walk into a dental clinic for care. After you keep your walk-in appointment, you will be able to schedule a future appointment.

A walk-in means you will be seen as soon as an appointment becomes available, but you may have to wait an hour or more to be seen. Walk-in appointments depend on the clinic and provider’s availability, and we cannot guarantee you will be seen that day. Most clinic walk-in hours end 90 minutes before the clinic closes. Find a clinic to learn more about dental clinic walk-in hours.

Keeping your appointment is important for your health. It is a time for you to receive important services and talk with your dental care team about your treatment plan. If you miss your appointment, improvements to your health could be delayed.

Why is it important to cancel or reschedule an appointment in advance?
Last year, almost 24,000 members of our community – enough people to fill the Tacoma Dome--could have received dental care sooner if no-show appointments had been canceled or rescheduled in advance.

Life is busy. We get it. If you are not able to keep your scheduled appointment, please call in advance to cancel or reschedule so we can give your appointment time to another patient. With your help, we can make sure more members of our community can get the care they need.

If you have any questions, please ask any staff member. Your health is important to us, and we appreciate that you trust Neighborcare as your health care provider.