Pending starts drift
The consult goes well, the treatment coordinator presents the fee, and the parent says they need to talk it over. The record sits in “pending” for months with no one owning the next conversation.
Orthodontic practicesCRM and follow-up
Consults that start, observation patients who come back, referrals you can see.
Referrals from general dentists, website consult requests and calls from parents land on one patient record with the next step. The pending-start follow-up and the observation recall go out from it.
Where it goes wrong today.
Observation patients disappear
A child is not ready for treatment, so the doctor says come back in a year for a growth check. The recall is a note in the chart, and the family forgets.
Referral sources are a guess
You know some general dentists send patients and some do not. Without the source on each record, you cannot tell which offices to thank and which to visit.
How it works for orthodontic practices.
One record from referral, form or call
A referral slip entered by the desk, a form from your clear-aligner or braces page, a call or a booking taken by the AI phone agent creates the record with the referring dentist and the source attached.
Stages the treatment coordinator already uses
Consult scheduled, consult held, pending start, started, observation, retention. The TC owns pending starts and sees how long each has waited. The front desk owns observation recalls. The financial coordinator sees agreements not yet signed.
Follow-up from the record
The consult reminder with new-patient forms, the pending-start check-in, the observation recall when the year is up, the retainer-check reminder and the review request all send from the patient record. Read how lead follow-up automation is set up.
Illustrative example
What a day looks like.
- Monday, 8:00 a.m.An evening consult request from the clear-aligner page is on the TC’s list with the source attached. She calls the parent before school drop-off ends.
- Tuesday, 12:15 p.m.Pending starts older than a few weeks get a short text from the TC asking whether questions remain about the plan or the payment options.
- Wednesday, 10:00 a.m.Observation patients due for a growth check next month get a text with two openings. Replies land on their records.
- Thursday, 3:30 p.m.Financial agreements sent this month and not yet signed are listed for the financial coordinator with the last message on each.
- Friday, 4:00 p.m.Patients debanded this week get a congratulations, a retainer-check date and a review request.
An illustrative example of how the system runs, not a measured result.
More for orthodontic practices.
Orthodontic practicesThe whole system for this work: pages, phones, follow-up and reviews.AI phone agentConsult and broken-bracket calls answered while the desk is seating patients.WebsitesA page for braces, for aligners, for the age-seven check, and for the consult.ReviewsReview requests on debond day, sent to the parent who has been driving to every appointment.
Questions orthodontic practices ask
Does this replace our orthodontic practice software?
No. Treatment records, imaging and ledgers stay in your practice software. Ottimo holds the inquiry, the follow-up and the next step, and books into the calendar you connect.
Can we report on referring dentists?
Yes. The referring office is a field on each record, so you can see which practices send patients and how many of those consults started.
Who sees a pending start?
The treatment coordinator by default, with the date of the consult and the last message sent. You can set it so the doctor or office manager sees any pending start past a number of days you choose.
How soon can we be live?
On the platform plan, live in about five business days, including the import of your current patient list. See contact.