Orthodontic Consult Follow-Up, From Free Consult to Start
Orthodontic consult follow-up is everything between the consult and the start: a written plan with the price that goes home the same day, a call from the treatment coordinator a few days later and a clear, easy way to say yes. Most of it costs staff time, not ad spend.
A family that doesn't start on consult day hasn't said no. A parent may want to talk it over at home, a teen wants a say in braces or aligners and an adult wants to check the budget first.
Below is the follow-up I'd build for an orthodontic practice, what to say at each step, the Florida rules on free consults and texts, and how to measure consult-to-start.
- Track consult-to-start as a percentage every month, split by parent, teen and adult patients.
- Send the written plan, the price and the payment options home with the family the same day.
- A call from the treatment coordinator a few days later answers questions. It isn't a sales call.
- A Florida ad for a free consult needs the 456.062 statement in capital letters and the dates it's available.
- Fla. Stat. 501.059 requires prior express written consent before automated sales texts, so ask on the intake form.
What is orthodontic consult follow-up?
It's the set of steps that turns a consult into a start. The patient leaves with a written plan, hears from a person they met, has their questions answered and gets an easy way to book the start appointment.
In my experience, practices put most of their marketing effort into getting the consult booked. That part matters, and the orthodontic marketing for parents, teens and adults post covers it. The follow-up is where a booked consult becomes a patient in treatment, and it's the part you control most.
Why measure consult-to-start?
Because it tells you where to put your next hour and your next dollar. Two practices can book the same number of consults and start very different numbers of patients.
| Item | Practice A | Practice B |
|---|---|---|
| Consults in the month | 40 | 40 |
| Starts | 12 | 20 |
| Consult-to-start | 30% | 50% |
Example with assumed numbers. None of them is a benchmark.
Practice B didn't need more consults to get eight more starts. If your rate is closer to Practice A's, more ad spend brings in more consults that end the same way. Work on the follow-up applies to every consult you already book.
Split the number by patient type. Parents of young children, teens and adults decide differently, and a single average can hide a group that needs its own follow-up.
A free 15-minute call with Blake by phone or Zoom. You get a written Method Plan for the cases you want, with the first fixes in order. It's yours to keep whether we work together or not.
What should happen on consult day?
The family should leave with everything they need to decide without calling you back to ask. That means four things in one folder or one email:
- The written plan: what the doctor recommends, the options discussed and the estimated length of treatment the doctor gave.
- The price for each option, what it includes and the payment options you offer.
- The name and direct number of the treatment coordinator they met.
- The next step: a start date on the calendar, or a day the coordinator will call.
Ask one question before they leave: "Is there anyone else who'll help make this decision?" If a second parent or a grandparent is paying, offer to walk them through the plan by phone or video.
I had orthodontic treatment as an adult, along with my double jaw surgery, so I've been the patient going home to think it over. Having the plan and the price in writing means the conversation at home starts from your numbers, not from a guess.
What does the follow-up sequence look like?
A few planned touches from a person the patient met, spaced so they feel helpful, then a monthly list. This is the sequence I'd set up in your CRM:
- 01Consult dayThe written plan, price and payment options go home with the family
- 02That eveningA short thank-you text from the coordinator, if the patient agreed to texts
- 03Day 3The coordinator calls to answer questions about the plan
- 04Day 14One more check-in, then the patient moves to a pending list reviewed monthly
The evening text is short and comes from someone they met:
Hi [First Name], this is [Coordinator] at [Practice Name]. Thanks for coming in today. Your plan and payment options are in the folder. If a question comes up tonight, reply here or call me at [number].
The day 3 call has one job: answer questions. I'd have the coordinator ask what came up at home, whether the payment options work and whether anyone else needs to hear the plan. If the answer is "we're ready," book the start on that call.
The timing above is how I'd start. Adjust it once you see where your own starts come from.
Who should make the follow-up call?
The treatment coordinator the family met at the consult, by name. A call from someone they've never met can feel like a call center.
The phone still carries a lot of this. Liine's 2024 dentistry benchmark report, based on close to 50,000 new patient leads, found 72.9 percent of new lead interactions were phone calls. When a family calls back with a question, someone who knows their plan should pick up, or call back the same day.
If you record calls, you can hear how those conversations go. The dental call tracking post covers the setup, the Florida consent rule for recording and a scorecard your office manager can run every week.
How do you track consults that haven't started?
Give every consult a status in your CRM or practice software and review the list every week. The statuses I use:
| Status | What it means | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Started | Treatment has begun | Report back to the referring dentist, if there is one |
| Scheduled | A start date is on the calendar | Confirmation and reminder |
| Thinking it over | Has the plan, no decision yet | The day 3 call, then the day 14 check-in |
| Not now | Gave a reason, such as timing or cost | Write down the reason and a date to check back |
| No answer | Hasn't replied to the call or text | One more try, then the monthly list |
The "not now" reasons are worth reading every month. If cost comes up often, look at how the payment options are presented. If timing comes up, a check-in when school lets out or after the holidays may be the right next step.
What do Florida's rules say about free consults and follow-up texts?
Three rules come up most. Run your offer and your messages past your attorney before they go out. I'm not a lawyer.
First, the free consult itself. Fla. Stat. 456.062 requires any ad for a free or discounted service to carry a statement, in capital letters that stand out, about the patient's right to refuse, cancel or be reimbursed for payment for other services performed within 72 hours of responding to the ad. The Board of Dentistry's Rule 64B5-4.003 adds that the ad must clearly identify the dates the free or discounted service will be available.
Second, what the ad and your website say. Fla. Stat. 466.019 defines an advertisement to include websites and social media, and it bars laudatory statements, quality comparisons, unjustified expectations of results, appeals mainly to fear and fee information without a minimum-fee disclaimer. I hold follow-up messages to the same standard. Here's the difference in one line each:
Out: "Lock in your perfect smile before this price disappears!"
In: "Your plan and payment options are ready whenever you are. Reply here with any questions."
Third, texts. Fla. Stat. 501.059 counts a text message as a telephonic sales call and requires prior express written consent before an unsolicited automated sales text. The statute says a call made in response to the person's express request, or to someone with a prior or existing business relationship, isn't unsolicited, and it lists checking a box as one way to sign consent. Put a consent checkbox on your intake form and keep it on file.
On privacy, HHS's HIPAA marketing guidance says a communication made for the individual's treatment isn't marketing. A message about the patient's own plan fits that. A message promoting a different service is a separate question for your compliance person.
- Any "free consult" ad carries the 456.062 statement in capital letters
- The ad states the dates the free consult is available
- Any fee says it is a minimum fee only, per 466.019(3)(g)
- No praise of the doctor, no quality comparisons and no promised results
- Written consent is on file before any automated sales text
- Follow-up messages stay about the patient's own plan
Source: Fla. Stat. 456.062, 466.019 and 501.059, Rule 64B5-4.003, HHS HIPAA marketing guidance
What to do next
In the Double Jaw Method™, the top jaw is thinking: name the patient you want more of. The bottom jaw is action: attract them and wow them. Consult follow-up is the bottom jaw up close: the family already walked in, and the written plan, the coordinator's call and an easy yes are where you wow them. A Method Review applies both jaws to your practice.
- Pull last quarter's consults and count how many started. Split the count by parent, teen and adult.
- Look at what a family takes home after a consult. If the price isn't in writing, add it.
- Add a texting consent checkbox to your intake form and have your attorney read the wording.
- Set up the day 3 call and the day 14 check-in as tasks in your CRM, assigned to the coordinator by name.
- Read every ad that offers a free consult and check it for the 456.062 statement and the dates.
The orthodontist page explains how we build this with a practice. Orthodontic marketing for parents, teens and adults covers how the consults get booked in the first place, and dental call tracking covers the calls before and after.
FAQ
What is a good consult-to-start rate for an orthodontist?
I haven't found a published benchmark I'd stand behind, and practices count consults and starts differently. Measure your own rate for three months, split by parent, teen and adult patients, and judge changes against that.
How soon should you follow up after an orthodontic consult?
I'd send a short thank-you text that evening, if the patient agreed to texts, and have the coordinator call around day 3. Then adjust the timing to what your own starts show.
Can an orthodontist text consult patients in Florida?
Yes, with care. Fla. Stat. 501.059 counts a text as a telephonic sales call and requires prior express written consent before an unsolicited automated sales text, so get consent on the intake form. Have your attorney read the consent wording and the messages.
Should a follow-up message include a deadline or a discount?
Only if it's real and compliant. A discount triggers the 456.062 statement and Rule 64B5-4.003's dates requirement, and a made-up deadline works against the trust the consult built.
Book a Method Review
Book a Method Review: a free 15-minute call with Blake by phone or Zoom about how your consults turn into starts. You get a written Method Plan with the first fixes in order, yours to keep whether we work together or not.
