Case acceptance rate

What it is

After an exam, a dentist presents a treatment plan: the procedures the patient needs and what they will cost. Some patients schedule right away, some later, some never.

Case acceptance rate measures how much of the presented treatment patients accept. It is tracked in dollars and in number of plans, by provider and by the person who presented the plan.

Why operators track it

• It is production the practice has already diagnosed. Raising acceptance does not require new patients.
• It points at the conversation, not the clinical work: how treatment is presented, financing options, insurance estimates, and follow-up.
• It is a coaching metric for treatment coordinators and providers.
• It is a patient care issue. Unaccepted treatment that is clinically needed is care the patient is not getting.

How it is calculated

Case acceptance rate = treatment accepted ($) ÷ treatment presented ($)

• Presented: treatment plans shown to patients in the period.
• Accepted: the patient agreed, based on a chosen rule: signed plan, first procedure scheduled, or first procedure completed, within a set window.
• Count version: plans accepted ÷ plans presented.

Use a cohort: plans presented in a period, and whether each was accepted within the window. This avoids counting this month's acceptances against last month's presentations.

Worked example

In June, 120 treatment plans worth $186,000 were presented. Within 30 days, 78 plans worth $97,000 had a first procedure scheduled.

How to read it

• Higher is better, but only compare numbers that use the same definition of "accepted" and the same window.
• Compare the count rate with the dollar rate. If the dollar rate is lower, larger cases are being accepted less often.
• Recent cohorts look low until their acceptance window closes. Leave them out or mark them as incomplete.
• Reported acceptance rates vary a lot with how "accepted" is defined, so we do not publish a benchmark.

Definitional choices and common pitfalls

• What counts as accepted. Signed, scheduled, or completed. Each gives a different number. Pick one and document it.
• Window length. 30 days is one common choice for routine treatment. Large elective cases may need 60 or 90 days.
• Partial acceptance. If patients often accept part of a plan, measure at the procedure level, not the plan level.
• Who presented. Record whether the provider or a treatment coordinator presented the plan, or coaching is not possible.

How different roles use it

Questions it answers

• How much presented treatment did patients accept?
• Are larger cases being lost?
• Which providers or coordinators have the highest acceptance?
• How much accepted treatment is still unscheduled?

How to present it in a report

• Show the dollar rate and count rate together.
• Break down by plan size band (for example under $1k, $1k to $5k, over $5k).
• Show only cohorts whose window has closed, or label recent ones as incomplete.
• State the acceptance rule and window at the top of the report.

Data you need

Fields

What the raw data looks like

Example data A few rows as they might come out of the source system.

Where this data usually lives

• Practice management system (PMS) holds the schedule, procedures, fees, adjustments, treatment plans, and payments. For example: Dentrix and Dentrix Ascend (Henry Schein One), Eaglesoft (Patterson Dental), Open Dental.
• Insurance clearinghouse and eligibility tools hold claims, remittances, and payer details, which explain write-offs.
• Imaging systems hold x-rays and clinical images. They are rarely needed for these metrics.
• Payroll or HR may hold hours actually worked, if the schedule does not.
• DSO data warehouses combine data from many locations, sometimes from more than one PMS.

Common data gaps and traps

• Plans never marked presented. If staff skip the status change, presented treatment is undercounted.
• Appointments not linked to plans. Without the link, scheduled acceptance cannot be measured.
• Unscheduled vs scheduled treatment. Accepted treatment that is never booked looks like acceptance by the signed rule but not by the scheduled rule.
• Plans re-created. A revised plan may be saved as a new plan, which double counts presented treatment.
• Who presented is missing. Some systems record the provider but not the coordinator.

Related metrics

• Production per hour: accepted treatment is future production.
• Unscheduled treatment balance: presented treatment not yet booked. Coming soon.
• Hygiene reappointment rate: a related "did the patient book" metric.
• Collection rate: accepted is not yet collected.

FAQ

What counts as an accepted case?

It depends on the practice. Common choices are a signed treatment plan, a scheduled first appointment, or a completed first procedure, within a set window. Pick one and keep it consistent.

Should I measure case acceptance in dollars or number of cases?

Both. Dollars show financial impact; counts show how many patients said yes.

Why is my case acceptance lower for large treatment plans?

Larger plans involve bigger out-of-pocket costs and longer decisions. Splitting acceptance by plan size shows whether that is happening in your practice.

How long should the acceptance window be?

Thirty days is one common choice for routine treatment. Large elective cases may need 60 or 90 days. Use the same window when comparing periods.

case_acceptance_rate ($)     = treatment_accepted_value / treatment_presented_value * 100
case_acceptance_rate (count) = treatment_plans_accepted / treatment_plans_presented * 100

WITH presented AS (
  SELECT tp.plan_id, tp.patient_id, tp.provider_id, tp.location_id, tp.presented_by,
         tp.presented_at, SUM(tpi.fee) AS presented_value
  FROM treatment_plans tp
  JOIN treatment_plan_items tpi ON tpi.plan_id = tp.plan_id
  WHERE tp.presented_at IS NOT NULL
  GROUP BY 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
),
accepted AS (
  -- accepted = first appointment linked to the plan created within 30 days of presentation
  SELECT p.plan_id,
         MIN(a.created_at) AS first_scheduled_at
  FROM presented p
  JOIN appointments a ON a.linked_plan_id = p.plan_id
   AND a.created_at BETWEEN p.presented_at AND p.presented_at + INTERVAL '30 days'
  GROUP BY 1
)
SELECT
  p.location_id, p.provider_id, p.presented_by,
  DATE_TRUNC('month', p.presented_at) AS cohort_month,
  COUNT(*)                                          AS plans_presented,
  COUNT(a.plan_id)                                  AS plans_accepted,
  SUM(p.presented_value)                            AS presented_value,
  SUM(CASE WHEN a.plan_id IS NOT NULL THEN p.presented_value ELSE 0 END) AS accepted_value,
  100.0 * SUM(CASE WHEN a.plan_id IS NOT NULL THEN p.presented_value ELSE 0 END)
        / NULLIF(SUM(p.presented_value), 0)         AS case_acceptance_rate_dollars
FROM presented p
LEFT JOIN accepted a ON a.plan_id = p.plan_id
WHERE p.presented_at < NOW() - INTERVAL '30 days'   -- only cohorts whose window has closed
GROUP BY 1, 2, 3, 4;

Version 1.0 · Last reviewed 2026-10-20 · Machine-readable definition