A focused, sequenced postcard plus call playbook designed for one job: turning lapsed dental patients into rebooked appointments.
Start Free — No Credit CardMost patients who haven't been in for 12+ months didn't leave for a competitor. They moved, got busy, lost insurance, or simply forgot. A single postcard fades. A single call goes to voicemail. The win is in the sequence.
3 waves over 10 weeks, then a 90-day rest before the cycle repeats. Below is exactly what mails when, and why.
Headline: "We Miss Your Smile" · Offer: Free exam & cleaning for returning patients · QR to online booking.
Wave 1 is the warmest touch. Tone is personal: "Dr. Smith asked us to reach out personally." It does the heavy lifting of getting the patient's attention. The follow-up call lands 10–21 days later — long enough that the postcard is remembered, short enough that intent is still warm. About 60–70% of total reactivations come from this wave alone.
Headline: "Time Is Running Out" · Offer: Free exam + x-rays, extended to family members · deadline-driven CTA.
Mailed 28 days after Wave 1, only to non-responders. Different design, different angle. The hook shifts from "we care" to "use your benefits before they reset" or "schedule by [date]." Adding family members to the offer doubles its perceived value without doubling cost. The Wave 2 call is shorter and more direct — "I wanted to follow up on the offer we sent."
Headline: "Keep Your Smile Healthy" · Offer: Free exam or cleaning — final reminder · "before your file goes inactive" framing.
21 days after Wave 2. Postcard only — no call. Two calls is enough; a third feels like pestering. The framing softens to "we'd love to keep your records active" and a final deadline. After Wave 3, the contact rests for 90 days before re-entering the cycle. That rest period is what keeps response rates high — over-mailing is the fastest way to train people to ignore you.
All three waves, the call timing, and copy direction are pre-configured. You only customize the offer and your practice branding.
Filter by "last visit date older than 12 months" in Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental, Curve, or Denticon. Export as CSV. Our import wizard auto-maps the columns.
Wave 1 postcards print and drop into USPS within 1–2 business days. Your call queue populates 10 days after delivery. Wave 2 schedules itself 28 days later.
Each call has a pre-loaded script. Staff log the outcome (booked, voicemail, wrong number, do-not-contact). Booked patients drop out of the sequence automatically.
Most general dental practices have 400–700 patients inactive 12+ months. Here's the math on a 500-patient run through this exact playbook:
25:1 ROI on the first cycle — and the rest period means most reactivated patients re-enter the cycle if they lapse again.
Run your own numbers in the ROI calculator.
Free to explore — you only pay when you're ready to send. 30-day money-back guarantee.
Single-wave postcard campaigns · Unlimited contacts · From $1.05/piece
Everything in Free + calls, sequencing · From $0.79/piece
Per-piece pricing includes printing + USPS First-Class postage. No hidden fees.
Four design styles, all themed for your dental practice and ready to customize. Same offer, same call follow-up — just pick the look that fits your brand.
Bold
Photo
Minimal
Gradient
Front Detail
Back (Address Side)
PostKnock recall campaigns also work for
Recall is the highest-ROI dental playbook, but PostKnock also runs new patient acquisition, hygiene reminders, and seasonal promos. See the full lineup on the dental hub.
See all dental campaigns →We recommend 200–800 patients for the first run. Smaller than 200 and the per-card economics get harder to justify against your monthly subscription; larger than 800 and your front desk will struggle to handle the call queue once Wave 1 generates booking activity. If you have a list of 1,500+ inactive patients, split it into two cohorts and stagger them by 30 days.
For Wave 1, a free comprehensive exam (or free exam + cleaning for returning patients) consistently outperforms percentage discounts. The reason: lapsed patients aren't price-shopping — they're inertia-shopping. A free exam removes the "what will it cost me" objection entirely. Save percentage discounts and bundled offers for Wave 2 to add a fresh angle.
10–21 days after delivery is the sweet spot. USPS First-Class typically delivers in 3–5 business days, so calling on day 10–14 means the patient has likely seen the card and may even have it on the fridge. Calling earlier (day 5) feels pushy. Calling later than day 21 means they've forgotten the card and you're starting cold. PostKnock's call queue auto-populates in this window for you.
Yes — first-name personalization on the front of the card lifts response rates by an additional 0.5–1%. PostKnock pulls each patient's name from your CSV via a <pk-var> tag in the template, so personalization happens automatically without manual edits. Don't try to personalize the offer copy itself though — over-personalization on a postcard reads as creepy rather than thoughtful.
In Dentrix: Reports → Patient Lists → "Inactive Patients" with last-visit filter. In Eaglesoft: Lists → Patient List → filter by Last Visit Date. In Open Dental: Reports → Lists → Inactive Patient list. In Curve and Denticon: similar inactive-patient queries are built in. Export as CSV with first name, last name, address, city, state, zip, phone, and last visit date. PostKnock's import wizard auto-detects each column.
Stop sending one-off recall cards and hoping. Start running the 3-wave sequence that actually fills your hygiene chair.
Start Free — No Credit CardContact Sales
Tell us about your needs and we'll put together a custom plan.
1 ANA (Association of National Advertisers), Response Rate Report 2023, published February 2024.
2 IBISWorld, “Dentists in the US — Number of Businesses,” 2024.