For many dental practices, the front desk is the heartbeat of daily operations—answering phones, scheduling appointments, verifying insurance, and welcoming patients. But as your patient base grows, so does the workload. When it comes time to either replace an outgoing staff member of hiring for a higher workload, it’s important to consider all of the options for staffing and if it may be more practical to outsource your call answering.
Let’s break down the pros and cons of outsourcing to a service like Unique Dental Scheduling (UDS)—a trusted dental call center solution designed for dental practices.
The case to outsource with UDS
Low-Cost Phone Coverage — As Low As $2/Hour
UDS offers flexible phone answering solutions at a fraction of the cost of hiring an additional staff member. Our rollover plans mean that Unique only answers the phone when needed, so you’re not paying for help when you don’t need it.
No Benefits or HR Burden
Hiring a new employee is a big investment. It means managing salaries, and on top of that there’s health insurance, PTO, training, and potential turnover. Those costs add up, and UDS eliminates the need for all of those additional responsibilities.
Always Available, Always Professional
Unlike in-house staff who may be late or call in sick, go on vacation, or multitask at the front desk, UDS ensures every call is answered for every patient. This boosts patient satisfaction and reduces missed opportunities—key to improving patient retention and not missing any scheduling opportunities.
Use Only When You Need It
UDS is flexible—perfect for busy hours, after-hours, staff shortages, or backup during vacations. It’s a smart way to scale your front desk operations without overcommitting resources.
Is outsourcing the right choice for me?
Cannot Perform In-Office Tasks
UDS can’t greet patients in the office, collect co-pays, or handle in-person paperwork. You’ll still need at least one in-office team member for face-to-face responsibilities and hands-on tasks.
Requires On-Site Escalation Support
For urgent or complex patient needs that can’t be resolved over the phone, UDS will escalate to your on-site team. UDS is a support solution—not a complete front desk replacement.
Outbound Calls
We specialize in answering calls. While we do that very well by answering patients’ questions or getting them scheduled, Unique does not handle outbound calls regularly. Things like appointment reminders or returning messages is best left to either digital means, or to in-office staff.
Final takeaway
While Unique Dental Scheduling cannot fully replace a front office team member, it’s a powerful tool for lean staffing, cost savings, and reliable phone coverage. If you’re exploring dental front desk alternatives, weighing the pros and cons of outsourcing dental calls, or considering a dental call center vs staff decision, UDS provides a scalable and risk-free way to boost your patient communication without the overhead of another full-time hire.