Use Weave's AI to Automate Appointment Reminders and Recall

What This Does

Weave is a dental-specific communication platform that connects to your practice management software (Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental) and automatically sends appointment reminders, recall messages, and follow-ups — so your front desk isn't spending 45+ minutes a day on confirmation calls.

Before You Start

• Your practice already has a Weave subscription (contact Weave at getweave.com for pricing if not)
• Weave is integrated with your PMS (Dentrix, Eaglesoft, or Open Dental — Weave handles setup)
• You're logged into the Weave desktop app or web dashboard

Steps

1. Access the Messaging settings

1. Open the Weave desktop app and sign in
2. Click Settings (gear icon) in the left sidebar
3. Navigate to Messaging → Appointment Reminders

What you should see: A list of reminder types (Confirmation, Reminder, Recall) with on/off toggles and timing settings.

2. Configure appointment confirmation messages

1. Click Confirmation to open the settings
2. Make sure the toggle is On
3. Set the timing: typically 48 hours before the appointment
4. Edit the message template — click the text field to customize:

   • Keep it under 160 characters for SMS
   • Include the date, time, and how to confirm (reply Y to confirm)
5. Click Save

Example message: "Hi [FirstName], this is [PracticeName] confirming your appointment on [Date] at [Time]. Reply YES to confirm or call us at [Phone] to reschedule."

3. Configure recall messages

1. In the Messaging settings, click Recall
2. Set recall timing: typically 1 month and 6 months after last appointment
3. Customize each message for the right tone and urgency:

   • 1-month: gentle "just checking in"
   • 6-month: more direct with a booking link
4. Enable Missed Recall for patients who don't respond
5. Click Save

4. Review automation results

1. Check the Reports tab in Weave to see confirmation rates
2. Review your schedule daily — Weave flags unconfirmed appointments in red
3. Your morning call list should shrink to just the unconfirmed patients (typically 10–20% of the schedule vs. 100% when calling manually)

Troubleshooting: If messages aren't sending, confirm that your PMS integration is active under Settings → Integrations. Call Weave support (they're very responsive) if data isn't syncing.

Real Example

Scenario: Your practice has 18 patients scheduled tomorrow. With manual confirmation calling, that's 45 minutes on the phone. With Weave automations:

What happens: Weave automatically texted all 18 patients 48 hours ago. This morning, 14 have already replied "YES." You see 4 unconfirmed in the dashboard. You make 4 targeted calls instead of 18 — saving 30+ minutes before 9am.

Tips

• After your first week, check your confirmation rate in Reports — most practices see 70–80% self-confirmation via text with no staff effort
• Enable Two-Way Texting in Weave so patients can text questions directly to the front desk number — it reduces inbound call volume significantly
• Ask Weave support to enable the Cancellation List feature — when a patient cancels, it automatically texts your recall waitlist to fill the slot

Weave updates frequently — if a menu has moved, check Weave's help center at getweave.com/support or contact their support team.