Dr. Catrise Austin says dentistry is automating the wrong end of patient growth

Dr. Catrise Austin told dental practice owners in Chicago that many offices are automating back-end workflows while leaving patient acquisition and call handling exposed. She argued that gap hurts revenue now and can lower practice value at sale time.

Why it matters: - Dental practices can lose revenue before a patient ever enters the office if intake, qualification and call handling are not automated. - Dr. Catrise Austin linked those front-end gaps to lower chair utilization today and weaker valuation when owners sell. - The argument matters for both small practices and DSOs because acquisition systems and documentation can affect exit value.

What happened: - Dr. Catrise Austin spoke Tuesday at the Becker's Future of Dentistry Roundtable in Chicago. - The panel was titled "How DSOs and Small Practices Are Using Automation to Boost Efficiency and Quality" and took place at the Hilton Chicago. - Cameron Cortigiano of Becker's Healthcare moderated the session. - Dr. Austin appeared with Ian Miller of Cal Dental USA, Dr. Benjamin A. Lashley of Maple Park Dental Associates and Stefanie Salerno of Aligned Dental Partners. - Dr. Austin is owner of VIP Smiles Dentistry, founder of Celebrity Branding LLC and a co-author of "The Dental Exit Blueprint: The 13 EBITDA Levers That Drive Maximum Value."

The details: - Dr. Austin said dentistry has built automation for patients already inside the system while leaving pre-patient education and qualification mostly manual. - She said practices often buy technology for patients they already have and leave prospective patients to chance. - Dr. Austin described her own acquisition system for porcelain veneers and professional whitening, called the Veneer Authority System. - The system uses social media, speaking engagements and press appearances to create interest. - Automation then educates prospects with published books and podcast episodes and qualifies them before they call the office. - Dr. Austin said the audience generated by the system belongs to the practice, which makes it easier for a buyer to evaluate. - She said a patient arriving already educated protects chair time because an unqualified consultation can cost an hour with no return. - Dr. Austin said the approach can also work for hygiene, orthodontics, full arch and other niche practices. - She said practices should automate education and qualification before the visit, then use internal software to handle repeatable work inside the office. - Dr. Austin cited call tracking research from Andrew Klepner, founder of Brighter Idea Marketing and a contributing author to the book. - Klepner's 2026 review of 4,280 inbound calls across 26 dental practices found that 38% went unanswered during business hours. - "The Dental Exit Blueprint" values a missed new patient call at roughly $800 to $1,200 in first-year revenue. - Dr. Austin said missed calls belong under marketing because advertising spend is wasted when no one answers. - She said callers often move on to a nearby practice instead of waiting. - AI receptionist systems can answer calls, hold a conversation, capture the reason for the call and write a structured summary into the patient record. - The book argues that 12 months of call logs and booked appointment data can serve as evidence in a sale. - Dr. Austin pointed to a three-question screening test adapted from an automation audit by Leah Roling, another contributing author. - The test asks whether a task is repetitive, rules-based and free of a human warmth requirement. - Tasks that meet all three criteria are candidates for automation. - Tasks that fail any one criterion should stay human. - Dr. Austin applied that filter to case acceptance. - The chairside conversation stays human work. - Follow-up after a patient leaves with unscheduled treatment should be automated, she said, because many practices do not do it consistently. - "The Dental Exit Blueprint" reports that about 56% of presented treatment plans are accepted and 46% of accepted treatment is completed. - The book says practices that can show their systems and institutional knowledge operate independently of the founder sell at roughly 9 to 11 times earnings. - Practices that cannot show that independence sell at roughly 5 to 7 times earnings, according to the book. - On a practice earning $500,000, the authors calculate that spread at $2 million to $3 million. - Dr. Austin said buyers pay for proof that patients keep arriving, calls keep getting answered and treatment keeps getting scheduled even when the owner is absent. - The Dental Exit Blueprint was published in 2026 by lead author Elijah Desmond of Dental Pitch Advisory & Brokerage with 28 contributing dental industry experts. - A companion self-assessment, the Dental Exit Readiness Score, is available at dentalexitscore.com.

Between the lines: - Dr. Austin framed automation as a growth tool and a valuation tool, not just an efficiency tool. - Her point is that practices may already own software that speeds operations, but the bigger financial leak can sit earlier in the funnel where new patients first engage. - The emphasis on documented systems suggests buyers may value repeatability and independence from the founder as much as clinical performance. - The call-tracking data also shows why unanswered phones can be treated as a measurable marketing failure rather than a vague service problem.

What's next: - Dr. Austin urged owners to count unconverted email leads, measure unanswered calls, total unscheduled treatment, flag automatable tasks and assign an owner to every system. - Journalists seeking interviews with Dr. Austin on dental patient acquisition, brand authority or practice valuation can contact Celebrity Branding. - The Dental Exit Readiness Score offers owners a self-assessment tied to the broader exit-readiness theme.