Overdue recall and reactivation texts with a call list (Open Dental recall list)

The problem

An unfilled hygiene slot is lost production, and staffing makes it harder to fill: most practices say hygienists are hard to hire, so every booked chair counts.

• ADA Health Policy Institute, Q3 2025: 90.8% of practices trying to hire a dental hygienist said recruiting one was challenging. Source: ADA Health Policy Institute, Economic Outlook and Emerging Issues in Dentistry, Q3 2025 (Professional association survey)
• Open Dental's own Web Sched Recall and eReminders can send automated recall texts and emails. If you already use them, keep them and skip this recipe, or the patient gets both. Source: Open Dental manual: Web Sched Recall setup (Vendor manual)

Who it's for

US dental offices on Open Dental whose recall list is longer than the front desk can work by phone, and who don't already use Open Dental's automated recall messages.

Tools and monthly cost

Example month: Illustrative arithmetic. Assume 300 overdue patients sharing 220 phone numbers with text consent, one reminder each this month: 220 one-segment texts = $1.83 plus carrier fees of $0.77-$1.10. Open Dental API $15 per location (recall status writes need the Comm permission). Twilio number shared with the missed-call recipe. About $18 a month plus your n8n server.

Setup

1. Read the 'HIPAA, TCPA and BAAs' section on the dental hub first. Turn off Open Dental's automated recall texts (or don't use this recipe) so patients aren't reminded twice.
2. Use the Twilio number, A2P campaign and SMS webhook from the missed-call recipe.
3. Give the workflow an Open Dental API key with the $15 tier. Optionally set RECALL_STATUS_TEXTED_DEFNUM to the definition number of your 'Texted' recall status so it shows on the recall list.
4. Set RECALL_MIN_OVERDUE_DAYS (default 30) and RECALL_LOOKBACK_MONTHS (default 24: older lapses are left for a personal call), plus PRACTICE_SHORT, PRACTICE_PHONE, WEB_SCHED_URL and PRACTICE_TZ.
5. Create the call-list Sheet in BAA-covered Google Workspace and swap the mock sheet URL for n8n's Google Sheets node. The workflow also has a manual 'run now' webhook used by our tests. Delete it, or put it behind n8n's header authentication, before you go live.

Download

Download dental-overdue-recall-reactivation.zip

Contains the n8n workflow, the mock data, the test runner with its last results, and the mock server we tested against. All keys in .env.example are fake.

Test result

Every workflow was imported into n8n 2.45.4 and run end to end on our test machine. Open Dental's API, Twilio, Stedi, Google Sheets and the email sender (Resend) were replaced by a local mock server built from their official API docs: it checks the same request shapes and required fields, enforces Open Dental's request throttle (HTTP 429) and records every call. We also compared the mock's field names with Open Dental's public test database (read-only GET requests with the test key Open Dental publishes, no writes). These recipes use no AI model; every decision is a written rule. Patients, plans and phone numbers are invented. Verified with mocks; no real patient data used, and nothing was sent to a real phone, patient, payer or account.

Actual output from the test run

Scenario R1: the reminder text and the first call-list rows (invented patients). Names and numbers are invented.

R1: Maple Grove Dental: it's time to book a checkup. Pick a time: https://example.com/maple-grove/book or call +15555550100. Reply STOP to opt out.

Call list:
[
 {
  "run": "2026-11-09",
  "patient": "Leo Lopez",
  "PatNum": 112,
  "phone": "+15555550201",
  "recall": "Prophy",
  "due": "07/15/2026",
  "reminders_before": 0,
  "action": "Covered by family text"
 },
 {
  "run": "2026-11-09",
  "patient": "Frank Odum",
  "PatNum": 106,
  "phone": "+15555550206",
  "recall": "Prophy",
  "due": "09/20/2026",
  "reminders_before": 0,
  "action": "Call (opted out of texts)"
 },
 {
  "run": "2026-11-09",
  "patient": "Grace Kim",
  "PatNum": 107,
  "phone": "+15555550207",
  "recall": "Prophy",
  "due": "09/01/2026",
  "reminders_before": 0,
  "action": "Texted (reminder 1 of 3)"
 }
]