Research · Protocol version 1.0
Dental Lead-Response Benchmark: Study Protocol
The measurement protocol and evidence status for a future benchmark of dental-practice responses to non-urgent prospective-patient inquiries.
01 · Evidence status
What this page does not claim.
No response-time benchmark is reported in this protocol release. The current sample size is zero, so this page contains definitions and collection rules rather than industry averages.
We publish results only with a baseline, a date range, and the client’s approval.
02 · Study record
The record, as it stands today.
- Status
- Protocol published; participant recruitment not started
- Sample size
- 0 practices (protocol release; no results published)
- Collection dates
- Not yet collected. Each future release will state inquiry dates, local time windows, and follow-up cutoffs.
- Author
- Santiago Vidales, Bite-Sites
- Reviewer
- Independent reviewer not yet assigned; results cannot be labeled reviewed until one is named
- Published
- 2026-09-01
- Last updated
- 2026-09-01
03 · Method
How the data will be collected.
- Recruit consenting United States dental practices and document practice type, time zone, published office hours, and enabled inquiry channels before testing.
- Use standardized, clearly non-urgent prospective-patient questions. Do not submit symptoms, request clinical advice, occupy appointment inventory, or contact emergency lines.
- Start the response clock when the form, text, or call event is successfully recorded. Record automated acknowledgements separately from a substantive human response.
- Stop the clock at the first human message that addresses the inquiry or asks a relevant next-step question. Apply a disclosed follow-up cutoff to non-responses.
- Report medians, ranges, response rates, channel, business-hours status, and sample counts. Retain timestamp evidence with personal data removed.
04 · What is measured
Every measure, defined.
- Human response time
- Elapsed minutes from a confirmed inquiry to the first substantive human response.
- Acknowledgement time
- Elapsed time to an automated receipt or routing message, reported separately.
- Response rate
- Eligible inquiries receiving a substantive human response within the stated cutoff divided by eligible inquiries.
- Next-step clarity
- Whether the response provides a specific action such as calling, supplying information, or selecting an appointment time.
05 · Exclusions and limits
What is left out, and what it cannot say.
Exclusions
- Emergency or symptom-based inquiries
- Failed form submissions, bounced messages, and calls that never reach the published practice system
- Duplicate tests of the same practice inside one reporting window unless the design explicitly measures repeatability
- Responses from test, staging, or vendor demonstration systems
Limitations
- Consenting participants may not represent all dental practices.
- A standardized inquiry cannot reproduce every real patient question or communication need.
- Response speed alone does not establish response quality, patient satisfaction, booking, or treatment acceptance.
- Until data is collected, this page is a protocol and must not be cited as a lead-response benchmark result.
Citation
Vidales, Santiago. “Dental Lead-Response Benchmark: Study Protocol.” Bite-Sites, protocol version 1.0, 1 Sept. 2026.
Changes
- 2026-09-01: Initial protocol and no-data status published.
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