Frequency of missed and cancelled appointments in King Saud University orthodontic clinic

ObjectivesTo determine the frequency of missed and cancelled orthodontic appointments in the dental college in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia besides the assessment of the factors that may influence the patients’ attendance to their appointments.MethodsSelf administrated questionnaires were handed by the receptionist in the waiting room to all booked patients undergoing active treatment in the orthodontic clinic. The questionnaire included questions pertaining to socio-demographic characteristics, methods of remembering appointments and reasons for cancelling and missing appointments.ResultsOf the surveyed sample, 27.8% relied on their memory to remember their appointments and 24.2% used their computers or mobiles as a means of reminders. Of the respondents, 24.8% stated that they have missed an appointment and 40.5% had to cancel one. When asked about the reasons for missing an appointment, the highest percentage of the patients missed an appointment due to forgetfulness followed by inability to get time off from work/school. For cancelling an appointment the highest percentage stated that they were unable to get time off to come to their appointment. Cancelling an appointment was found to be significantly correlated with missing an appointment among the surveyed sample (P < 0.0001).ConclusionsAround one fourth of the patients attending the orthodontic clinics missed their appointments and the most frequent reasons were forgetfulness and inability to get time off from work/school. No differences were found in missed appointments between both genders and different age groups.