LOL It's Your Dentist TTYL

Text messaging keeps people connected at all times—to their friends, spouses, mothers and coworkers.

But these days, you might be receiving communication from an unlikely contact: your dentist.

Are you envisioning a beep every time you sink your teeth into a piece of caramel or (gasp!) chew a piece of sugar-laden gum?

Don't worry. That's not why the doc is calling.

Appointment reminder text messaging is a growing national trend, and it’s happening in Newtown.

Newtown Dentistry for Kids is embracing the texting craze and using it to their advantage.

Office manager Doreen McCoy said the practice used to just make phone calls to confirm appointments. Now, they pay for a service that uses a variety of methods, like text, to get patients to confirm an appointment. As a result, the practice doesn’t have to spend time making phone confirmations.

The patient-to-practice communication system Newtown Dentistry for Kids has been using for about a year now, Practice Mojo, costs $179 per month.

Practice Mojo is used explicitly for dental practices, but there are other companies that cater to hair salons, doctors and more.

Chuck Bock, spokesperson at Practice Mojo, said the company has been offering text messages as part of its communications package for almost as long as the technology has been available.

“I would say that this type of thing has been around in some form or another for up to eight to 10 years,” he said.

But Practice Mojo doesn't just send text messages.

The system first sends an email 20 days prior to an appointment. If patients don’t respond, they then receive a postcard 15 days before an appointment. If still the patient doesn’t confirm, another email is sent four days before the appointment.

McCoy said her office calls the patient two days before the appointment if all reminders go unanswered. Finally, a text message is sent the day of the appointment, regardless of confirmation.

Messages are sent automatically, through a no-reply mass text message computer system Practice Mojo supplies.

“We have definitely got positive responses,” McCoy said. “And it does save some time.”

The system also has cut down on the practice’s no-shows, she said.

But McCoy said there are drawbacks, too.

“(Some) people get charged for texts, so they complain and we remove them,” she said. “Also, not everyone is email savvy.”

McCoy said about one-third of her patients reply to emails to confirm their appointment.

It’s hard to say just how many local offices use text messaging systems to confirm appointments. But it seems people in Newtown are generally open to the idea.

“I like that,” said Jerry Morris, even though he barely uses text messaging. “If you’re not home, you get the message.”

Kyle Crawford said his dentist doesn’t send him a text reminder, but he thinks it would help him remember his appointments.

“I don’t have a good memory,” he said.

Although many people agree businesses should keep up with technology, there are some naysayers.

“I’m so sick of this computer world,” said Jacki Shapiro. “I’d like to get back to using the telephone.”