Dental Intelligence Online Scheduling is part of the Engagement Module. If you're interested in learning more, CLICK HERE to request a demo!
⚠️ IMPORTANT: In order to utilize Availability Insights for Online Scheduling, you must also have Provider Availability and Time Blocks set up in Dental Intelligence. The 'Override PMS Provider Availability' toggle in the General Settings tab must be enabled (green) in order for Availability Insights to show up in your dashboard.
What is Availability Insights?
Availability Insights is a built-in diagnostic tool within your Dental Intelligence Online Scheduling dashboard that helps you quickly understand why certain time slots or providers aren't appearing for patients when booking online.
Open Availability Insights from any scheduling link and you'll see your schedule the same way a patient does. Hover over any time slot or provider and you'll get a clear explanation of why it's available or why it's blocked — things like a scheduling conflict, a service limit, or a setting that needs to be adjusted.
Rather than guessing why a slot isn't showing up or digging through multiple settings manually, Availability Insights brings all of that reasoning into one centralized view. It makes the system's decision-making transparent, so you can trace availability issues back to their root cause with confidence.
What this means for your practice:
Faster troubleshooting — Pinpoint exactly why a time slot or provider isn't available, without the guesswork.
Greater visibility — See the rules and constraints affecting your schedule in real time.
Fewer recurring issues — Spot misconfigurations before they impact patient bookings.
More confident adjustments — Make changes backed by clear, concrete information rather than trial and error.
Availability Insights is especially valuable when dealing with edge cases or time-sensitive booking issues, ensuring your online scheduling is always working the way you intend it to.
How to Enable Availability Insights
You must have admin-level permissions in order to enable the PMS override toggle as well as view Availability Insights.
Set up Providers Availability in Schedule > Online Scheduling > Providers Availability
Set up Time Blocks in Schedule > Online Scheduling > Time Blocks
Turn on the 'Override PMS Provider Availability' toggle in Schedule > Online Scheduling > General Settings
With these configurations set up, Availability Insights is now automatically enabled ✅
How to Use Availability Insights
Navigate to Schedule > Online Scheduling > Scheduling Links
Click on the three-dot menu next to a scheduling link and choose Open Availability Insights
A new online scheduling window will open, showing the scheduling experience from the patient point-of-view
Hover over greyed-out options to see more information about why that time slot/provider is unavailable
Make Online Scheduling Adjustments Based on Insights
Based on the tips that show when hovering over scheduling options in the patient online scheduling point-of-view, you'll likely need to make the following adjustments:
Availability Insights Tip | Reason / Solution |
Unavailable: Time slot is booked | This time slot is unavailable because it's already been booked by another patient. In the tip, you'll find details of the appointment service, operatory, patient name, and provider. |
Unavailable: Time slot is reserved | This time slot is unavailable because it's already been requested by another patient. In the tip, you'll find details of the appointment service, operatory, patient name, and provider. Be sure to check the schedule to approve/reject the appointment. |
Unavailable: The provider is only available during a specific time block | This time slot is unavailable because the provider is only available during a specific time block. The tip will show the name of the block and the block time range. Navigate to Schedule > Online Scheduling > Time Blocks if you need to make changes. |
Unavailable: The time slot is blocked | This time slot is unavailable because it is fully blocked and has been marked in the Time Blocks set up to not allow scheduling during the selected time. Navigate to Schedule > Online Scheduling > Time Blocks if you need to make changes. |
Unavailable: Practice is closed | This time slot is unavailable because the practice is closed. Navigate to Settings > Practice Setup > Practice Hours to review the practice's current open/closed schedule, break times, and holiday closures if you need to make changes. |
Unavailable: Practice set break time | This time slot is unavailable because the practice is not accepting appointments during a set break time. Navigate to Settings > Practice Setup > Practice Hours to review the practice's current break times if you need to make changes. |
Unavailable: Office availability exception (PMS) | This time slot is unavailable because an office exception has been set up directly in PMS. Office exceptions can only be configured from the PMS. Make any changes to office exceptions directly from your PMS. |
Unavailable: Time slot is outside of practice hours | This time slot is unavailable because it is outside of set practice hours. The tip will show the practice open/close times. Navigate to Settings > Practice Setup > Practice Hours to review the practice's current schedule if you need to make changes. |
Unavailable: Time slot is too early | This time slot is unavailable because the service type selected only allows earliest scheduling before a certain time. Navigate to Schedule > Online Scheduling > Practice-Level Services to review your earliest availability configuration. |
Unavailable: Time slot is too late | This time slot is unavailable because the service type selected only allows latest scheduling by a certain time. Navigate to Schedule > Online Scheduling > Practice-Level Services to review your latest availability configuration. |
Unavailable: Time slot is too short | This time slot is unavailable because the service type selected requires a longer appointment time than the option currently offered (For example: if the service takes 60 minutes, patients cannot book an 8:00am appointment if the 8:30am time slot is already filled). The tip will show the appointment length needed for the service type selected. Navigate to Schedule > Online Scheduling > Practice-Level Services to review the length of the service type and make changes if needed. |
Unavailable: Provider set break time | This time slot is unavailable because the provider is not accepting appointments during a set break time. The tip will show the provider break time frame. Navigate to Schedule > Online Scheduling > Providers Availability and review the provider's current schedule and make changes. |
Unavailable: Provider is not available | This time slot or date is unavailable because the provider is not accepting appointments during this time due to their current schedule. Navigate to Schedule > Online Scheduling > Providers Availability to review the provider's current schedule and make changes. Their schedule may need to be updated or extended beyond the scheduling date. |
Unavailable: Provider hours are not set-up | This time slot is unavailable because the provider's schedule has not been set up in Dental Intelligence. Navigate to Schedule > Online Scheduling > Providers Availability to set up their availability. |