A dental treatment coordinator (TCO) is the person who helps patients understand their treatment plan and say yes to the care their dentist has recommended. In a UK private practice the TCO is often the single biggest lever on revenue, because most treatment that is presented and never started is lost after the consultation, not during it.
This guide covers what a TCO does, what UK practices pay, how the best TCOs run their day and what software they need.
The TCO sits between the clinician and the patient. The dentist decides what treatment is clinically appropriate. The TCO helps the patient understand it, afford it and book it.
A typical TCO:
Most UK practices pay a treatment coordinator around £26,000 to £35,000 a year, depending on experience and location, with London roles at the top of the range. Many add a bonus. GDC standards put patients' interests first, so the safest bonus schemes reward a good patient journey (fast responses, plans explained, follow-ups completed) rather than pure sales.
1. Morning: check overnight enquiries and reply to every one. Call new leads first, because the practice that responds first usually books the patient.
2. Consultation support: sit in on or follow up new patient consultations, then send the patient their plan the same day.
3. Follow-up block: work through open treatment plans. Answer questions, resend options and offer finance.
4. End of day: update every patient's stage so the pipeline is accurate, and log reasons for any "no".
| KPI | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Speed to first response | How quickly new enquiries hear from the practice |
| Enquiry to consultation booked | How well enquiries are qualified and booked |
| Consultation attendance | How well patients are prepared and reminded |
| Plans presented to plans accepted | Case acceptance, the core TCO number |
| Value accepted | Revenue the TCO helped secure |
| Days from plan to decision | How long patients sit undecided |
| Reasons for "no" | Where training or pricing needs attention |
A TCO working from a spreadsheet, a shared inbox and the practice management system spends most of the day copying information between them. The right dental CRM gives a TCO:
AltaDent is a dental CRM built around accepted treatment. It gives your TCO every tool above in one system:
No TCO yet, or no cover in the evenings? AltaDent's UK-based treatment coordinators can cover evenings and weekends so every enquiry gets a fast, human response.
Related reading: How to choose a dental CRM in the UK · Why patients say "I'll think about it" · Speed to lead for dental practices
A TCO is a dental treatment coordinator: the team member who explains treatment plans, costs and finance to patients, books treatment and follows up patients who have not yet decided.
No, but many TCOs are experienced dental nurses, because clinical knowledge helps them explain treatment confidently. Strong communication and organisation matter most.
Typically around £26,000 to £35,000 a year, depending on experience and location, often with a bonus linked to the patient journey.
It varies by treatment type and price point. See our UK case acceptance rate benchmarks for typical ranges and how to measure yours.
Look for a dental CRM that combines enquiry management, interactive treatment plans, patient finance, automatic follow-up and reporting by coordinator, and that syncs with your practice management system. AltaDent is built for exactly this workflow.
Yes. AltaDent's UK-based treatment coordinators can handle enquiries and follow-up in the evenings and at weekends, working inside the same system as your in-house team.