Patients’ Funniest Excuses

Classic Patient Excuses for Missing Dentist Appointments

We did a survey asking dentists about the funniest excuses they’ve heard from patients for missing appointments. The clear winner was the toothache defense: “My tooth hurts too bad to get out of bed.”

Other highlights include, “My windshield wipers aren’t working and it might rain,” “I had to go shopping for my daughter’s bat mitzvah dress,” and “I went a movie instead.”

Here were a few more classics from dentists:

• “A model doing a photo shoot said she was bitten by a lion. A cop was involved in a shoot out.” (New York endodontist)
• “The patient was in jail!” (Virginia dental office worker)
• “One patient wanted to know if his insurance would cover the broken appointment fee!” (General dentist)
• “We always document patients’ excuses when missing an appointment. Sometimes the same grandparent passes away unexpectedly two or three times in the same year!!” (Texas dentist)
• “‘I have a hangnail.’ Also, ‘My dog has diarrhea.'” (North Carolina dentist)
• “‘The goats got loose!'” (Maryland pediatric dentist)
• “‘My dog ate my appointment card.'” (Arizona dentist)

Have more excuses to share? Post them here! Plus, check out the full results