What is dental fear costing your practice?
Every anxious or fearful patient referred out, sedated elsewhere, or lost as a case is one you could have kept. Paperplane calms their fear. See what that's worth.
Paperplane Therapeutics · ROI
See how fast Paperplane pays for itself
Every anxious patient you keep in your own chair — instead of referring out, sedating elsewhere, or losing — is revenue back in your practice. Membership is a flat $129/month; most practices cover it with a single retained case.
Recovered / mo
$1,094
Two quick numbers about your practice; the estimate updates instantly. One flat monthly membership — no separate hardware cost to factor in.
50
Patients on your schedule who show clear dental anxiety or fear — any age.
$250
Your own typical restorative/treatment fee when an anxious patient stays in your chair instead of being referred out or sedated elsewhere. This is your number — no two fee schedules match.
We assume 25% of your anxious patients are currently referred out, sedated elsewhere, or lost as a case, and that Paperplane converts an estimated ~35% of that group into treated, in-house cases (clinical trial).
— Pays for itself —
Revenue retained / month
$1,094
≈$253/week · 4.4 cases retained/mo
✓ Pays for itself after just 1 retained case
At-risk patients you could keep / mo13
Cases retained by Paperplane / mo4.4
Paperplane membership / mo$129
Net gain / month$894
Return for every $1 spent$5.47
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The clinical proof behind the numbers
Randomized controlled trial · 385 patients · active-control design2.05× odds
Higher odds of keeping anxiety controlled vs a tablet distraction (p = 0.003).
−41%
Less observed pain during treatment (validated pain-observation score, 1.7 → 1.0).
9.3/10
Patient-reported satisfaction with VR-assisted visits (vs 8.6 control).
34%
Of participants were neurodivergent — with significant gains in anxiety control and cooperation.
~5%
Mild, temporary side effects (headache/fatigue); no serious adverse events.
How this is calculated ›
1Your patient volume. The anxious or fearful patients on your first slider — any age, any reason for the fear.
2Your case value. The dollar figure on your second slider — what a case kept in-house is actually worth at your practice. This is the only dollar assumption in the whole calculator, and you set it.
3At-risk share & conversion — our assumptions. We assume 25% of your anxious patients are currently referred out, sedated elsewhere, or lost as a case, and that anxiety staying controlled at ~2× the odds and pain falling 41% translate to a conservative ~35% conversion of that group into a treated, in-house case. RCT Both are fixed in the Liquid config, not sliders — this keeps the tool to two inputs.
at-risk/mo = patients × 25% cases retained/mo = at-risk × 35% revenue retained/mo = cases retained × case value net/mo = max(0, revenue retained − membership) breakeven = ceil(membership ÷ case value)
How to read this. The 25% at-risk share and 35% conversion rate are interpretations, not your practice's measured numbers — the trial measured anxiety control and pain, not case retention or revenue, so we use those clinical results as a proxy for how many at-risk cases stay in your chair. Your case value slider is the one number that's actually yours; the rest of the estimate is only as accurate as that assumption. The underlying trial population was pediatric; if your practice is general/all-ages, treat the at-risk and conversion figures as directional until you have your own case-mix data. Net gain is floored at $0.
EFFICACY Randomized parallel-group trial (n = 385; 34% neurodivergent), pediatric sample, ages 6–17. Dream Dental VR vs active tablet distraction; nitrous oxide excluded. Anxiety OR 2.05 (p = 0.003); observed pain −41%; caregiver-reported satisfaction 9.3/10.
What counts as a "kept case" ›
Examples practices report when an at-risk patient stays in-house instead of leaking out:
- A restorative or hygiene visit completed in your own chair instead of referred to a specialist
- A sedation-referral avoided because anxiety was managed chairside with VR
- An appointment that didn't cancel or no-show because the patient could get through it
- A patient who stays with your practice long-term instead of transferring to a pediatric or sedation-only clinic
Your own average case value will vary by fee schedule, procedure mix, and payer mix — set the "case value" slider above to your real number.
Estimate combines your own case-value assumption with the anxiety and pain reductions from Paperplane's randomized controlled trial. The conversion rate applied to case retention is an interpretation of clinical outcomes, not a directly measured revenue outcome. The underlying trial was conducted in a pediatric sample; figures are directional for general/adult practice until you have your own data. Net gain is floored at $0; figures vary by practice, fee schedule, and payer mix. Billed as a single flat monthly membership.
See what Paperplane could save your practice
Less patient anxiety, fewer disrupted appointments, more chair time.