Dental Attendance, Time Off, and Coverage System

In a practice of eight, the question is never abstract: who covers the chair when an assistant calls out at 7 a.m., who already has that Friday off, and how many late arrivals is too many before someone has a real conversation. Attendance gets tracked in a hygienist’s head, PTO collides on a paper calendar, and a short-notice absence becomes a scramble that costs production.

The Dental Attendance, Time Off, and Coverage System runs all three on one workbook: an attendance point engine carried over from a product already selling, plus three planning tabs built for the chair, a Coverage Planner, a PTO Blackout and Shift Swap view, and a Short-Notice Absence Protocol.

What is inside

• 1. Dental Attendance, Time Off, and Coverage Workbook (Excel). The attendance point engine logs occurrences, applies a rolling window, and tracks discipline stages, with a protected-absence flag that keeps the absences that should never earn points separate from the ones that should. Three planning tabs sit on top of it: a Coverage Planner that shows who covers each station, a PTO Blackout and Shift Swap tab that keeps time off from colliding, and a Short-Notice Absence Protocol that turns a 7 a.m. call-out into a routine. A worked Lakeview example shows a protected absence counting zero, an old occurrence aging out, two people at a discipline step, and one uncovered station flagged on the board. Works in Excel or Google Sheets.
• 2. Using This Workbook in Google Sheets (PDF). A one-page note on importing the workbook and what to confirm after the import.

Plus the Product License, one license covering everything in this kit.

What makes it different

The point engine is character-identical to a TrueStep HR product already in the catalog, so the math carries the trust of a shipped product rather than a fresh, untested formula. The three new tabs answer the real dental pain, which is coverage today, not generic HR theory.

The protected-absence flag is where homemade attendance spreadsheets create risk, and it is built in here. The worked example demonstrates every behavior a careful buyer would test before trusting the file with real names.

Questions practice owners ask

Does it handle absences that should not get points?

Yes. The log carries a protected flag so protected time is kept separate from countable occurrences. It is general information, not legal or tax advice, and leave protections vary by state and change, so have your policy reviewed before you rely on it.

Is this clinical scheduling software?

No. It is an HR coverage and attendance tool. Clinical scope, supervision, and licensure belong to the dentist and your state board.

Can I change the point values?

Yes. Set the values that fit your practice and the thresholds and discipline stages follow your numbers.

Do I need special software?

No. The workbook opens in Excel or Google Sheets, and a short guide for the Sheets path is included.

Scope

This system is general information to help a dental practice run attendance and coverage in a clear, consistent, and defensible way. It is not legal or tax advice, and it is not a substitute for qualified counsel on your specific situation. Attendance, leave, and protected-absence rules change and vary by state, so confirm your requirements before you rely on this.

Built by expert HR practitioners and leaders. Backed by a 14-day money-back guarantee. Questions: support@truestephr.com. Last reviewed June 2026.