What is an appointment sequence
An appointment sequence is a predefined series of appointments that you set up once and then tie to an indication. Some orders don't get done in a single appointment — a full denture or telescopic work needs multiple treatment dates, and the lab works in between them.
Without a sequence, many labs work with laminated appointment lists that dental assistants have to calculate by hand. With a sequence, the practice orders once and Crownbeam calculates all the dates automatically — taking weekends and public holidays into account.
The three building blocks
An appointment sequence consists of three elements that build on each other.
Appointment step
An appointment step is a single appointment building block, such as "Bite-Tray", "Try-in" or "Finalization" Every step has a name and a duration in days. All steps live in a central pool and can be used in multiple sequences at the same time.
Sequence
A sequence is a named series of appointment steps in a fixed order — e.g. "Denture sequence" with the steps Bite-tray → Try-in → Finalization. The same sequence can be assigned to multiple indications.
Indication
The indication is the trigger. As soon as you tie a sequence to an indication in the product catalog, the practice sees "Multiple appointments" when ordering this type of work and enters all the appointments directly when creating the order.
Examples from real labs
Two concrete sequence configurations for reference. The examples show the principle — how deep your own sequence should be depends on the real workflow at your lab.
Full denture – compact variant (3 steps)
Initial impression (2d) → First try-in (4d) → Finishing (5d)
Crown with framework try-in (2 steps)
Framework try-in (2d) → Finishing (3d)
Tip: Start minimal. It's much easier to add a step later than to remove one once the practice has gotten used to a particular rhythm.
FAQs
How do you set up an appointment sequence?
The step-by-step guide is in How to set up an appointment sequence.
Can full and partial dentures share the same sequence?
If the steps for full and partial dentures are identical, you can tie the same sequence to both indications. In that case, give the sequence a generic name ("Denture" instead of "Full denture") and tie it to both indications in the product catalog, one after the other.
Which types of work need a sequence?
Whenever an order needs more than one appointment — e.g. full denture, partial denture, telescopic work, cast partial framework, or a crown with a framework try-in. A standard crown without a framework try-in runs as a single-appointment order and doesn't need a sequence.