The dental receptionist that never puts a patient on hold
The phone in a dental practice rings hardest at 08:00, when reception is checking in the first patients. An AI receptionist on your Line number answers, asks the pain questions you set, books the emergency slot or the next check-up, quotes your plan prices, and updates the patient record. It never says what is wrong with a tooth. Start with Molly, the pre-built receptionist, or build your own agent for the way you work.
- Incoming call · reception checking in the 08:00sMon 08:04
Riverside Dental, how can I help?
Molly, AI receptionistI've broken a tooth on a piece of toast and it's really sore. I'm a patient there.
I can get you seen today. I can't say what's causing the pain, but the dentist will. Is there any swelling in your face, or any trouble swallowing?
Molly, AI receptionistNo swelling. Just sore when I bite.
Thank you. Dr Okafor has an emergency slot at 11:20 today. The emergency appointment is £69 and any treatment is quoted after she's had a look. Shall I book it?
Molly, AI receptionistYes please. It's Tom Reilly, 12 June 1979.
Emergency slot · Dr Okafor · 11:20
Patient found in Dentally and the booking added. Reason logged in Tom's words. Text sent with the time and the address only.
Everything a dental receptionist does, done by the agent
A dental receptionist triages pain, books three kinds of appointment, explains the plan, and keeps the book full. Each row below is a thing the agent does on the call, or straight after it.
| What a receptionist does | How the agent does it |
|---|---|
| Answers in the practice name during the morning rush | Picks up on the first ring while reception checks patients in, or only out of hours. Your greeting, your tone. |
| Triages a pain call by your rules | Asks the questions you set: swelling, bleeding, trauma, how long. Grades the call and books the emergency slot. Never says what is causing the pain. |
| Books check-ups and hygiene appointments | Reads each dentist's and hygienist's diary in Google or Microsoft, offers slots of the right length, and books the one the patient picks. |
| Answers new-patient enquiries | Explains whether you are taking new patients, private or plan, the new-patient exam price, and what the first visit includes. Books it and takes the registration details. |
| Quotes plan prices | Reads your plan tiers and your price list. Says the dentist will confirm the cost of treatment after an examination. |
| Sends recall reminders | Runs a workflow on the recall date from your practice system: text, call if no reply, book the slot, update the record. |
| Fills the cancellation list | When a slot opens, texts the patients who asked to be seen sooner. Books the first to reply and tells the rest the slot has gone. |
| Reminds patients the day before | Texts the time and the address. Reads the reply and rebooks if they cannot make it. Nothing about the treatment in the text. |
| Keeps the patient record current | Updates the booking, the contact details, and the reason for the call in Dentally, SOE Exact, or your practice system through the integration. |
Workflows a dental practice builds in an afternoon
A trigger, a few conditions, and actions in the workflow builder. Your triage questions, your emergency slots, your recall intervals. No code.
- 1The agent asks your triage questions and grades the call by your rules
- 2Facial swelling, bleeding that will not stop, or trauma gets your urgent wording and goes to the duty dentist or the out-of-hours number
- 3Pain without red flags gets the next emergency slot in the duty dentist's diary
- 4The emergency fee is quoted from your price list and the booking is texted with the time and address
- 5The reason is logged in the patient's own words on the record
Pain calls get a slot, not a voicemail, and the dentist makes every clinical decision.
- 1Text the patient a link to book their check-up or hygiene visit
- 2If no booking in a week, the agent calls and offers the next three slots
- 3Books the slot in the right diary and sends the confirmation
- 4Updates the recall date on the record
A recall list that books itself, and a hygienist's diary that stays full.
- 1Find patients on the sooner-if-possible list who match the appointment type and length
- 2Text the first three the slot, first to reply gets it
- 3The agent books the reply, updates the record, and tells the others the slot has gone
- 4If nobody replies in an hour, offer the slot to the next three
Cancelled surgery time is filled without reception ringing down a list.
Built in the workflow builder: a trigger, conditions, and actions. The agent is one of the actions.
Tools and integrations the agent works with
A receptionist is only useful if they can get into the diary and the CRM. Connect the tools and the agent uses them on the call.
A Monday with the agent on the phones
What actually happens when the phone is covered all day.
Six calls in the first ten minutes while reception checks in the 08:00 patients. All answered. Two emergency slots booked, three check-ups, one recall.
A parent asks whether you take children on the NHS. The agent answers from the knowledge base and books a new-patient exam for Wednesday after school.
The 11:20 emergency patient is in the chair. Their booking, reason, and contact details were already on the record.
A patient cancels Thursday's hygiene visit. The cancellation workflow texts three people on the sooner list and the slot is rebooked before lunch is over.
The recall workflow texts twelve patients due this month. Four book on the link that afternoon.
A caller with facial swelling. The agent gives your urgent wording, makes no diagnosis, and routes the call to the out-of-hours number.
- Any clinical question. What is causing the pain, whether a tooth can be saved, or what treatment costs after an examination. The agent gives no advice and no diagnosis. The dentist decides.
- Red flags in your triage rules. Facial swelling, uncontrolled bleeding, trauma, or trouble swallowing. The agent gives your urgent wording and routes the call to the duty dentist or the out-of-hours number.
- Anything a patient wants in writing about their treatment. The agent keeps clinical detail out of texts and asks the practice to follow up.
Questions dental practices ask
Straight answers on setup, limits, and cost.
Related
Line for clinics and practices
The whole phone system for your trade: numbers, routing, texts, and the inbox.
AI receptionist
What the receptionist does on every call, and what it costs.
Workflow builder
Triggers, conditions, and actions for calls and messages.
Integrations
Zapier, Make, n8n, and the REST API.
Last reviewed .
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