What new patients ask before they book
A new patient usually calls before booking. Do you take my insurance? Are you seeing new patients this month? What does a first visit cost? Can you see me today, my tooth is killing me? If the phone rings during a cleaning or after hours and goes to voicemail, that patient may call the next office on the list.
This page is the dental version of our AI assistant. It covers the phone and your website chat, and texts once a patient has opted in.
Insurance questions from your list, not from guesses
Insurance is one of the most common questions at a dental office, and one where a wrong answer causes real trouble. So the assistant answers only from a list your office confirms: which plans you accept, whether you are in network, and any note you want given, such as “we file the claim for you” or “please check your benefits with your plan”.
A plan that is not on the list, or any question about what a patient will pay out of pocket, goes to a staff member. The assistant does not estimate costs unless your office writes that answer.
HIPAA: what counts as patient information
HIPAA covers more than symptoms. Information that identifies a person and relates to their health care counts as protected health information, so a name and phone number tied to “new patient, cleaning, Tuesday morning” is covered.
That shapes the setup:
- List every vendor. The phone provider, the AI tool, the texting tool, the chat tool and the scheduling tool can each see patient details. We list them in the written scope.
- Your practice gets a BAA from each one before any patient information passes through its tools.
- Where a vendor will not sign, that channel stays general: hours, location, insurance list, how to book. Booking requests go through a covered tool or straight to your front desk.
- No clinical intake. The assistant asks for the visit type in general terms (cleaning, new-patient exam, a problem tooth). It does not ask for symptoms, medications or history.
This is not legal advice. Ask your own counsel how HIPAA applies to your practice.
AI answering service for a dental office, including after hours
If you want an AI answering service for your dental office, this is the version built around HIPAA. It picks up when your front desk is busy with a patient, and it works as a dental office after hours answering service: calls that arrive at night, on weekends and on holidays get your hours, your new-patient steps and your emergency wording first.
The after-hours limits are the ones in this page. The assistant takes a booking request only through a tool whose vendor signs a BAA, and it never assesses symptoms. For how after-hours answering works in general, see after-hours and 24/7 answering.
Dental emergencies go to your emergency line
The assistant does not sort out a dental emergency. A caller who mentions pain, swelling, bleeding or a knocked-out tooth hears your emergency number and after-hours wording first. Your team writes that wording, and your team decides who is seen today.
How we set it up for a dental office
- Review your phones. When calls go unanswered, and what new patients ask.
- Agree the scope in writing, including the vendor list for BAAs.
- Write the answers with your team: hours, services, new-patient steps, published fees, the insurance list and the emergency wording. You approve every answer.
- Connect the phone line, chat and scheduling tool. Tools we connect include Square Appointments, Acuity Scheduling and Calendly, and we check whether each vendor offers a BAA on your plan before patient details go through it.
- Test with real calls, including an insurance plan you do not take, a patient in pain and a caller who starts describing symptoms.
- Launch, with 30 days of help and fixes within the agreed scope.
What it costs
Setup is from $900 and takes 2-3 weeks. Phone answering is from $299/month (about 300 minutes). Website chat and messaging is from $199/month. The first month is included in setup.
Not included in any price: domain and hosting, new photography, third-party software subscriptions (billed at cost; check whether a vendor’s plan with a BAA costs more), SMS carrier registration (A2P 10DLC) and message fees, and AI usage above the plan allowance.
Calls, recordings and texts at a dental office
- AI disclosure. The assistant says it is an AI assistant on every call, and callers can reach a person or leave a message.
- Call recording. Massachusetts requires all-party consent to record a call. If you record, the greeting says so. A recording that includes patient details is patient information too.
- Texting. Texting patients needs their consent under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). We set up opt-in and STOP handling. A business texting number needs carrier registration (A2P 10DLC), which is extra.
When your front desk should answer
This fits practices that miss new-patient calls during the day or after hours. Your front desk still handles clinical questions, treatment plans, billing disputes and anything the approved answers do not cover.
It is a weak fit if a person already answers every call live and your team wants to keep every new-patient conversation. For how the phone answering works in general, see AI receptionist and phone answering.
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