Nov 23, 2025
Dan Latham
If you run a dental practice, your front desk is your bottleneck.
Your reception team is amazing, but they are human. They go home at 5 PM. They take lunch breaks. They get tied up helping a patient fill out forms while the phone rings unanswered in the background.
In 2025, a missed call is not just an annoyance. It is a missed £3,000 patient who just called the clinic down the street because they answered.
Here is why top tier private clinics are installing "AI Receptionists" on their websites, and why you are losing money every day you don't have one.
1. The "8 PM" Toothache
When do people look for a dentist? Often, it is not during office hours.
It is at 8 PM when their tooth starts throbbing. Or on Sunday morning when they finally decide to look into Invisalign.
If they visit your website at 8 PM and see a "Contact Us" form, they might fill it out. But they will likely keep Googling until they find someone they can talk to now.
An AI Receptionist sits on your site 24/7. It engages that 8 PM visitor instantly. "Hi there. Are you looking for an emergency appointment or a cosmetic consultation?"
It captures them while their intent is high. By the time your competitors open on Monday morning, you have already secured the booking.
2. Triage Without the Wait
A lot of your website traffic is "tyre kickers." People asking if you take NHS patients or if you are open on Saturdays.
Your human staff should not waste time typing out these answers.
The AI handles the triage.
Patient: "Do you do whitening?"
AI: "Yes, we offer Zoom Whitening and home kits. Prices start from £350. Would you like to book a free consultation to see which is right for you?"
It answers the FAQs instantly. It filters out the low value queries. It hands the high value "ready to buy" patients directly to your booking calendar.
3. The Math (ROI)
Let’s look at the cost of not having this.
A typical private practice misses about 20% of inbound inquiries due to busy lines or out of hours traffic.
If your average new patient value is £500 (conservative estimate), and you miss just 5 inquiries a month, that is £2,500 in lost revenue every single month.
An AI Receptionist costs roughly the price of one filling per month.
If the AI saves just one patient from going to a competitor in the entire year, it has paid for itself. Everything else is profit.
4. It Is Not About Replacing Humans
This is the biggest fear dentists have. "I don't want a robot talking to my patients."
The AI does not replace your warm, friendly receptionist. It supports them.
It acts as the "Night Shift." It handles the boring questions about parking and prices so your actual staff can focus on the patients sitting in the waiting room.
It creates a better experience because nobody likes waiting on hold or waiting 24 hours for an email reply.
Summary
The standard for patient experience has changed. Patients expect instant answers.
You can either hire three more receptionists to cover the phones 24/7, or you can install an AI agent for a fraction of the cost.
Don't let your marketing budget go to waste because nobody was there to answer the door.
The Agency Play (How to Sell This)
Target: Private Dental Clinics (Avoid NHS/Insurance heavy ones, they have no budget).
The Pitch: Don't sell "tech." Sell "Missed Calls."
The Script:
"I noticed your clinic runs ads on Google. I also noticed that if I visit your site at 7 PM, there is no way for me to book or get answers. You are paying for clicks that you are losing to the clinic next door. I can install a 24/7 agent that captures those evening leads for you."
The Kuga Setup:
Prompt: Set the tone to "Professional, Empathetic, Medical."
Knowledge Base: Upload their "Price List PDF" and "Post-Op Instructions."
Booking: Connect their Cal.com or Cliniko booking link.