AI for dental practices: every new patient enquiry answered and followed up
For most dental practices the best place for AI is the front desk, not the surgery. New patient enquiries come in at all hours, calls get missed at lunch, and someone who asked about Invisalign on Tuesday is forgotten by Friday. AI answers straight away, follows up until they book or say no, and shows you where bookings are slipping through.
Since mid-2026 I've been working closely with DCRM, a dental CRM with AI built in that runs more than 20 practices. So what's here comes from real practices, not a slide deck.
Where AI earns its keep in a practice
- An AI front desk that answers enquiries and calls out of hours, and books or passes them on.
- Follow-up for treatment enquiries that didn't book, spaced out properly instead of one email and done.
- Reminders that cut no-shows, and a quick way to fill the gap when someone cancels.
- Call tracking, so you can see which calls were missed and which didn't turn into a booking.
- Reactivation of old patients who haven't been in for a while.
- Reports the practice manager can read in two minutes on a Monday.
Patient data comes first
It's health data, so be careful. Keep clinical records out of general chat tools. Check where each supplier stores your data and get a data processing agreement signed. And read the British Dental Association's guidance on using AI in dental practice before you switch anything on.
But none of that should stop you. It just means picking tools that were built for practices, not pasting patient details into ChatGPT.
What I did with DCRM
DCRM was growing fast, and every new practice was set up a bit differently. We went through all 76 workflows, rebuilt it as one modular setup so each practice only gets what it pays for, wrote up the processes so the founder wasn't the help desk, and tightened up sales and onboarding.
So now 20+ practices run on one standard build, and Eric, the co-owner, is back working on growth.
How a practice should start
- 01Count your missed calls and unanswered enquiries for two weeks.
- 02Get every enquiry answered fast, day and night.
- 03Add proper follow-up for treatment enquiries that didn't book.
- 04Then reminders and reactivation.
- 05Check the numbers every Monday and change one thing at a time.
"He helped us standardise our GoHighLevel setup across more than 20 dental practices, moving us to modular snapshots so each client only gets the features they pay for. He also helped me rethink our team structure so I could step out of day to day operations and focus on growth."
"If you run a service business and want to adopt AI properly, not just buy it, Steven is the person I'd call."
Eric Choa
Co-owner, DCRM · Google review
Questions people ask
How can a dental practice use AI?
Mostly at the front desk. Answering enquiries and calls out of hours, following up with people who asked about a treatment but didn't book, sending reminders, and showing you where bookings slip through. Clinical AI is a separate topic.
Is AI safe to use with patient data in the UK?
It can be, if you set it up properly. Keep clinical records out of general AI tools, check where the data is stored, have a data processing agreement with each supplier, and read the British Dental Association's guidance on AI before you start.
Will AI replace our receptionist?
No. It takes the repeat questions, the out-of-hours enquiries and the chasing, so your front desk can look after the patients in front of them.
Should we build our own or buy a dental CRM?
Buy, nearly always. A practice doesn't need its own software project. Pick a CRM built for dental, then spend your effort on the follow-up rules and the team habits around it.
Do you work with UK practices?
Yes. My dental work so far is with DCRM, an Australian dental CRM running more than 20 practices. The front desk problems are the same in the UK.
Losing new patients at the front desk?
Book a free 30-minute call. We'll work out where enquiries are slipping and the first fix.
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