The recall calls book themselves.
The desk picks up at lunch, asks if they're a new patient or existing, what their carrier is, whether it's emergency or routine. Slots them into the hygiene chair on Wednesday at 10. You read the recap between operatories.
Or text DEMO to (555) 123-4568 to hear the transcript on a real intake.
Three places a busy practice leaks money. Quantified.
Pulled from 12 single-location practices over a quarter. Lunch hours and after-hours are the worst leaks. Recall is the second.
~30% of recall callers hit voicemail at lunch. About half don't call back. $235 average hygiene visit × 60 visits a year not booked.
New-patient calls left on voicemail go to the next practice on Google. $1,200 lifetime value × the ones you miss. Adds up faster than you'd think.
When an emergency caller can't reach a person, they don't leave a message — they Google "emergency dentist near me." You lose the case AND the future patient.
Front Desk runs about $3,600/year. Break-even is about 15 booked hygiene visits.
Four steps. Same every call.
It picks up
Lunch hour. After 5pm. The Friday before a long weekend.
It runs the intake
New or existing, insurance carrier, reason for visit, urgency. Knows the difference between a recall and a chipped tooth.
It books to the operatory
Dentrix or Open Dental. Confirmation texts the patient + your front-desk staff.
It hands off when it should
Pain emergencies and pediatric urgent cases go to your on-call number. Configurable per practice.
The intake your front-desk staff would run, every time.
Six questions, tuned to dental. Adjusts follow-ups for kids, emergencies, and out-of-network callers.
Spanish-speaking caller? It switches mid-call. Common in urban single-location practices.
Same three tiers across every trade.
- Dental-specific intake, ready to go
- Dentrix or Open Dental sync
- SMS confirmations both directions
- Two months free for case-study rights
- Three pilot spots for dental — first-come
- Up to 500 calls per month
- Calendar + SMS + email recap
- Emergency routing to on-call
- Monthly call-quality review
- Unlimited calls
- Multi-location DSO routing
- Bilingual intake (Spanish + English)
- Weekly script tuning
- Direct Slack line to Foreword
If the desk doesn't book 10 appointments in month one, the month is free.
We pull the call log with you. If it didn't earn the cheque, you don't sign the cheque.
The questions practices ask.
Does it really sound like a person?
It sounds like a patient, careful receptionist. Listen to the demo line; if it doesn't, we won't sell it to you.
How long to set up?
Five business days. We pull your last 30 days of calls (if you have a tracking line), tune the intake to your specific PPO mix, and go live on a forwarded line.
What if a caller asks something the desk doesn't know?
It admits it doesn't know and routes to your team — never bluffs. SMS goes to the practice manager with the question.
Will it transfer real emergencies?
Yes. Specifically: severe pain language, swelling/trauma, knocked-out teeth. Routes to your on-call number or after-hours service.
HIPAA — is this safe?
We don't store chart-level PHI. The desk captures intake (name, reason for visit, insurance carrier) which is industry-standard PHI handling — same as your phone tree vendor. We sign a BAA on the Pro and Business tiers.
Does it work with our PMS?
Dentrix and Open Dental today. Eaglesoft + Curve + Denticon on the roadmap. We'll add yours during the pilot if it's not on the list.
What about insurance verification?
It captures the carrier and member ID; full verification stays with your front-desk staff. We don't try to be your eligibility tool.
Pediatric callers — does it handle parents well?
Yes. Asks the child's age first, then routes to your pediatric-friendly hygienist's slots. Captures the parent's contact, not the child's.
Recall calls — does it handle the "I'm overdue" awkwardness?
The desk says "you're due for your cleaning — let me find you a slot" and skips straight to availability. Doesn't lecture. Doesn't guilt.
Three dental pilot spots open. Call the demo first.
Hear the desk handle a recall. Then 15 minutes with Foreword to see if you fit.
Demo line (555) 123-4568