An AI receptionist for dental practices and clinics
When the front desk is checking a patient in, the phone keeps ringing. The assistant can take new patient enquiries and appointment requests, answer the questions you give it answers to, and leave the clinical calls to your team.
Updated 8 November 2026
Calls it can take and calls to keep
| Type of call | Who should handle it |
|---|---|
| New patient enquiries | The assistant. It takes their name, number and what they're looking for, such as a check-up or a hygienist appointment. |
| Appointment requests and changes | The assistant takes the request and the times that suit. Your team books it, because the assistant can't see your diary. |
| Opening hours, parking and directions | The assistant, if you put the answers in its instructions. |
| Questions about treatment or symptoms | Your team. Tell the assistant to take a callback request rather than discuss them. |
| Urgent problems and emergencies | Not the assistant. Its instructions should send callers to 999 or NHS 111, and the assistant must not be used for emergency calls. |
Example instructions for a dental practice
Answer as the receptionist for Teme Valley Dental. We're open 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and there is free parking behind the building. Take the caller's name, date of birth, a callback number and whether they're a new or existing patient. Ask what they need and which days and times suit them. Say the team will call back to confirm. Don't give clinical advice or discuss treatment, prices or test results.
If the caller describes a medical emergency, tell them to call 999. If they need urgent dental care when we're closed, tell them to call NHS 111.
Recordings and patient privacy
Every call starts with your recording notice and is recorded and transcribed, and the assistant's calls are processed by AI. Keep the instructions to what you need for a callback, so patients aren't asked to give health details on the phone.
Recordings are deleted after your account's retention period, 90 days unless a different period is agreed when Raq.com reviews your request. Mention call recording and AI answering in your privacy notice, as you would for any recorded line.
Who can use it and what it costs
- Who can use it
- Business or team Raq.com accounts on the Professional plan or above. The account owner asks for access and Raq.com reviews each request. There is no free trial.
- Professional plan
- $61 per user a month. It comes with a usage allowance shared by every Raq.com tool, worth about 800 call minutes a month on its own.
- A call the assistant answers
- About $0.07 a minute for the line, the recording and the transcript, plus a small AI charge for the summary.
- Phone numbers
- UK numbers, each with a monthly charge shown before you add it and taken from the same allowance until you release it.
Questions from practices
Can it book patients straight into our diary?
No. It has no access to practice software. It takes the request and the times that suit, and your team books and confirms it.
Can reception still pick up first?
Yes. Choose a team member whose verified mobile, or the browser phone in Raq.com, rings first for 25 seconds. The assistant only answers if nobody picks up. Either way, the patient hears your recording notice at the start of the call.
More on answering your calls
- Virtual receptionist How an AI assistant compares with voicemail and a staffed answering service, and what it won't do.
- Plumbers, electricians and builders Example instructions for a trades business, including what to say when a caller smells gas.
- Estate and letting agents What to collect for viewings, valuations and repair reports, with example instructions for an agency.
- Solicitors and law firms What to take on a new enquiry, what the assistant should never discuss, and example instructions for a firm.
Stop missing calls while you work
Create a Raq.com business account, then ask for access. Raq.com reviews the request before your first number.
Sign-up and billing are handled by Raq.com.