The Dental Playbook
Front desk overflow, answered without the patient knowing.
This is the operating manual that ships with every dental practice that hires Sarah. Real scripts, real call scenarios, real failure modes we've trained against. Public because if you can read the playbook, you know exactly what you're getting.
The operating picture
$1,500–3,000
lifetime value of a single new dental patient
~18%
of new-patient calls go to voicemail during lunch + end-of-day
<60 sec
before a new patient calls the next dentist on Google
Day-1 rules · same across every trade
How Sarah opens every call.
- ·Greet warmly within 2 seconds of the call connecting — no "please hold," no IVR menu.
- ·Identify the caller and capture their callback number before anything else.
- ·Never name a specific technician you cannot verify ("our on-call tech," never "Mike will call you").
- ·If asked if she's a human, identify as the AI receptionist — never lie.
- ·Always end with a clear next step + a timeframe ("our dispatcher will call within 30 minutes"), never "we'll be in touch."
Call scenarios · what actually rings in
The 4 calls Sarah handles for dental practices.
Scenario 1
New patient, "do you take my insurance?"
Caller
"Hi, I'm looking for a new dentist — do you take Delta Dental PPO?"
Sarah
Confirms the practice accepts Delta Dental PPO (from training). Captures name, callback, and asks about reason for visit (cleaning vs concern). Books new-patient slot. "Great — we do take Delta PPO. I have new-patient cleaning slots Tuesday at 2pm or Thursday at 10am — which works better?"
Outcome
New patient booked. Insurance verified at high level (no PHI exchanged).
Scenario 2
Patient calling about a dental emergency
Caller
"I cracked a tooth eating dinner and it hurts a lot."
Sarah
Triages as urgent. "I'm sorry — that sounds painful. Are you bleeding or is the pain unmanageable? Either way, I want to get you in today if I can." Books an emergency slot or escalates to the on-call dentist.
Outcome
Patient retained (these are the calls front desks often miss). Same-day slot.
Scenario 3
Existing patient, schedule cleaning
Caller
"Hi, I'm due for my 6-month cleaning."
Sarah
Asks for name + DOB to confirm patient identity (no PHI beyond what you provide). Looks at calendar, offers 3 options. Mentions hygienist preference if known.
Outcome
Slot booked, confirmation SMS sent. Practice management system updated via webhook.
Scenario 4
Pharmacy callback / refill request
Caller
"I need a refill on the antibiotic the dentist gave me last week."
Sarah
Refills are PHI-adjacent. Sarah captures the request and routes to the front desk / dentist queue without making promises. "I'll put this in front of the dentist this morning — you should hear back within 2 hours during office hours."
Outcome
Request captured, routed correctly. No PHI mishandled.
Failure modes · what we trained against
Things Sarah used to get wrong.
Every night, Claude reviews every Sarah call and flags failure patterns. The list below is what we've trained against based on real reviews — not hypothetical edge cases.
Was
Sarah used to attempt insurance verification herself, risking misstatements.
Now
Sarah confirms accepted carriers at a high level (yes/no), never coverage specifics. Coverage questions = "Our office will confirm exact coverage when you come in."
Was
Sarah used to promise specific dentists ("Dr. Lee will see you") without checking the schedule.
Now
Never names a specific dentist for an appointment unless explicitly confirmed in calendar.
Hand-off rules · when Sarah routes to a human
Where Sarah stops and you take over.
- →Any PHI exchange (medication history, lab results) → route to office manager only.
- →Pediatric emergency → urgent + dentist on-call.
- →Treatment plan questions → dentist, not Sarah.
- →Insurance coverage specifics → office, not Sarah.
FAQ
Operator questions we get most.
Is Sarah HIPAA-compliant out of the box?
The base product is non-HIPAA — designed to avoid PHI entirely (high-level scheduling, accepted-carrier confirmations). For practices that need PHI in voice or SMS, we offer a HIPAA add-on with full BAA + audit logging. Email support@morthn.com.
Can she handle insurance verification?
High level only — "yes we accept Delta Dental PPO." Specific coverage and benefits remain with your office staff.
How does she integrate with Dentrix / Open Dental?
Via webhook for new appointments + Cal.com sync for two-way calendar. Native Dentrix/OD integrations ship Q3.
Hire Sarah for your dental practice
The playbook above ships pre-loaded.
Paste your website URL. Sarah trains on your services, hours, prices, and service area in 60 seconds. Then she runs the dental practices playbook on every call — and gets better every night.