Many dental practices already have a chatbot on their website – and for good reason. Chatbots can be a valuable part of modern patient communication. However, some practices are surprised to find that even with a chatbot in place, they are still missing phone calls and losing enquiries.
This leads to a common question: Do we need a chatbot, an AI phone operator, or both?
The honest answer for most dental practices is: both tools serve different purposes, and they work best together.
What a dental chatbot does well
A chatbot is ideal for typed, low-urgency interactions. It works particularly well when patients are:
Browsing your website out of hours
Looking for opening times, directions, or general information
Making an initial, low-commitment enquiry
Completing a form at their own pace
Chatbots reduce friction for patients who prefer not to call and help capture enquiries that might otherwise never be submitted. For many practices, a chatbot is an effective first layer of contact.
Where chatbots reach their limits
Chatbots are not designed for real-time, high-intent conversations. In dentistry, many enquiries are urgent or emotionally driven – pain, broken teeth, anxious patients, or time-sensitive bookings.
In these moments, typing into a chat window can feel slow and impersonal. Chatbots also struggle with:
Complex booking logic
Reassurance during anxious conversations
Handling interruptions or clarifying misunderstandings
Responding naturally to unexpected questions
This is where phone-based communication still dominates.
What an AI phone operator does best
An AI phone operator is built to handle live conversations. It answers calls instantly, understands natural speech, and adapts to the flow of a real dialogue.
For dental practices, this means:
No missed calls during 24/7
Immediate response for urgent enquiries
Out-of-hours call handling
Reassurance for nervous or distressed patients
AI phone operators don’t replace your reception team — they protect them by absorbing overflow and capturing information consistently.
Why the best practices use both
The strongest-performing dental practices don’t choose between a chatbot and an AI phone operator. They combine them.
Together, they create a safety net:
The chatbot captures typed enquiries from website visitors
The AI phone operator ensures every call is answered
Both feed into the same lead tracking and follow-up processes
Patients can choose the channel that suits them best
This approach recognises a simple truth: patients communicate differently depending on urgency, confidence, and situation.
The bigger picture: experience over technology
This isn’t about pushing more tools. It’s about removing friction and protecting patient experience at every touchpoint.
When practices rely on only one channel, gaps appear. When both are in place — aligned and monitored – enquiries stop falling through the cracks.
The question isn’t chatbot or phone AI.
It’s whether your practice is accessible whenever a patient decides to get in touch.
See how RoboReception’s ChatBot and AI Phone Operator work together to ensure no dental enquiry is missed.