Out-of-hours and lunchtime calls: how dental practices can cover them

Patients ring when it suits them: before work, on their lunch break, in the evening. Those are exactly the times a practice is least able to answer.

The options

• Voicemail. Free, but most callers hang up, and every message means a call back.
• A staff mobile. Someone is always on call, which wears people out and still can't book without the diary.
• A message-taking answering service. A person answers, but they can only take details for reception to deal with the next day.
• Online booking. Good for routine check-ups, less so for patients in pain or with a question.
• An AI receptionist connected to your diary. Answers every call and can actually book, move and cancel appointments.

What to look for

• It books, not just notes. If it can't see your diary, reception still has to ring everyone back.
• It knows your rules. NHS and private, which dentist does what, how long each appointment takes, and when time is held back.
• It recognises existing patients so it can find their record and their appointments.
• It handles urgent calls sensibly, offering the first suitable slot and following your practice's own instructions for anything that can't wait.
• You keep your number and your team still answers first.
• Reception gets a clear summary of anything that needs a person.

How Codental covers it

Codental picks up whenever your team can't, day or night, in your practice's name. It works from your live diary, follows your own booking rules, and passes anything that needs a person to reception with the details already taken. Lunchtime and evening calls become bookings instead of a list of numbers to ring back.

The best time to answer a patient is when they call, not the next morning.