Automate Dental Scheduling with a Custom AI
Yes, AI automation replaces manual appointment scheduling by handling inbound requests through your website and phone system. It also sends automated confirmations and follow-ups, reducing patient no-shows by up to 40%.
The system's complexity depends on your Practice Management Software (PMS). Integrating with a modern, cloud-based PMS with a documented REST API is faster than connecting to an on-premise system like Dentrix, which requires a specific data connector.
We built a scheduling agent for a 4-provider orthodontic practice. Their 2 front desk staff spent over 10 hours a week on the phone. The system went live in 3 weeks, handling 85% of inbound booking requests without human intervention.
What Problem Does This Solve?
Dental clinics often try generic schedulers like Acuity or Calendly. These tools can't handle provider-specific availability or procedure-dependent time slots. A new patient exam requires a 60-minute slot, but a follow-up needs only 15 minutes with a specific hygienist; Calendly cannot query the PMS to enforce this logic.
Consider a patient trying to book via a website chatbot built with a tool like Drift. The patient asks, 'Can I get a cleaning with Maria next Tuesday afternoon and check if my insurance is still valid?' The bot can book the cleaning but fails on the insurance question. The patient abandons the chat and calls, creating the very work the bot was meant to prevent. This happens because the bot follows a fixed script and cannot perform multiple, distinct actions from one query.
The core issue is a lack of deep integration with the PMS. Off-the-shelf tools treat the calendar as a simple grid of open slots. They do not understand the relationships between providers, equipment, procedures, and insurance verification. This forces staff to manually review and correct nearly every appointment booked through an external system.
How Does It Work?
First, we connect to your Practice Management Software, whether it's Open Dental, Eaglesoft, or Dentrix, using its API or a data connector. We map your specific appointment types, provider schedules, and room availability into a structured format. This initial step takes about 3 days and ensures the AI understands your clinic's unique operational constraints.
We use the Claude API to build a natural language agent that understands patient requests. This is not a simple keyword-based bot. It can handle complex queries like 'I need to book my son's six-month checkup and my own filling for sometime next week.' The agent's logic is written in Python using a FastAPI service, which queries the PMS data stored in a Supabase database to find valid, conflict-free slots in under 800ms.
The FastAPI application is deployed on AWS Lambda, ensuring it only runs when needed, keeping hosting costs under $30 per month. For confirmations, the system integrates with Twilio to send automated SMS and email reminders 72 hours, 24 hours, and 2 hours before the appointment. A positive reply confirms the slot in the PMS; a cancellation request frees it up automatically.
We use structlog for structured logging, pushing all agent conversations and API calls to a dashboard. If the agent fails to understand a request 3 times in a row or the PMS API returns an error, it automatically sends an alert to a designated Slack channel for your front desk staff to intervene. This process captures edge cases and provides a feedback loop for continuous improvement.
What Are the Key Benefits?
Live in 3 Weeks, Not 3 Quarters
A focused 15-day build gets your AI scheduler handling real patient requests. Avoid lengthy implementations tied to generic SaaS platforms.
One-Time Build, No Per-Appointment Fee
You pay for the initial scoped build. After launch, you only cover minimal hosting costs, not a subscription that penalizes you for growing your practice.
You Own The PMS Integration
We deliver the complete source code to your private GitHub repository. You have full control over the logic that connects your most critical software.
Alerts When a Patient Gets Stuck
The system monitors conversations and automatically notifies your staff via Slack if a patient's request is unclear, ensuring no one is left without a response.
Speaks Directly to Dentrix and Eaglesoft
We build direct API connections to your existing Practice Management Software. Your staff works from one system, not juggling multiple calendars.
What Does the Process Look Like?
Week 1: PMS Access and Workflow Mapping
You provide read-only API access to your PMS. We analyze your appointment types, provider rules, and scheduling patterns, delivering a complete workflow diagram for your approval.
Week 2: AI Agent and API Build
We build the core AI agent using the Claude API and connect it to your PMS data. You receive access to a staging environment to test the agent with real-world queries.
Week 3: Deployment and Staff Onboarding
We deploy the system to production on AWS Lambda and integrate it with your website. We conduct a 60-minute training session showing your staff how to monitor and override the agent.
Post-Launch: Monitoring and Handoff
We monitor the system for 30 days to handle any edge cases. At the end of this period, you receive a technical runbook and full ownership of the codebase.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What does a custom scheduling agent typically cost?
- The cost depends on the complexity of your Practice Management Software's API and the number of custom scheduling rules required. A clinic with a modern, cloud-based PMS and five standard appointment types will be a more straightforward build than one with an on-premise system and complex, provider-dependent logic. We provide a fixed-price quote after a 30-minute discovery call.
- What happens if the AI books an appointment incorrectly?
- The system is designed with a human-in-the-loop. Your front desk staff receives a daily summary of all AI-booked appointments for a quick review. If the AI is ever less than 95% confident in its understanding of a request, it flags the conversation and alerts your staff to manually confirm the booking. This prevents errors from ever reaching the patient.
- How is this different from a service like Weave or RevenueWell?
- Weave and other SaaS tools provide a pre-built suite of features for a monthly fee. Syntora builds a custom asset that you own. Our solution is for clinics whose scheduling logic doesn't fit a standard template, for example, requiring multi-step insurance pre-authorization before certain procedures can be booked. You are not locked into a vendor's feature roadmap.
- Is this system HIPAA compliant?
- Yes. We deploy all infrastructure on AWS, signing a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) on your behalf. The AI agent processes Protected Health Information (PHI) in-memory and does not store sensitive patient details in its own database. All persistent data remains within your HIPAA-compliant PMS, ensuring we meet all regulatory requirements for handling patient information.
- Can the agent handle appointment rescheduling or cancellations?
- Yes. The agent can process requests like 'I need to cancel my appointment for this Friday.' It looks up the existing appointment in your PMS using the patient's name or phone number, cancels it to free up the slot, and then presents available times for rescheduling, all within a single conversation.
- What happens to our front desk staff's roles?
- This system frees them from hours of repetitive phone calls and confirmation chasing. They can now focus on higher-value work: managing complex insurance claims, discussing treatment plans with patients, and handling the small percentage of scheduling requests that require a human touch. It turns their role from reactive call handling to proactive patient management.
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