Maximizing Efficiency in Open Dental: How AI Automation Transformed Our Clinic’s Workflow.

[zakrstech]

Hi fellow Open Dental users,

After years of struggling with staffing shortages and human errors in appointment scheduling, patient onboarding, and payment tracking, our clinic decided to fully automate front-desk operations using an AI system built specifically for Open Dental.

Here’s What It Does Instead of a Human Team:

AI Front Desk: Handles 100% of calls, emails, and SMS (e.g., booking, rescheduling, cancellations, Patient ID/Appt ID lookups).

Zero Manual Work:

New patients are automatically added in OpenDental.

Payment verification and updation happens in real time.

Commlogs and notes update automatically after every interaction.

Smart Scheduling: AI prioritizes urgent cases, blocks overbooking, and fills last-minute cancellations by analyzing patient history.

Revenue Protection: Auto-follows up on unpaid claims and sends pre-appointment payment reminders.

Our Results:

$12,000/month saved on front-desk salaries (we transitioned 3 staff members to patient-care roles).

99% appointment accuracy (no double-bookings or missed inputs).

Patients prefer AI: 85% said they’d “never go back to phone calls” for scheduling.

Why Share This?
A few clinics asked how we did it, so we built a turnkey system for Open Dental users. If you’d like to see how it works, reply here or DM me for a 5-minute demo—no commitments, just a walkthrough of how we removed manual work entirely.

[joergzastrau]

Then what is the Frontdesk doing? Collect payments only and otherwise read Facebook?

[zakrstech]

Then what is the Frontdesk doing? Collect payments only and otherwise read Facebook?

Actually payments are also collected so all they do is handle any calls we get and cross verify information.

[joergzastrau]

Ok, so we also run one office "on the side" on Friday and Saturday for fun (and profit) using automation when it makes sense. Most of our patients are on a payment plan and use credit card payments on site and then schedule an appointment with the Frontdesk for the next visit. No automation here. We have some automation in place to reserve office time for free consultation that can be booked online via Calendly and OD Web forms. This is used occasionally, so we decided not to automate the process to input calendar data into OD. The Main issue is that online bookings for new patients appear to be too easy resulting in broken appointments. At our office, appointments scheduled online are prone to break. Hence, our logic scatters possible online appointments over time to allow for intended time buffer to do other things if the patient doesn't show. We would run into serious trouble if each and every patient shows up. Thus, we would consider your software if this AI based solution would predict the probability of no-shows. E.g. we have one patient with 5 broken appointments in a row (stayed overnight at a friend's home, trouble at school, etc.). This is a perfect "filler" candidate. Is this possible based on historic OD data on broken appointments with AI?

Joerg

[zakrstech]

Ok, so we also run one office "on the side" on Friday and Saturday for fun (and profit) using automation when it makes sense. Most of our patients are on a payment plan and use credit card payments on site and then schedule an appointment with the Frontdesk for the next visit. No automation here. We have some automation in place to reserve office time for free consultation that can be booked online via Calendly and OD Web forms. This is used occasionally, so we decided not to automate the process to input calendar data into OD. The Main issue is that online bookings for new patients appear to be too easy resulting in broken appointments. At our office, appointments scheduled online are prone to break. Hence, our logic scatters possible online appointments over time to allow for intended time buffer to do other things if the patient doesn't show. We would run into serious trouble if each and every patient shows up. Thus, we would consider your software if this AI based solution would predict the probability of no-shows. E.g. we have one patient with 5 broken appointments in a row (stayed overnight at a friend's home, trouble at school, etc.). This is a perfect "filler" candidate. Is this possible based on historic OD data on broken appointments with AI?

Joerg

You’re spot-on—online bookings can feel like a double-edged sword. We’ve seen clinics like yours (including our own!) struggle with the same "too many no-shows" problem. Here’s how our system helps:

Smart Buffer Slots:
Instead of manually scattering appointments, our AI auto-blocks buffer times based on your clinic’s history. For example, if Fridays have a 40% no-show rate, it’ll reserve filler slots only for high-risk patients (like your 5x no-show). If they cancel, those slots open up for urgent cases or waitlisted patients.

Escalating Reminders:
For repeat offenders, the system sends SMS → Email → Auto-call reminders (e.g., “Your appointment is in 2 hours—reply YES to confirm or RESCHEDULE”). If they ghost, their next booking requires a credit card hold (integrated with your payment system).

Learning from Chaos:
The more broken appointments you have in Open Dental, the better it gets at protecting your time. For example, after a few no-shows, it’ll start restricting easy online bookings for high-risk profiles and nudge them to call instead.
Let me give you an example:
One clinic using our system had a patient with 7 missed appointments (dog ate homework, car trouble, you name it). Now, that patient gets:

Auto-booked into buffer slots.

A required $50 deposit (refundable if they show).

Reminders sent to both their phone and emergency contact.

Result? They’ve only missed 1 appointment in 6 months.

[joergzastrau]

Interesting. Now I am not sure about ODs policy on advertising, Most of our integrations are posted in this forum for everyone to use. I am only asking if I have to pay the 15$ fee or the higher fees to OD for API access?

With best regards

Joerg

info@american-orthodontics.com