Dental AI Receptionist

A production-ready, 12-workflow AI voice receptionist system for dental practices. Handles inbound calls, appointment booking, reminders, cancellations, waitlist management, patient recall, and staff escalation — fully automated.

Problem

Dental practices lose revenue from missed calls, no-shows, and manual scheduling overhead. Front desk staff spend 60-70% of their time on phone calls that could be automated. After-hours calls go to voicemail and patients book elsewhere.

This system provides 24/7 AI-powered call handling, automated reminders, and intelligent patient management.

What It Does

1. Inbound Call Routing — AI answers calls, identifies intent (booking, cancellation, FAQ, emergency), routes accordingly
2. Appointment Booking — Books appointments with calendar integration and SMS confirmation
3. Smart Reminders — Sends 48h, 24h, and 2h reminders to reduce no-shows
4. No-Show Followup — Automatically follows up with patients who miss appointments
5. Cancellation & Waitlist — Handles cancellations and fills gaps from waitlist
6. After-Hours Capture — Captures calls outside business hours for next-day followup
7. Patient Recall — Proactive outreach for overdue care (cleanings, checkups)

Included Workflows

Architecture

Inbound Call (Vapi AI Voice)
    |
    v
Workflow 01: Intent Classification
    |
    +-- Booking ---------> Workflow 02: Appointment Booking
    |                           |
    |                           v
    |                      Google Calendar + PMS
    |
    +-- Cancellation ----> Workflow 05: Cancel + Waitlist Fill
    |
    +-- FAQ -------------> Workflow 08: AI FAQ Response
    |
    +-- Emergency -------> Workflow 09: Staff Escalation
    |
    +-- After Hours -----> Workflow 06: Capture for Callback
    |
    +-- All Events ------> Workflow 10: CRM Sync
                                |
                                +-> Google Sheets (Call Log, Appointments, Patients)
                                +-> HubSpot CRM (optional)

Scheduled:
+-- Workflow 03: Appointment Reminders (hourly check)
+-- Workflow 04: No-Show Followup (every 2 hours)
+-- Workflow 07: Patient Recall (weekly)
+-- Workflow 11: Daily Report (once daily)
+-- Workflow 12: SMS Reply Handler (webhook-triggered)

Required n8n Credentials

Environment Variables

# Google Sheets
DENTAL_CALL_LOG_SHEET_ID=your-sheet-id
DENTAL_APPOINTMENTS_SHEET_ID=your-sheet-id
DENTAL_PATIENTS_SHEET_ID=your-sheet-id

# Google Calendar
DENTAL_CALENDAR_ID=your-calendar-id

# Clinic Details
DENTAL_CLINIC_NAME=Your Dental Practice
DENTAL_CLINIC_PHONE=+1234567890
DENTAL_CLINIC_EMAIL=reception@yourpractice.com
DENTAL_CLINIC_ADDRESS=123 Main St, Your City
DENTAL_EMERGENCY_PHONE=+1234567890
DENTAL_DENTIST_PHONE=+1234567890
DENTAL_STAFF_EMAIL=staff@yourpractice.com
DENTAL_OWNER_EMAIL=owner@yourpractice.com

# Vapi AI Voice
VAPI_API_KEY=your-vapi-key
VAPI_API_URL=https://api.vapi.ai
VAPI_REMINDER_ASSISTANT_ID=your-reminder-assistant-id
VAPI_NOSHOW_ASSISTANT_ID=your-noshow-assistant-id
VAPI_WAITLIST_ASSISTANT_ID=your-waitlist-assistant-id
VAPI_RECALL_ASSISTANT_ID=your-recall-assistant-id

# Twilio
TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER=+1234567890
TWILIO_CRED_ID=your-n8n-twilio-credential-id

# n8n Infrastructure
N8N_WEBHOOK_BASE=https://your-n8n-instance.com/webhook
GOOGLE_CALENDAR_CRED_ID=your-n8n-google-calendar-credential-id
OPENAI_CRED_ID=your-n8n-openai-credential-id

# Optional (CRM / Practice Management)
HUBSPOT_API_KEY=your-hubspot-key
PMS_API_URL=https://your-pms.com/api
PMS_API_KEY=your-pms-key

Google Sheets Schema

Call Log

Appointments

Patients

Quick Start

1. Prerequisites

• n8n v2.4+ (self-hosted)
• Vapi.ai account (AI voice calls)
• Twilio account (phone number + SMS)
• Google Sheets OAuth2 credentials
• Google Calendar API access

2. Create Sheets

Set up 3 Google Sheets with the schemas above: Call Log, Appointments, Patients. Optionally add Waitlist, Escalations, After-Hours Queue, and Daily Reports sheets.

3. Configure Vapi Assistant

Create a Vapi assistant with your dental practice's greeting, business hours, services, and FAQ responses.

4. Import Workflows

Import all 12 JSON files into n8n. Replace all YOUR_* placeholders and set environment variables.

5. Activate

Activate workflows in order: 01 first (inbound handler), then the rest. Test with a phone call to your Vapi number.

Use Cases

1. Solo dental practices — Replace or augment front desk with 24/7 AI receptionist
2. Multi-location dental groups — Centralized call handling across clinics
3. Dental service organizations (DSOs) — Scalable patient communication
4. Orthodontic practices — Long appointment cycles benefit from recall automation
5. Dental IT providers — Offer AI receptionist as a managed service to clients

Revenue Potential

• For practices: Reduce missed calls by 80%+, no-shows by 30-50%
• As a service: Charge $500-1,500/month per dental practice
• Per-call pricing: $1-3 per handled call

Requirements

• n8n v2.4+ (self-hosted recommended)
• Vapi.ai account ($0.05-0.10 per minute)
• Twilio account ($0.0075 per SMS)
• Google Sheets + Calendar API credentials
• Optional: HubSpot CRM, Dentrix/Eaglesoft/OpenDental PMS