Phone systems for dental offices
Mornings at the front desk mean phones ringing while patients check in. Vantact's call queues hand your receptionists one call at a time, while waiting patients hear music and messages about your services. Patients get texts from your office number, and after-hours emergencies reach the dentist on call.
What should a dental office look for in a phone system?
A dental office needs a phone system that hands the front desk one call at a time instead of letting every line ring at once, keeps waiting callers in line with music and messages rather than ringing out, lets staff text patients from the office number for reminders and bookings, and gets after-hours emergency calls to the dentist on call. Dental offices in Ontario are health information custodians under PHIPA, so look for a Canadian provider that supports PHIPA requirements and runs its phone system in Canada.
How do after-hours dental emergencies reach the dentist?
Your phones switch to after-hours mode on the schedule you set, and a patient with an emergency still has a path to a person.
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1
Press 0 for the dentist on call
Your after-hours greeting can tell callers to press 0 to reach the dentist on call directly.
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2
The voicemail calls the dentist
If the patient leaves a message instead, the system calls the dentist's cell. They hear the caller's number and when the message came in, then press 1 to listen and # to accept it.
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3
It keeps calling until someone accepts
If the dentist doesn't accept the message, the system calls again. You choose how many times it retries: 1, 2, 3 or 5.
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4
Unheard messages go to someone else
If the message still hasn't been heard after the delay you set, anywhere from one minute to several hours, the system calls a second dentist or the office manager.
Changing who's on call
Update the on-call cell number yourself in the web interface, or ask us and we'll change it for you.
One call at a time for your front desk
Call queues hand each receptionist one call at a time, so nobody is juggling three ringing lines while a patient is checking in. When every receptionist is busy, the next caller waits in line in the order they called, and goes to whoever frees up first. After a wait you set, calls can overflow to another phone or to voicemail.
Use hold time to tell patients about your services
Waiting callers hear music instead of ringing, and you can play announcements between the music, like "Did you know we also offer teeth whitening?" or a reminder about your hours. Time on hold becomes time telling patients what else your office does.
Text patients from your office number
Send appointment reminders and handle bookings by text from the same number patients already call, and patients can text back to it. There's no separate texting number to give out.
Patient calls stay in Canada
Dental offices in Ontario are health information custodians under PHIPA, and Vantact supports PHIPA requirements. Calls to and from Canadian numbers are carried on Canadian-owned carriers and routed within Canada. Vantact's infrastructure runs in Toronto colocation facilities and is maintained, managed and monitored 24/7.
Why Vantact
Set up for you
We configure the after-hours schedule, on-call routing and escalation to match how your company runs.
Month to month
No long-term contract.
Canadian calls stay in Canada
Vantact is Canadian-owned. Calls to and from Canadian numbers are carried on Canadian-owned carriers and routed within Canada.
Support when it matters
Live support runs 9 to 5 ET on business days. After hours, our emergency line is answered by on-call technicians.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we text patients from our office number?
How do after-hours dental emergencies reach the dentist?
How do call queues help our front desk?
Can we play messages while patients are on hold?
Does Vantact support PHIPA?
Do we have to record calls?
Who supports the phone system after hours?
Is there a contract?
Talk to us about your phones
Month to month, no long term contract. Toronto based support, Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm ET.