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Add an AI receptionist to the dental phone system you already have: it takes missed calls, collects the reason, texts a booking link and flags after-hours emergencies
Melissa Cortes, office manager at Alexandria Old Town Dental in Alexandria, Virginia (a 10-doctor practice with about 55 staff, open seven days a week), in a member article for The Observer, the magazine of the American Association of Dental Office Management (AADOM)
The practice already used Mango Voice for its phones, so it added Margo, Mango's AI virtual receptionist. Margo picks up incoming and missed calls, collects the caller's name, reason for calling and contact details, and can text a link to book online. When the office is closed it keeps watching calls and alerts the office manager directly about urgent ones, such as possible emergencies, so she can read the details and call the patient back. The goal was to support the front office team, not replace it.
Easy · or we set it up for $197
Mango Voice (phone system), Margo (Mango Voice's AI virtual receptionist)
The problem
The practice sees upward of 60 patients a day, seven days a week. Calls about scheduling, insurance, emergencies, follow-ups and new patients kept pulling the front desk away from the patients standing in front of them.
What happened
Some patients hesitated at first. "After several months of use, patient feedback has shifted significantly. Many patients now report that they actually like the system," because they can give their details quickly and get scheduling options right away instead of leaving a voicemail. No call or booking numbers given. Told by the office manager, not the owner.
Quoted in the source: Melissa Cortes, office manager, Alexandria Old Town Dental. Source: AADOM, The Observer: Using AI to Support the Front Office (member article by Melissa Cortes, MAADOM) (2026-04) · Added 2026-11-05.
How to set it up yourself
- What Alexandria Old Town Dental uses: Margo, the AI receptionist add-on from its existing phone provider, Mango Voice. Ask your own phone provider whether it offers an AI receptionist before buying a separate one.
- Decide what the AI collects on every call (name, reason, callback number, new or existing patient) and when it texts your online booking link. Paste the prompt below into the receptionist's instructions or script.
- Set an after-hours rule: any call that mentions pain, swelling, bleeding, an injury or a broken tooth alerts the on-call manager directly instead of going to voicemail.
- Tell patients about the change and expect some hesitation at first. Read the call summaries daily for the first few weeks and fix any questions it handles badly.
Copy-paste prompt
You answer the phone for {PRACTICE NAME}, a dental office in {TOWN}, when the front desk can't pick up or the office is closed. Our hours are {HOURS}. On every call, collect: the caller's full name, whether they are a new or existing patient, the reason for the call, and the best number to call back. If they want to book, text them this link: {BOOKING LINK}. If the caller mentions pain, swelling, bleeding, an injury, a broken or knocked-out tooth, or says it's urgent, tell them a team member will be alerted right away and mark the call URGENT. Never give clinical advice or quote prices. End each call by saying when the office will call back.We set up one AI automation in your tools, live within 48 hours of getting access, for $197. No call needed. Founding price for our first 10 customers (regular $297).
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