AI Receptionist and Missed-Call Text-Back for Dental Practices in Raleigh & Cary
When a patient calls and nobody can pick up, an AI receptionist can answer after hours, and anyone who still reaches voicemail gets a text with your booking link while your front desk gets an alert. Custentic is offering 2 pilot spots to practices in greater Raleigh: Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Morrisville, Wake Forest and Durham. The build is free and done for you, in exchange for a named case study.
Watch the demo of missed-call text-back.
2 pilot spots · free 30-day pilot in exchange for a named case study · you pay usage (voice, texting, number) at cost to the providers
Why do dental practices in greater Raleigh miss calls?
Most missed calls happen because the people answering the phone are also running the front desk. The phone rings when the office is busiest, and after closing nobody is there at all.
New-patient calls arrive when the front desk is busy
Check-in, check-out, insurance calls and lunch cover all compete with the phone. A new patient who calls during the morning rush often reaches voicemail, and they have no reason yet to wait for you.
After-hours and weekend calls
Toothaches and broken teeth don't wait for Monday at 8. Patients in pain call in the evening and on weekends, and many hang up rather than leave a message.
People keep moving to the Triangle
New residents in Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Morrisville, Durham and Wake Forest search for a dentist and call the first few practices that come up. The ones who reach voicemail often lose the patient to the next name on the list.
What does the pilot include?
The pilot is an AI after-hours receptionist plus missed-call text-back, built for your practice and set up to answer, text back and book patients.
- AI after-hours receptionist. Answers after-hours and overflow calls, takes the patient's details, then offers a booking or passes the call to your team. Urgent calls are flagged and sent to your on-call dentist.
- Missed-call text-back. Any call that still goes unanswered triggers a short text with your booking link.
- Team alerts. Your front desk gets the caller's number and any reply, so someone can follow up.
- Built and set up for you. I build it, connect it to your phone line and booking link, and adjust the wording with you.
The pilot runs for 30 days. After that, you keep the build for free and pay only usage.
How does it work, step by step?
A call either gets answered by the AI receptionist or triggers a text, and your team hears about it either way.
- A patient calls your practice and nobody at the desk can pick up.
- After hours, the AI receptionist answers, asks what the patient needs and takes their name and number. It doesn't diagnose or give clinical advice.
- If a call is missed, the caller gets a text within seconds. Example: "Hi, this is Oakmont Family Dental. Sorry we missed your call. Reply here or book at [link]." (Oakmont Family Dental is a made-up practice.)
- Your team gets an alert with the caller's number, for example (919) 555-0142, plus any reply or call notes.
- Urgent calls go to your on-call dentist by text or call, following rules you set.
Watch the demo to see the missed-call text-back part. It's a replay of a fictional plumbing shop with made-up numbers. The text-back flow is the same for a dental office, and the receptionist isn't shown in it.
For more detail, read how missed-call text-back works and how an AI receptionist works for a dental clinic.
How is it set up for a practice in the Triangle?
It's set up around your real phone line, office hours and booking link, and everything is done remotely.
- Your area code. Texts can come from a number with a 919 or 984 area code: your existing line where your phone setup supports it, or a new number in your name. We confirm which on the call.
- Eastern time hours. After-hours rules follow your real office hours in Eastern time, including lunch closures, a half-day Friday and holidays.
- Your booking link. We use your existing online scheduling link. If you don't have one, the text asks the patient to reply with a good time.
- US texting registration (A2P 10DLC). Business texting from a 10-digit number has to be registered with US carriers, and that can take several days.
- Remote setup. A short call and a screen share. Nothing to install at the practice, and the accounts are set up in your name.
What about patient privacy and HIPAA?
Texts and calls stick to scheduling, not symptoms or treatment, so patient health information stays out of the automation. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
In the US, HIPAA generally requires a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with any vendor that handles patient health information for you. That's why dental setups keep messages to logistics like "We missed your call, reply here or book at this link". Before connecting anything to your practice-management software, check with your compliance advisor and ask whether each provider involved offers a BAA for the service you'd use. Bring it up on the first call and we'll scope around it.
What does the pilot cost?
The build is free. In exchange, your practice agrees to a named case study.
- What you pay. Usage only: the AI receptionist's voice and per-call costs, texting, and the phone number, billed at cost by each provider directly to you. Texting includes US carrier registration for business texting.
- After 30 days. You keep the build for free and keep paying only usage.
- What you own. The number, texting account and booking tool are set up in your name.
If the pilot works for your practice, the next step is the full AI receptionist build at $1,500. There's no obligation to take it. See all our services.
Who builds it?
Custentic is a one-person studio run by Ameer Hamza, so you talk to the person who builds it. Custentic is new, with no client logos or case studies yet, which is why these pilot spots exist. His n8n workflow templates are live in n8n's official template library: see his n8n creator profile or read more about who builds it.
Frequently asked questions
Will patients know they're talking to an automated system?
Yes. The AI receptionist and the text both come from your practice and invite a reply or a booking, then a person on your team picks up the conversation. You choose the wording.
Does it work with our current phone number?
Usually. Missed calls on your existing line trigger the text. Whether texts come from your existing number or a new 919/984 number depends on your phone setup, and we confirm that on the first call.
What happens with a dental emergency after hours?
The AI receptionist flags urgent calls and routes them to your on-call dentist by text or call. The AI doesn't diagnose or give advice.
What does the pilot cost?
The build is free in exchange for a named case study. The pilot runs 30 days, and you pay usage (voice, per-call, texting and number costs) at cost, directly to the providers. After the pilot you keep the build free and pay only usage.
What's the catch?
The case study. Custentic is new and needs real, named examples to show other practices. There are 2 pilot spots, and you cover your own usage costs at cost.
What does a named case study involve?
Your name, your practice and a short quote from you on our site, plus permission to share your real missed-call numbers from the pilot.
How long does setup take?
It depends on your phone setup and booking tool, and we agree a schedule on the first call. US carrier registration for business texting can add several days.
Do you have to be in Raleigh to set this up?
No. Setup is done remotely, and it works the same for practices in Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Morrisville, Wake Forest or Durham.
Can it book straight into our practice software?
Sometimes. It depends on your software and what integrations it offers. The pilot uses your booking link, and deeper integrations are scoped separately.
Want one of the 2 pilot spots?
Every missed call is a patient deciding whether to call the next practice.
Watch the demo of missed-call text-back.
Free build · named case study · 2 pilot spots
Run an HVAC company too? See missed-call text-back for Raleigh HVAC companies, or browse all our services.