dental-ai-receptionist

# 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 | # | File | Purpose | |---|------|---------| | 01 | `01-inbound-call-handler.json` | Call intake, intent classification, business hours routing | | 02 | `02-appointment-booking.json` | Book appointments, calendar sync, PMS integration | | 03 | `03-appointment-reminders.json` | Multi-stage reminders (48h, 24h, 2h before) | | 04 | `04-noshow-followup.json` | Detect no-shows, send followup messages | | 05 | `05-cancellation-waitlist.json` | Process cancellations, auto-fill from waitlist | | 06 | `06-after-hours-capture.json` | Capture after-hours calls for next-day callback | | 07 | `07-patient-recall.json` | Recall campaigns for overdue patients | | 08 | `08-faq-handler.json` | AI-powered answers to common questions | | 09 | `09-staff-escalation.json` | AI summary + alert for calls needing human attention | | 10 | `10-crm-sync.json` | Sync patient data with CRM (HubSpot, PMS) | | 11 | `11-daily-report.json` | Daily metrics email (calls, bookings, no-shows, etc.) | | 12 | `12-sms-reply-handler.json` | Process inbound SMS replies from patients | ## 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 | Credential Type | Used For | Placeholder in JSON | |----------------|----------|---------------------| | Google Sheets OAuth2 | Call logs, appointments, patient records | `YOUR_GOOGLE_SHEETS_CREDENTIAL_ID` | | SMTP (Gmail or custom) | Reminders, reports, notifications | `YOUR_SMTP_CREDENTIAL_ID` | | Google Calendar OAuth2 | Appointment scheduling | Set via `GOOGLE_CALENDAR_CRED_ID` env | | OpenAI | FAQ answer generation, call summaries | Set via `OPENAI_CRED_ID` env | | Twilio | Voice calls, SMS messaging | Set via `TWILIO_CRED_ID` env | ## Environment Variables ```bash # 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 | Column | Type | Description | |--------|------|-------------| | call_id | text | Unique call identifier | | caller_phone | text | Caller's phone number | | caller_name | text | Patient name (if identified) | | intent | text | booking / cancellation / faq / escalation / after-hours | | timestamp | datetime | Call timestamp | | duration | number | Call duration in seconds | | summary | text | AI-generated call summary | | outcome | text | booked / cancelled / answered / escalated / captured | ### Appointments | Column | Type | Description | |--------|------|-------------| | appointment_id | text | Unique ID | | patient_name | text | Patient full name | | patient_phone | text | Phone number | | service_type | text | cleaning / checkup / filling / crown / etc. | | date | date | Appointment date | | time | text | Appointment time | | status | text | confirmed / reminded / completed / no-show / cancelled | | showed_up | boolean | Whether patient attended | | reminder_48h | boolean | 48h reminder sent | | reminder_24h | boolean | 24h reminder sent | | reminder_2h | boolean | 2h reminder sent | ### Patients | Column | Type | Description | |--------|------|-------------| | patient_phone | text | Primary key | | patient_name | text | Full name | | email | text | Email address | | last_service | text | Most recent service type | | last_visit | date | Most recent visit date | | recall_status | text | due / notified / scheduled / completed | | total_visits | number | Lifetime visit count | ## 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