For dental practices
An AI receptionist for dental practices that never leaves the phone ringing
Hello answers your practice phone, website chat and email 24/7 in a natural New Zealand voice. It books check-ups and hygiene appointments, tells after-hours callers in pain exactly where to go, and emails your team a summary of every call. It never gives clinical advice and never discusses a patient's treatment with anyone.
2,939
people held a practising certificate in dentistry at 31 March 2025
2,568
dental services businesses in New Zealand, February 2025
43%
of adults have dental needs they haven't had treated because of cost
$89
average fee for a dental examination, NZDA fee survey 2023
Facts checked 20 October 2026.
What patients ring about, and how Hello handles it
New patients and check-ups
Hello takes the patient's name, number and email, checks your calendar and books the check-up. The patient gets a confirmation with links to reschedule or cancel, so fewer slots go empty.
Toothache and broken teeth
In hours, Hello books the first urgent slot you've set aside, or puts the call through to your front desk. After hours, it tells the caller where to go, using your after-hours arrangements, and emails you so you can follow up first thing.
Fees and costs
Cost is the main reason people put off the dentist. Hello quotes only the fees you've approved, such as your exam and x-ray fee, and explains that treatment costs are confirmed after the dentist has seen them.
ACC and Work and Income
Hello explains the basics you give it: that ACC covers accident injuries with a set contribution, and that Work and Income may help with urgent treatment for people on low incomes. It books the appointment and leaves the claim to your team.
Teens and children
Free basic dental care runs until a young person's 18th birthday. Hello can tell parents whether you take part and book the teen in, or give them the enrolment number, 0800 TALK TEETH.
Cancellations and running late
Patients can cancel or move an appointment by phone, chat or email at any hour. Hello updates the booking and emails your team, so you know about the gap before the morning.
What Hello does for dentists
- Answers every call, chat and email, day and night, and says it's an AI assistant
- Books check-ups, hygiene and urgent slots into your Google or Outlook calendar
- Puts calls through to the right person in your team, with a text first saying who's calling and why
- Reads your after-hours instructions word for word to patients in pain
- Emails a summary of every call to your practice inbox
- Shows you each month what patients asked and what it couldn't answer
What Hello won't do
- Give clinical advice or say whether something is an emergency
- Discuss a patient's treatment, records or account with anyone
- Quote treatment prices you haven't approved
- Book into practice management software on Solo or Team plans (it uses your calendar, or emails the request for your team to confirm)
How it plays out
Example: Saturday morning
Your practice is closed on Saturdays, but people still ring. Hello answers each call, books three check-ups into next week, moves a patient's Tuesday clean to Thursday, and emails your team a summary of each. On Monday your front desk starts with a list, not a voicemail backlog.
Example: lunchtime rush
Your receptionist is at the counter with a patient paying. Two calls come in at once. Hello answers both, books one new patient and puts the other through to the dentist's mobile after texting them the patient's name and question. Nobody hears an engaged tone.
Example: after-hours pain
At 9pm a patient rings with a swollen face. Hello reads your after-hours instructions, including Health NZ's advice that serious mouth injuries go to the emergency department, gives the Healthline number and books the first slot in the morning and flags the call for your team.
The rules that shape how Hello answers
Health information is collected under the Health Information Privacy Code
Rules 1 to 4 of the Code limit what you collect and require you to tell patients why. Hello asks only for what's needed to book (name, contact details and the reason for the visit). Calls are transcribed so your team can check them, and you can add a short privacy line to its greeting.
Source: Office of the Privacy Commissioner, HIPC factsheet on collection
Patients should know when AI is involved
The Privacy Commissioner expects businesses using AI to be open with customers about it. Hello says it's an AI assistant at the start of every call, and every conversation is logged so your team can check what it said.
Source: Office of the Privacy Commissioner, generative AI expectations
After-hours callers need clear directions
Health NZ advises people with bad pain or a serious-looking injury to see an after-hours dentist, and says a practice's answerphone should tell them where. For serious mouth injuries the advice is the emergency department. Hello gives this information in your words, every time.
Confidentiality is a professional standard
The Dental Council's standards require practitioners to protect patient confidentiality. Hello won't confirm whether someone is a patient or discuss their care, and passes those questions to your team.
Source: Dental Council, Standards Framework for Oral Health Practitioners
What one missed booking is worth
An exam on its own averaged $89 in the NZDA's 2023 fee survey, and an exam with bitewing x-rays averaged $122. A new patient who books a check-up and stays for years is worth far more. Hello Solo costs NZ$149 + GST a month, about NZ$4.90 + GST a day, so one or two extra bookings a month cover it.
Source: NZ Dental Association, Fee Survey 2023
| Calls a day | Plan | Price | About per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to about 5 | Hello Solo | NZ$149 + GST a month | NZ$4.90 |
| 5 to 30 | Hello Team | NZ$299 + GST a month | NZ$9.83 |
| 30+ | Hello Scale | Quoted | n/a |
Getting set up
- 01Add your after-hours instructions first. Hello reads them exactly as you write them.
- 02Block out the urgent slots you want Hello to offer, so it never double-books a dentist.
- 03List the fees you're happy to quote. Leave treatment prices out and Hello will say the dentist confirms them.
- 04Forward missed calls from your practice line on day one. Move the number to Hello later if you want.
Questions from dentists
Can Hello tell a patient whether their problem is an emergency?
No. Hello doesn't make clinical judgements. It reads your instructions, gives Healthline's number (0800 611 116), books the earliest slot you allow and alerts your team.
Does Hello work with our practice management software?
On Solo and Team plans Hello books into a Google or Outlook calendar, or takes the request and emails it for your team to confirm. Connecting practice software is a custom job on the Scale plan.
Will patients know they're talking to an AI?
Yes. Hello says it's an AI assistant at the start of every call. Most patients just want their appointment sorted, and it does that quickly.
Can it handle ACC questions?
It can explain the basics you give it, for example that ACC helps with accident injuries and that your team lodges the claim. It books the appointment and leaves the claim details to your staff.
What if two patients ring at once?
Hello answers several calls at the same time. If you forward from a business line, check how many calls your line can forward at once.
Is our patient information kept private?
Hello only uses the practice information you approve, collects what it needs to book, and never asks callers for card details. Every conversation is logged so your team can review it.
How quickly can we go live?
You get a local 09 number at sign-up and Hello builds itself from your website in about a minute. Add your after-hours instructions, forward your missed calls and you're live the same day.
Written by Phil Dossett, co-founder of Leadica, the Auckland company that makes Hello. Facts checked 20 October 2026.
Sources
- Dental Council, Annual Report 2024/25
- Stats NZ business demography 2025, via Figure.NZ
- NZ Dental Association, Report Card 2026
- NZ Dental Association, Fee Survey 2023
- Office of the Privacy Commissioner, HIPC factsheet on collection
- Office of the Privacy Commissioner, generative AI expectations
- Health NZ, Dentists and emergency dental care
- Dental Council, Standards Framework for Oral Health Practitioners
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