When was the last time you went a day without hearing someone say ‘AI’? The decade-defining impact of AI solutions has changed the game, from everyday tasks to work and research. In fact, AI’s ubiquity has almost become mundane, with users turning to chatbots for all sorts of simple tasks: three-quarters of reported conversations involve practical guidance, information seeking and writing.[i]
Dentistry has felt the growth of AI just like many other professions. Some of the main applications include scanning and diagnosis support, notetaking and audio transcription, and AI receptionists or website chatbots. But, as with all new technologies, it is inevitable that you might feel sceptical about integrating AI solutions into the dental practice. In the case of an AI receptionist, it is especially important to do some myth-busting, and sort the fact from the fiction.
Myth: All AI receptionists can triage emergency patients
Triaging emergency patients means prioritising someone’s medical needs over someone else’s by urgency. In dentistry, unscheduled dental care is split between three categories:
- Emergency – life threatening oral and dental conditions, with care needed within 60 minutes (e.g. oro-facial fracture or swelling that impacts the airway)
- Urgent – patients who require clinical care within 24 hours or as soon as practically possible (e.g. severe dental pain or significant facial trauma)
- Non-urgent – covers patients requiring professional care within 7 days (e.g. post extraction bleeding or fractured restorative treatments)[ii]
Triaging such cases must be done to the clinical standards and government frameworks. If an AI receptionist is advertising that it can triage emergency patients, the company can face a legal challenge if the software is not compliant. Once a tool is able to medically assess patients, it must be legally registered and recognised as a medical device – it is no longer an administrative assistant. Misclassification can lead to enforcement action by the MHRA so, no, AI receptionists cannot triage emergency patients if they are not fully compliant with the correct regulations!
Myth: AI receptionists are taking away jobs from humans
Hollywood science-fiction films have painted a picture where AI and robotic machinery can fully replace human jobs. In reality, this is an impossibility. An AI receptionist doesn’t mean your dental practice no longer needs an administrative team; instead it means that the administrative team are able to perform better because there is an extra support system in place.
An AI receptionist is there to fill in the gaps. Patients wanting to contact the practice can now do so outside of opening hours, as the software can answer phone calls or online messages 24/7. Introducing an AI receptionist is therefore of enormous benefit to the administrative team. Patients will still need to check-in on arrival, fill in forms, book follow-ups and pay for appointments, and the staff will now be able to manage these tasks without being interrupted by a phone call – instead letting it ring out to the AI receptionist. If a caller prefers to speak to someone, the call can be directed back. Ultimately, an AI receptionist shoulders the simple tasks and frees up the administrative team so that they can focus on in-practice work – it is a supplement, not a replacement.
Myth: The AI will go rogue / make mistakes
Despite how commonly used AI solutions are, a scepticism endures, especially towards the leading technological companies. In the summer, there were several reports of AI models that had ‘escaped’ and hacked other websites and businesses.[iii] But this is the extreme, and everyday systems such as an AI receptionist are highly unlikely to turn on humanity.
An AI is only as effective as it has been trained to be, and any mistakes or inherited biases can be attributed to the programmers. Connected to this is the belief that AI learns on its own and is evolving independently – this is also not true. Human engineers and dental professionals are responsible for feeding information to an AI receptionist and can easily monitor and manage any datasets and biases that need refining.
An AI you can count on
An AI receptionist can boost practice revenue, which is why you should consider integrating RoboReception AI into the daily workflow, an innovative solution designed by dentists for dentists. Providing a 24/7 service to answer incoming enquiries and schedule or cancel appointments, the system refers patients to AI Joe to ensure no lead is missed. You can also rely on its compliance: RoboReception AI holds full DTAC and DCB0129 alignment, making your practice’s DCB0160 deployment simple and seamless.
The myths around AI in dentistry are expected because it is easy to conflate all AI technologies as an interconnected intelligence. The reality is that an AI receptionist is simple, effective and easy to integrate, reducing errors and streamlining the daily workflow. The result? A thriving dental practice.
To find out more visit www.roboreception.co.uk or call us on 07511 085684
Author: Dr Grant McAree (BDS)
[i] Law, J. (2025). AI chatbots are becoming everyday tools for mundane tasks, use data shows. [online] doi:10.64628/aai.6np46qgc5.
[ii] England, N. (2025). NHS England » Clinical guidance: unscheduled urgent and non-urgent dental care. [online] England.nhs.uk. Available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/clinical-guidance-unscheduled-urgent-and-non-urgent-dental-care/ [Accessed 19 Aug. 2026].
[iii] McMahon, L. (2026). First OpenAI, now Meta – why do AI hacks keep happening? BBC News. [online] 6 Aug. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp30989ee1wo [Accessed 19 Aug. 2026].
