The best AI receptionist for a dental office is the one that books real appointments into your practice management system, answers after hours without rolling to voicemail, follows your new-patient and emergency scripts, and tells you the price before a demo. As of September 2026, most dental AI receptionist vendors publish which PMS they connect to but not what they charge. This guide compares what each vendor states on its own site, then gives you the four questions that decide the choice.
Everything below comes from the vendors' public pages, checked in September 2026 and linked so you can verify. We sell an AI receptionist for dental practices, so read this as a structured comparison with our own product included, not as a neutral review.
Dental AI receptionist vendors compared
| Vendor | Published pricing | Practice management systems named on their site | Notes from their site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telvana | $399 per practice per month, 2,000 minutes included, $0.25 per minute after, no contract | Books straight into your PMS; see our dental software integration guide | Dental-first scripts, after-hours and overflow coverage, HIPAA BAA available |
| Kickcall | Not published | Dentrix, Dentrix Ascend, Eaglesoft, Open Dental, Curve, Denticon, Dolphin | States HIPAA, SOC 2, and PIPEDA compliance |
| Savvy Agents | Not published | Dentrix, Open Dental, Weave | Positions an AI workforce: receptionist, scribe, and insurance agents; no contract, live in 48 hours |
| PatientXpress | Not published | Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental | Broader practice software with AI phone handling and recall |
| DentDesk | Not published | Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Weave | Focused on recovering missed calls |
| Arini | Not published | None named on the public site | Case studies on missed-call recovery |
| Viva AI | Platinum plan referenced at $899 per month | None named on the public site | SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, BAA signed, 100+ languages |
| Adit | Not published | Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Curve, Denticon, Dolphin, Cloud 9 | All-in-one practice platform with VoIP, not a standalone receptionist |
| NextPhone | $199 to $599 per month, unlimited calls | General business, not dental-specific | Flat rate, no per-minute billing |
| Weave | From $199 per month | Dental phone and communication platform | Phones, texting, reminders; AI receptionist is one feature among many |
Two patterns in that table. First, the vendors that name the most practice management systems are not the ones that publish prices, and the ones that publish prices are mostly not dental-specific. Second, "integrates with Dentrix" on a vendor page can mean anything from writing the appointment into the schedule to emailing your front desk a message. That difference is the whole decision, and it is the first question below.
The four questions that actually decide it
1. Does it write the appointment into your PMS, or take a message?
This is the question vendors most often answer vaguely. A real integration creates the appointment in your schedule, in the right operatory, with the right appointment type and length, and finds the existing patient record instead of creating a duplicate. A message-taking service, however polished, leaves your team re-entering every booking the next morning. Ask the vendor to book a test appointment into a sandbox copy of your PMS during the demo and then open your schedule. What write-back actually involves is worth reading before that demo.
2. What happens after hours and during overflow?
After-hours coverage is why most practices buy. Ask three things: does it answer every call or only overflow, does it price nights and weekends differently, and what does it do with a true emergency at 11pm. After-hours dental emergency calls need a playbook, and the vendor should be able to show you theirs.
3. Can it follow your scripts, and does it know when to stop?
A dental receptionist handles a small number of call types over and over: new patient, existing patient scheduling, emergency, insurance question, billing question, and vendor calls. Ask for the vendor's default handling of each and how you change it. Then ask about escalation: which calls it should hand to a human and which it should never handle.
4. What does it cost, in writing, at your call volume?
If the price is not on the website, get it in writing before the demo, at your actual monthly minutes. Ask about setup, the PMS integration, transfer minutes, spam, and contract length. Our dental answering service cost guide has the full list of line items and the published prices for live-operator alternatives.
How to run the comparison in one week
- Pull one month of call data from your phone system: total calls, unanswered calls, average duration.
- Shortlist three vendors that name your PMS on their site.
- Send each the same email: your PMS by name and version, your monthly minutes, your hours, and the four questions above.
- Book demos only with vendors who answer all four in writing.
- In each demo, have them book a test appointment into your PMS sandbox and call the number yourself after hours.
- Compare total first-year cost at your volume, not the headline monthly price.
A vendor who cannot get through that list in a week is telling you how support will go in month eight.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI receptionist for dentists?
The best one for your practice is the one that books into your specific practice management system, covers after hours without extra fees, follows your scripts, and prices transparently at your call volume. No single vendor wins all four for every practice, which is why the comparison has to be run against your PMS and your numbers.
Do AI receptionists work with Dentrix, Eaglesoft, and Open Dental?
Several vendors name all three on their sites. The question to ask is what "works with" means: writing appointments into the schedule and reading existing patient records, or sending your team a message. Ask for a booked test appointment during the demo.
How much does an AI receptionist for a dental office cost?
Published flat-rate AI receptionist prices run $199 to $899 a month. Telvana is $399 per practice per month with 2,000 minutes included. Most dental-specific vendors do not publish pricing, so get a written quote at your call volume before comparing.
Is an AI receptionist HIPAA compliant?
Look for a signed business associate agreement, not just the word HIPAA on the website. Ask where call recordings and transcripts are stored, who can access them, and whether they are exportable if you leave.
Where Telvana fits
Telvana is built for dental practices: $399 per practice per month, 2,000 minutes included, no contract, every call answered around the clock, and appointments booked straight into your practice management system. If you want to run the one-week comparison above, send us your PMS and your monthly minutes and we will answer the four questions in writing before you book a demo.
