A broken bracket on Saturday is a call you can't miss.
Consultations and emergencies both arrive out of hours. An orthodontic answering service that books the consult and triages the broken appliance.
An orthodontic case is a two-year, five-figure commitment, and it starts with a parent ringing around for a free consultation. Whoever books that consultation usually wins the case. Separately, a poking wire or a broken bracket at the weekend is a comfort problem that turns into a complaint if nobody answers.
Parents call after work and at weekends, because that is when they deal with family admin. Those are also the hours when a bracket comes off and nobody is in the practice to tell the patient whether it can wait until Monday.
A call it takes without you.
Thanks for calling — is this about starting treatment, or an issue with existing braces?
Starting. My daughter's dentist said she needs to be seen.
Of course. How old is she, and has she had an orthodontic assessment before?
She's eleven, and no, this would be the first.
Our initial consultation is complimentary. I have Thursday at 4:30 — shall I book that?
- ✓After-hours and weekend calls answered
- ✓Free consultation enquiries booked immediately
- ✓Appliance emergencies triaged to your rules
- ✓Existing-patient questions routed separately
It applies your guidance: which problems genuinely need to be seen, which can wait until the next working day, and what the patient can do in the meantime. That is a scripted protocol you write, not clinical judgement, and it means a worried parent gets a clear answer on a Saturday.
Orthodontic Practices answering service — questions
Does it book the free consultation directly?+
Yes. That is the single most valuable thing it does — the consultation is where the case is won, and it should never wait for a callback.
Can it answer payment plan questions?+
It can give the plan structures you publish. Specific financing terms are handled at the consultation.
Does it separate new patients from existing ones?+
Yes, as the first question. A new consultation and a patient with a poking wire are entirely different calls.
How soon can it be running?+
Two to four business days, built around your consultation process and your appliance-emergency guidance.
How does an answering service work?+
Your business line is forwarded to the service, either all the time or only when you don't pick up. From the caller's side nothing changes — they dial your number and somebody answers. Ours answers, asks the questions you've set, and books the appointment into your calendar, then the details reach you.
What is an answering service?+
A service that answers your business phone when you can't. Traditionally that meant an off-site operator taking a message for you to return later. An AI answering service handles the call to a finished outcome instead — qualifying the caller and booking the job rather than passing you a message slip.
How much does an answering service cost?+
Most small businesses pay between $200 and $1,500 a month depending on volume and whether calls are handled by people or AI. Per-minute plans typically run $1.00–$2.00 a minute, per-call plans $1.50–$3.50 a call. Ours are flat: $249/mo with 500 included minutes, or $995/mo with 2,000.
What are the advantages of an answering service?+
Three that matter. Every call is answered, so enquiries stop going to voicemail. Several calls are answered at once, so nobody gets a busy signal on your busiest day. And it covers the hours you can't — nights, weekends and holidays — which is when the most urgent calls tend to arrive.
How do I choose an answering service?+
Call it before you buy it. Published pricing, no long-term contract, and a service built around your trade rather than a generic script all matter — but the only reliable test is hearing how it handles a call. Our demo line is a real number that answers at any hour.
What should I look for in a call answering service?+
Whether it books or only takes messages; what it costs when you exceed the plan; whether hold time and robocalls are billable; how quickly it goes live; and whether it can be briefed on what counts as an emergency in your trade. Ask for the overage rate specifically — it is the number most often left out of a quote.
Stop losing the calls you never hear.
Plans start at $249 a month. Live in two to four business days.