Dental practices are losing revenue not because of clinical performance, but due to operational gaps that begin the moment a call goes unanswered.
During a recent webinar hosted by Becker’s Healthcare and sponsored by Confido Health, leaders from Alpha Dental and OMS Logistics joined Confido Health’s co-founder and chief product officer to examine where AI is generating measurable return on investment in dental operations and what it takes to get there.
Here are four key takeaways from the conversation:
1. The major access and revenue gap
Vichar Shroff, co-founder and chief product officer at Confido Health, said the average dental practice misses about 30% of inbound calls. For midsize dental service organizations, that can translate into thousands of patients each month who never convert into scheduled appointments.
AI-powered voice agents are helping address that gap by answering every call, booking appointments directly into practice management systems and capturing revenue that might otherwise be lost.
Penny Filipe, head of operations at Alpha Dental, said her organization experienced this shift firsthand. Prior to implementing AI, her call center managed about 1,200 calls per day.
“AI took on roughly half of that volume,” Ms. Filipe said. “It reduced overflow to our front desk staff and allowed our team to focus on patients already in the office.”
2. Workflow design
Panelists emphasized that organizations must fix underlying workflow issues before layering on new technology.
Before implementing AI tools, leaders should understand call data in detail, what patients are calling about, when calls occur and how volume fluctuates throughout the day. Skipping that step can lead to misaligned expectations and unstable deployments.
Jeffrey Carter, DDS, president of OMS Logistics, drew a parallel to clinical operations. Based on data from more than 20,000 patient cases, he said standardizing workflows is essential before introducing automation.
“Don’t layer it on top,” Dr. Carter said. “Build it from the inside out.”
He added that one of the most immediate benefits of AI is preserving clinician efficiency.
“You have to keep the hands of the surgeon off the computer,” he said. “That’s really critical.”
3. Vendor relationships must function as partnerships
Both Ms. Filipe and Mr. Shroff stressed that successful AI adoption depends on strong collaboration between organizations and technology partners.
“When Confido came in, they became a partner, not just a vendor,” Ms. Filipe said. “You want to be able to sit down with them and say, ‘I need this done.'”
She described setting up a dedicated 24/7 chat portal with the Confido team to share real-time feedback from staff and patients, allowing the system to evolve alongside operational needs.
Importantly, she noted that implementation did not require major workflow disruption.
“My staff did not change, my schedule did not change,” Ms. Filipe said. “The program and the AI fit our office and our office needs.”
Mr. Shroff added that organizations should avoid deploying too many features at once.
“Breadth without depth kills credibility,” he said, advocating for phased rollouts that demonstrate value before scaling.
4. Revenue cycle management is next
Looking ahead, panelists identified revenue cycle management as a key area for future AI impact in dentistry.
Dr. Carter pointed to the growing complexity of coordinating medical and dental insurance for the same procedure.
“You have 27 different phone calls and a lot of callbacks,” he said. “You basically cannot get the patient scheduled.”
Mr. Shroff added that continued development of closed-loop integrations with practice management systems, along with AI-powered imaging tools, will play a significant role in shaping the next phase of innovation.
Across all three perspectives, AI in dental operations is most effective not as a replacement for human interaction, but as infrastructure that protects staff time, closes operational gaps and enables practices to deliver on the care they have already promised patients.
If you’d like to get in touch or schedule your personalized demo, please visit the website: https://www.confido.health/
At the Becker's 5th Annual Future of Dentistry Roundtable, taking place September 14-15 in Chicago, dental leaders and executives will gain insights into emerging technologies, practice growth strategies and the evolving landscape of dental care delivery, with a focus on innovation, patient experience and operational excellence. Apply for complimentary registration now.
