6 Best AI Receptionists for UK Dental Practices (2026)

For most UK practices I would start with an AI receptionist that books straight into your diary and hands urgent calls to a human. Which product wins depends on your practice software and on whether you want to run the tool yourself or have it built for you.

I co-founded Automis, and we are on this list, so grade our entry the way you would grade anyone marking their own homework. If you want to see what we build, our AI voice receptionist is done for you: we set it up, connect it to your diary and run it.

Prices checked in October 2026 on each vendor's own site.

How did I pick these?

I looked for products a UK practice can actually buy and judged them on four things a dental front desk cares about. This is my judgement, and I have kept to what each vendor says on its own pages.

• Booking into your practice system, not just taking a message. Dentists live in Dentally, Exact or R4, and a booking that has to be retyped is only half a booking.
• Cover outside opening hours, because a lot of new-patient calls arrive at 7pm or on a Sunday.
• A price you can find. Most vendors here hide it, so I mark them "price on request" and tell you what to ask.
• Handover to a human, for emergencies, upset patients and clinical questions.

I left out Dentalflo AI because its listing sits on Dentally's Australian page and I could not confirm UK availability. I also left out US-built dental tools that quote US practice software and US support hours. A tool that only knows Dentrix will not help a practice on R4.

1. Automis

We build an AI voice receptionist for your practice, connect it to your diary, WhatsApp or CRM, and then run it. You do not configure anything. Clinica Santa Maria, a dental clinic, is our proof point: the problems were missed calls, booking and no-shows, and the receptionist was built around those three.

What it does at a dental front desk: answers every call, offers real free slots, books or reschedules, answers the usual questions about opening hours and treatments, and sends reminders to cut no-shows. You can read the longer version in our guide to an AI receptionist for dental clinics.

• Best for: practices that want it working without a project on their side.
• Price: from 297 EUR a month.
• Why it stands out: done-for-you build and ongoing running, with WhatsApp follow-up for no-shows as part of the same system.
• Worth knowing: it is not a self-serve app you sign up for and configure yourself in an afternoon, and the price is in euros, so allow for VAT and the exchange rate.

2. Dentsy

Dentsy is an AI phone system from Yo Telecom that works with Dentally. On the Dentally partner page, it shows caller details in Dentally before the call is answered, saves transcribed call summaries to the correspondence tab and flags missed calls. Dentsy's own site goes further: its AI Receptionist answers calls, books appointments and takes payments, and it lists Dentally, Aerona Dental and Semble as PMS partners.

If you are on Dentally, this is the most natural fit I found, because the booking lands in the system your team already uses.

• Best for: Dentally practices.
• Price: price on request.
• Why it stands out: Dentally is a named integration and the AI Receptionist is available 24/7.
• Worth knowing: the page does not explain how a call is handed to a team member, so ask for that in the demo. SFD and Sensei were marked "coming soon", so Exact and R4 users should check first.

3. Boxly AI Front Desk

Boxly is a dental CRM, and its AI Front Desk answers patient enquiries across web chat, email, social media and WhatsApp. It books, reschedules and cancels, and follows up unbooked leads by SMS, WhatsApp and email. It was reported as launching in the UK in October 2025.

Read the page carefully: it lists written channels, not telephone answering. If your problem is the ringing phone, this is not obviously the answer.

• Best for: practices that lose enquiries on the website and social channels, or already use Boxly.
• Price: price on request.
• Why it stands out: WhatsApp and social follow-up, with unbooked leads handed to your team.
• Worth knowing: the page says it books into your practice management system but names none, phone calls are not mentioned, and the practice was taking waitlist sign-ups when I read it.

4. Moneypenny

Moneypenny is the one human option here. Trained PAs answer in your practice name, and per its telephone answering page they can book appointments into your diary during the call. It also offers an AI receptionist that routes calls and answers FAQs alongside the humans.

The page does not mention dental practices, so you are buying a general service you brief for dentistry. For anxious or upset patients, a person is a real advantage.

• Best for: practices where callers want a voice, and where volume is too uneven to hire for.
• Price: price on request, tailored to call volume and hours.
• Why it stands out: people who can use judgement, plus the option of AI alongside them.
• Worth knowing: standard cover is 8.30am to 6.00pm with voicemail outside it, evening, weekend and 24/7 are separate options, and schemes of 150 minutes or fewer carry a three month minimum.

5. On Hold Comms

On Hold Comms connects a practice's phone system to Dentally. Its Dentally partner page lists instant patient context on each call, AI call routing for new patient enquiries, AI summaries copied into patient correspondence, and automated bookings that patients can make and pay for in Dentally at any time.

My read is that this is more a phone and records layer than a receptionist that picks up every call. That can be exactly right if your team answers the phone but loses detail afterwards.

• Best for: Dentally practices that want better call handling, not a replacement for the front desk.
• Price: price on request, via a form.
• Why it stands out: summaries and bookings go straight into Dentally.
• Worth knowing: the page describes call routing and online booking, and does not say an AI answers calls on its own.

6. Softomate Solutions

Softomate builds AI voice agents for UK businesses and has pre-built dental call flows. Its UK page publishes real prices, which is rare here: a focused setup from 2,000 GBP one-off with a plan from 99 GBP a month, and a bespoke agent from 8,000 GBP with a plan from 499 GBP a month, all excluding VAT. Emergency trigger phrases transfer the call to a number you choose and send an SMS.

• Best for: practices that want a bespoke build and are comfortable with a project.
• Price: from 99 GBP a month plus setup from 2,000 GBP, excluding VAT.
• Why it stands out: published pricing and configurable human handover.
• Worth knowing: calls, telephone numbers and AI usage are charged separately, extra language packs cost 800 to 1,500 GBP, and the integrations listed (Cliniko, Google Calendar, Microsoft 365 and others) do not name Dentally, Exact or R4.

What does an AI receptionist cost a dental practice?

Expect to pay somewhere between a low monthly fee and several thousand pounds up front, and expect most vendors to make you ask. Of the six, only Softomate and Automis publish a figure, and they are built differently: one charges setup plus a plan, the other a monthly fee for a done-for-you service. Our wider piece on what an AI receptionist costs covers the billing models.

Before you compare quotes, work out what you lose now. Our free missed call revenue calculator takes your call volume and the value of a new patient and gives you a monthly number to hold the quotes against.

How do I choose?

Choose by your practice software and your callers, then test the shortlist with a real booking.

• Choose Automis if you want a done-for-you receptionist connected to your diary and WhatsApp, with no project on your side.
• Choose Dentsy if you run Dentally and want the booking and the call record in the same place.
• Choose Boxly if your leakage is website and social enquiries rather than the phone.
• Choose Moneypenny if your patients want a human and you can live with set hours or pay for extended cover.
• Choose On Hold Comms if your team answers calls and you want better context and online booking in Dentally.
• Choose Softomate if you want published pricing and a custom build, and you are happy to scope integrations.

Whatever you pick, run the same three tests. Ask for a live booking in your own diary. Say "I have a swollen face" and watch where the call goes. Ask for the data processing agreement, because as the data controller the practice stays responsible under UK GDPR.