After-hours calls at a dental practice: a plan you can defend
Dental pain does not keep office hours. What federal data says about after-hours need, four ways to cover the phone, and what each one cannot do.
Blog
Notes for the practice from the phone to the chair.
Practical guides for owner-dentists, office managers and front desks: phones, after-hours access, HIPAA and Open Dental. Every number has a source you can open, and a post is useful whether or not you ever use Leady.
Latest posts
Before you connect a phone or AI tool: the BAA questions to ask
When a phone or AI vendor needs a business associate agreement, what HIPAA says it must contain, and ten questions to ask before a patient call reaches it.
The Unscheduled List in Open Dental: a weekly routine that empties it
How appointments land on the Unscheduled List in Open Dental, why it grows, and a 30-minute weekly routine to sort, call and close it out.
What an AI phone agent must never say to your patients
Clinical advice, plan coverage and balances: where an automated phone agent must stop, why the research says so, and twelve test calls to run first.
A phone coverage plan for the dental front desk
Lunch, the morning rush and the last hour are where calls slip. A layered coverage plan, a handoff standard and five numbers to review each week.
Questions about the blog
See all questionsWhere do your numbers come from?
Each post lists its sources at the end, numbered and linked. We use peer-reviewed research, government and ADA publications, and Open Dental’s own documentation. If a number has no source we can name, it is not in the post.
Is this legal advice?
No. Posts on HIPAA, recording and consent explain what the public rules say and what to ask. Your own counsel decides what applies to your practice.
How often do you publish?
New posts as they are ready. Each one is checked against its sources and against what our product does today before it goes up.
