AI receptionist for Open Dental practices

What Clara solves for you

Your Open Dental schedule has openings — patients just can't reach them after hours.

Most dental site visits happen evenings and weekends, when your front desk is closed and the open slots in Open Dental sit empty. Clara reads your live Open Dental availability and books the visit right then, so a prospective patient schedules instead of clicking back to Google and calling the next practice.

New-patient inquiries pile up while your team is on the phone or chairside.

A dental front desk juggles calls, check-ins, and insurance verification all at once, and website inquiries wait. Clara answers every web inquiry instantly and books the appointment straight into Open Dental, so the front desk sees it the moment they look up — no callback, no re-keying.

A new patient books with whichever practice answers first.

When someone is comparing two or three dentists, the one who responds in the moment usually wins the appointment. If your site can only take a message, the patient has already booked elsewhere by the time you call back. Clara answers instantly and books on the spot, so "first to respond" is you.

Insurance questions decide whether a new patient books at all.

"Do you take my insurance?" is the question that stops a booking cold. If nobody answers it in the moment, the patient moves on. If you list your accepted plans, Clara answers in real time — in the patient's own language — then books the visit straight into Open Dental before they leave the page.

Reschedules and cancellations tie up the phone.

Every "can I move my appointment?" is another call your team has to stop and handle. Clara lets patients reschedule or cancel in the chat and updates Open Dental directly, so the change is already reflected when your team opens the schedule.

How Clara fits your business

Clara sits on your website as a chat widget, connects directly to Open Dental, and handles the front-desk conversation — answering questions and booking real appointments — around the clock.

How Clara connects to Open Dental

Open Dental is the one system Clara books into directly. You authorize a secure Customer API Key inside Open Dental — no NexHealth account and no extra middleware to run — and Clara reads your real availability, providers, and appointment types straight from your own database. She reads open times and writes the booking; she does not read clinical charts, treatment history, or account balances.

Set up in an afternoon

1. Paste your practice's URL on the ClaraConverts homepage. Clara reads your site and identifies your services, accepted insurance if you list it, and your scheduling setup in about ten seconds.
2. Hear her on a live preview tuned to your practice. Adjust her greeting and tone if you want.
3. In Open Dental, open Setup › Advanced Setup › API and authorize a Customer API Key so Clara can read availability and write appointments.
4. Embed one <script> tag on your site — it works on every common dental-practice CMS.

Every appointment she books, reschedules, or cancels is written straight into Open Dental, and every contact she captures is emailed to your office in real time and forwarded to your CRM by webhook if you use one.

A typical after-hours booking

It's 8pm. A new patient is comparing two practices in your town. On your site they ask whether you take their insurance and whether you have anything Saturday. Clara confirms the plan you accept, reads the real Saturday openings in Open Dental, and books a 9:20am new-patient visit — while the other practice's site just took a message. When your team opens Open Dental in the morning, the appointment is already there with the patient's details.

What direct booking means for your practice

Because Clara talks to Open Dental directly, there is no third-party scheduling platform in the middle — nothing extra to subscribe to, log in to, or keep running. A single new patient can be worth hundreds to thousands of dollars over their time with your practice, so capturing even a few extra after-hours bookings a month that would otherwise have gone to a competitor pays for Clara many times over.

Pricing is flat per practice — $49/mo for text-only chat or $99/mo for the voice tier where Clara speaks her replies inside the widget. No per-seat charges, no per-conversation fees.

Frequently asked questions

Does Clara book appointments directly into Open Dental?

Yes. Clara connects straight to Open Dental, reads your live availability, and writes the appointment into your schedule — so your front desk sees it immediately, with no re-typing. She can reschedule and cancel appointments the same way.

Do we need NexHealth or any extra software to use Clara with Open Dental?

No. Clara integrates directly with Open Dental through its API — you authorize a secure Customer API Key inside Open Dental and that's it. There's no middleman platform to sign up for or maintain.

How do we set up the Open Dental connection?

In Open Dental you open Setup, then Advanced Setup, then API, and authorize a Customer API Key. You paste it into Clara once, and from then on I read your live schedule and write appointments directly. Most practices are live the same afternoon.

Will Clara answer whether we take a patient's insurance?

Yes. If you list your accepted plans on your site, I answer "do you take my insurance?" in real time before the patient leaves the page, then book the visit straight into Open Dental. I can answer in the patient's own language too.

Can patients reschedule or cancel their own appointments?

Yes. A patient can reschedule or cancel right in the chat, and I update Open Dental directly, so the change is reflected in your schedule without anyone on your team picking up the phone.

Does Clara replace our front desk?

No — I cover the moments your front desk can't. I handle website questions and bookings after hours, on weekends, and when your team is on the phone or chairside, and I hand everything to your staff through Open Dental and email so nothing falls through the cracks.

What patient information does Clara access in Open Dental?

Only what scheduling needs. I read open appointment times and write the appointment; when a new patient books, I save the booking details they type. I do not read clinical charts, treatment history, or account balances.

What does Clara cost for an Open Dental practice?

Pricing is flat per practice — $49/mo for text-only chat or $99/mo for the voice tier where I speak my replies inside the widget. No per-seat charges and no per-conversation fees.