For dental practice owners · Front desk and inquiries
Turn a cost question into a booked visit
A short phone script for the 'how much will this cost' call that explains how fees are set and offers a first visit, without quoting a number.
The prompt
Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and fill in each part in [BRACKETS]. Office managers and whoever answers the practice phone.
I run a dental practice. Callers often ask what something costs before we have seen them. We do not quote over the phone, because the fee depends on what the dentist finds. I want a short script the front desk can say out loud that explains this kindly and offers a visit. What I have: - What callers usually ask, in their words: [COMMON COST QUESTIONS] - How we set fees and when a patient gets an estimate: [HOW WE GIVE ESTIMATES] - What a first visit includes, in our own words: [FIRST VISIT] - How a caller books: [HOW TO BOOK] - How we sound on the phone: [OUR TONE] What I want: 1. Write an opening line that thanks them for asking and says why we do not quote over the phone. 2. Write one or two sentences on when they will get an estimate, using only my notes. 3. Offer a first visit and the booking step, and end with a question that books it. 4. Write short answers for 'can you just give me a ballpark' and 'I'll call around first', each ending with an offer to book. 5. Write a hand-off line for when the caller mentions pain or asks what insurance will pay, so a person takes the call. Rules: - Write a draft for me to read. Do not send anything. - Use only what I gave you. If something is missing, ask me instead of guessing. - Never quote a price, a range or a ballpark, promise an opening or claim anything I did not give you. - Leave out anything about a patient's health, treatment or history. Do not explain any procedure or say whether a caller needs it. Give me back: - The script, short enough to fit on one card - The two short answers - The hand-off line
When to use it
A caller asks what something costs before you have seen them, often a new patient calling around to compare offices.
When not to
Do not use it for a caller in pain, a question about what insurance will pay, or a current patient asking about their own estimate. Those go to a person: the dentist's team for anything clinical, your insurance coordinator for coverage.
What to paste in
- [COMMON COST QUESTIONS]: Two or three cost questions callers ask, the way they ask them, with no names or numbers.
- [HOW WE GIVE ESTIMATES]: How fees are set and when a patient gets a written estimate, in a sentence or two.
- [FIRST VISIT]: What happens at a first visit, in the words your front desk already uses.
- [HOW TO BOOK]: How a caller books: on the call, by a text link, or with a call back.
- [OUR TONE]: Three or four words for how your front desk sounds, or a line they already say that you like.
Never paste
- Caller or patient names, birth dates, phone numbers or insurance IDs
- Anything about a patient's health, treatment or dental history
- Your fee schedule or any prices, so none end up in the script
A filled-in example
Sample. Fictional business, fictional client.
COMMON COST QUESTIONS: What do you charge for a new patient visit? How much is it if I need work done? Can you just give me a ballpark? HOW WE GIVE ESTIMATES: Fees depend on what the dentist finds. Every patient gets a written estimate before any work starts, and our coordinator checks it against their plan. FIRST VISIT: About an hour. The dentist looks everything over, answers questions and goes over a plan with the estimate. HOW TO BOOK: Book it on the call. We hold new patient times on weekday mornings. OUR TONE: Calm, kind, no pressure.
What you should get back
- A short script that says why you do not quote by phone and offers a first visit
- Answers for the ballpark and call-around replies, each ending with an offer to book
- A hand-off line for pain or insurance questions
- No price, range or procedure explained anywhere
What stays with you
The prompt writes a draft. You decide what happens to it, and nothing should reach a patient until you have read it. Decisions about money stay with a person every time, and so do health questions and complaints. When KeenHand builds a routine like this, every message carries the same four decisions: Automate, Approve, Revise, Reject.
Related
- Answer a new patient inquiry with how to book. A reply to a new patient's message with how to book and what to bring, while insurance and health questions wait for a person.
- Turn office policies into a phone answer sheet. A one-page phone sheet built from your own policies, with spoken answers to routine questions and a clear list of what goes to a person.
- Text back a call the front desk missed. A short text back to a missed call that offers a callback or a booking step and never asks the caller to text health details.
More: every prompt for dental practices, front desk and inquiries, and AI for dental practices.
Which three fit your dental practice?
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