AI for Australian dental practices: recalls, notes, reviews
How Australian dental practices can use AI for recalls, clinical notes, Google review replies and treatment-plan letters, within AHPRA and Spam Act rules.
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Australian dental practices can use AI to write recall and appointment reminders, turn dictation into clinical notes, draft replies to Google reviews and explain treatment plans in plain English, with the dentist checking anything clinical. On Autopilot, a Melbourne AI consultancy, builds the front-desk side as its AI Front Desk: after-hours enquiries, booking requests and reminders for $1,500 setup plus $199 a month.
How can dental practices use AI in Australia?
Dental practices get most from AI in five places: the recall list, the after-hours enquiry inbox, clinical note write-ups, Google review replies and the letter that follows a treatment-plan consult. Each is patterned writing, which AI handles well. Diagnosis, treatment choices, item numbers and health fund claims stay with the dentist and the practice management system (PMS).
| Where AI helps | What it produces | Who signs off | Rule that applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recalls and reminders | Message templates for each recall type | Practice manager approves once; the PMS sends | Spam Act |
| After-hours enquiries | Instant replies and booking requests | Front desk confirms in the PMS next morning | Privacy Act, Australian Consumer Law |
| Clinical notes | A drafted note from dictation or a scribe | The treating dentist, line by line | AHPRA AI guidance, TGA |
| Review replies | A neutral reply that confirms nothing private | Owner or practice manager posts it | AHPRA advertising rules, Privacy Act |
| Treatment-plan letters | A plain-English explanation of a decided plan | Dentist or treatment coordinator | Dentist stays accountable |
Whichever PMS you run, whether Dental4Windows (from Centaur Software), Praktika, Core Practice, Exact or Dentally, check what AI features your version and plan include before paying for a separate tool. Features and data terms differ by product and plan, so we never assume one.
Can AI send recall reminders?
Yes. AI can write a set of recall messages for each type of patient, such as an overdue check-up, a hygiene recall or unfinished treatment, and your practice software sends them on schedule with names and dates merged in. Keep reminders for booked appointments factual, treat “you’re due, book now” recalls as marketing to be safe, and never tuck an offer into a reminder.
The useful part: the AI only writes the templates. Your PMS holds the patient list and merges in names and dates, so no patient records go anywhere near an AI tool.
| Message | Example | How to treat it |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment reminder | ”Reminder: check-up with Dr Lee, Wed 14/10 at 9:30am. Reply C to confirm.” | A service message about a booking. Identify the practice. |
| Recall due notice | ”It’s been about six months since your last check-up. Tap to book.” | Treat as a commercial message: existing patients only, practice name, easy opt-out. |
| Promotion | ”Whitening offer this November” | A commercial message: consent, identification and a working unsubscribe, plus AHPRA’s advertising rules. |
Under the Spam Act, commercial messages need consent (express or inferred), must identify the sender and must include a free unsubscribe that is actioned within five working days. Mixing marketing into service messages is what catches businesses out: in March 2026 Lululemon paid $702,900 over more than 370,000 emails, including order emails carrying marketing content, sent without an unsubscribe. Promotions also fall under AHPRA’s advertising guidelines.
Is AI note-taking allowed for dentists?
Yes. Dentists, dental hygienists, dental therapists, oral health therapists and dental prosthetists are all registered practitioners, so AHPRA’s AI guidance applies across the team. You stay responsible for the record, must check what the AI writes, should get informed consent before a scribe listens to a consultation and note it in the record, and need to know whether the vendor trains its models on patient data.
That comes from AHPRA’s guidance on using AI in healthcare (22/08/2024). There are two ways to use AI for notes, with different practicalities:
- Dictate after the patient leaves. You speak a summary and the AI structures it into your note template. The patient’s voice is never recorded, but the note is still health information, so the tool needs a proper data agreement and your privacy policy should say AI helps prepare notes.
- A scribe in the room. It listens to the consultation, which needs the patient’s informed consent first. Ask at check-in or with the medical history update, not once they are reclined with instruments in their mouth, and record the answer.
Whichever you use, read the draft for the things dental notes get wrong when software mishears: tooth numbers (a spoken “thirty-six” written as 46), surfaces, materials and shades, the anaesthetic used and how much, and anything the patient declined. Under the TGA’s position on digital scribes (August 2025), a scribe that only writes up what was said is not a medical device; one that suggests a diagnosis or treatment you did not state is, and must be in the ARTG. Our AI privacy guide covers which AI plans suit patient information.
Can dentists reply to Google reviews with AI?
Yes, if a person reads and edits every reply before it is posted. A reply must never confirm that the reviewer is a patient or mention their treatment, because that discloses health information. Separately, AHPRA’s ban on clinical testimonials means you cannot quote or share reviews about clinical care in your advertising, and you are responsible for reviews on platforms you control, such as your own website and social pages.
Section 133 of the National Law, explained in AHPRA’s testimonial tool, separates clinical from non-clinical comments (illustrative examples):
| A review says | Can you reuse it in your advertising? |
|---|---|
| ”Friendly front desk, easy parking, ran on time” | Yes, it is non-clinical |
| ”Painless root canal, Dr Patel fixed my bite” | No, it is about treatment and outcome |
| ”Best dentist I’ve ever had” | No, it is about the practitioner’s clinical skill |
Do not trim a review to keep the praise and drop the clinical part: AHPRA says selectively editing reviews can be misleading. For a critical review, the safe reply acknowledges, confirms nothing and moves the conversation to the phone:
Thanks for taking the time to share this. We take every concern seriously and would like to talk it through properly. Please call the practice and ask for [practice manager’s first name]. [Practice name] team
Our 10-minute review reply routine has a ready-made prompt; for dental, add one rule: never confirm the reviewer was seen here or mention any treatment.
Can AI explain a treatment plan to a patient?
Yes, once the dentist has decided the plan. AI can turn the plan and quote into a plain-English letter: what each stage involves, how many visits, what the quoted fees cover, what to expect afterwards and how to book. It cannot choose the treatment, and the letter goes out only after the dentist or treatment coordinator has checked it. Keep it free of promises about outcomes.
The inputs are the plan items and fees from your PMS quote, the staging, and the questions the patient asked in the chair, such as cost, discomfort and time off work. None of it needs the patient’s name: the AI drafts with a placeholder and the name goes in when the letter is merged in your PMS.
Write a plain-English letter explaining this treatment plan to a
patient. Australian English, short sentences, explain any dental term.
Do not promise outcomes or compare us with other practices. Do not
estimate health fund rebates; tell the patient to check with their
fund using the item numbers on the attached quote.
Plan and fees from our quote (no patient name): [paste]
Staging and number of visits: [paste]
Questions the patient asked: [paste]
Sign off as: [dentist's name]The letter supports your informed financial consent conversation. It does not replace it.
What should stay with the dentist and the practice software?
Item numbers, health fund claims and anything diagnostic stay with the dentist and the systems built for them. AI can draft the words around a claim or a plan, but choosing item numbers is a clinical decision, claims run from your PMS through HICAPS or the fund’s portal, and a patient’s rebate depends on their fund and level of cover, so the AI never estimates it.
The same goes for after-hours enquiries: the assistant books, answers practical questions and follows instructions a dentist has written, and it never assesses symptoms. For how the AHPRA, TGA and privacy rules fit together across health, see our overview of Australian AI compliance, and for the front desk itself, our guide to AI receptionists.
How On Autopilot can help
On Autopilot’s AI Front Desk answers website chat, SMS and email enquiries after hours, takes booking requests and sends appointment reminders, for $1,500 setup plus $199 a month (ex GST), live in 7–10 working days. It never asks for payment details or health information. Where your dental software has no booking connection we can use, it collects the request and preferred times for your team to confirm in the PMS; we check this at the audit. Managed AI, from $1,500 a month, adds recall templates and weekly review-reply drafts, run and maintained for you. See our AI for dental practices page, or book a free 30-minute AI audit with Jenn Yang.
Common questions
Can AI suggest a treatment plan?
No. Choosing treatment is the dentist's clinical judgement, and AHPRA's guidance says the practitioner stays responsible for anything an AI tool produces. A tool that suggests a diagnosis or treatment the dentist did not state is also a medical device under TGA rules and must be in the ARTG. AI can explain a plan the dentist has already decided; it cannot pick it.
Is AI that reads dental X-rays allowed in Australia?
Software that analyses radiographs to flag decay or bone loss is a different category from a writing tool: it is software acting as a medical device, so it must be included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods before it is supplied here. Ask the vendor for its ARTG entry, and remember the dentist still makes and owns the diagnosis.
Can we ask patients for Google reviews by SMS?
Yes, if you ask patients generally rather than only the ones you expect to be happy, offer nothing in return for a positive review, and include the practice name and a way to opt out of further messages. The ACCC's guidance says incentivised reviews must be disclosed and negative reviews must not be suppressed or edited. Remember you still cannot reuse reviews about clinical care as testimonials in your advertising.
Can AI answer dental emergency enquiries after hours?
It can reply straight away with the practice's own emergency instructions, written and approved by a dentist: your emergency number or after-hours arrangement, and when to go to a hospital emergency department or call 000. It should not assess symptoms or suggest medication. It should flag the enquiry so the team calls the patient back first thing.
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