Yes. A dental phone menu should play a short 911 message first, then offer a key for dental emergencies that rings the on call line, and keys for appointments, billing, and everything else. GoHighLevel's IVR routes calls by menu input or by workflow. The bottom line: routine callers should not have to listen to emergency instructions twice, and emergency callers should not have to find the right key in a long menu.
Why the split matters
Dental practice guides agree on where the line falls. Swelling that affects breathing or swallowing, bleeding that will not stop, a suspected broken jaw, or swelling with a fever needs a hospital emergency room or 911. A knocked out permanent tooth is the one dental problem where minutes matter: guides citing the American Association of Endodontists say reimplantation has the best chance within about 30 minutes, with outcomes declining after an hour, and that the tooth should be kept moist in milk. Severe pain without those signs is urgent and should be seen the same day or within about 24 hours. These come from dental practice guides, not from a clinical standard, so the practice's own dentist should write the triage wording.
Most dental problems are not medical emergencies, but a few are, and a menu that sends everyone to voicemail treats them all the same. Separating the callers means the dentist on call gets the calls that need a person, and the front desk gets the routine calls in the morning.
The menu
| Prompt | Key | Goes to |
|---|---|---|
| If you have trouble breathing or swallowing, or bleeding that will not stop, hang up and dial 911 | None | Message plays first, before any key |
| For a dental emergency, such as a knocked out tooth or severe pain with swelling | 1 | On call line, then a second number, then voicemail marked urgent |
| To make or change an appointment | 2 | Scheduling, or the Voice AI agent for booking |
| For billing or insurance | 3 | Billing, or a message box |
| For anything else, or to speak to a person | 0 | Front desk during hours |
What GoHighLevel offers
GoHighLevel's help page on incoming call settings says the IVR routes calls based on a workflow or menu input, and that the incoming call timeout controls how long a call rings before it moves on. Confirm the exact options in your phone settings.
GoHighLevel's help portal says accounts are not HIPAA compliant by default, and that HIPAA Compliance is a paid upgrade, $297 a month as an account wide add on, that must be enabled for the agency and then configured for the sub accounts that need it. Third party guides add that the add on provides a business associate agreement, encryption, audit logging, and multi factor authentication, that the practice also needs its own agreement with the agency, and that GoHighLevel itself recommends avoiding protected health information in SMS and email even with the add on. Whether the AI features are covered by the agreement is a question to put to HighLevel in writing before any patient data reaches them.
Build it in GoHighLevel
- Write the prompt text with the dentist, keeping the whole menu under 25 seconds.
- Create the on call group with a primary and a backup number, and test that both ring.
- Set the IVR on the main number with the keys in the table.
- Set business hours so that after hours the 911 message, the emergency key, and the hours play, and other keys go to a message box.
- Add a recording notice to the greeting, since 11 states require all party consent, according to Rev.
- Build a workflow with the Call Details trigger for voicemails left in the emergency box that alerts the dentist on call by text and creates a task.
- Call the number at night from a cell phone and fix what sounds wrong.
Worked example
For example, an office that gets 30 after hours calls a month, of which 6 are true emergencies, sends those 6 to the on call dentist (30 times 0.2) and leaves 24 for the morning. Without a split, all 30 land in one voicemail box.
Mistakes to avoid
- Putting the 911 message last. It goes first.
- An on call number nobody answers. Test it weekly.
- Too many keys. Five is plenty.
- No recording notice. All party states require consent.
How this was handled before
Offices rolled the line to the dentist's cell phone after hours, or left a voicemail with a pager number. Phone menus formalize that split so that emergencies reach a person and routine calls wait for morning.
What to measure after launch
Track calls by key, emergency key calls reaching the dentist, abandoned calls, and misrouted calls. If many callers press zero, the labels are unclear.
Check before you switch it on
US text messages sent from a standard 10 digit number need A2P 10DLC registration. The HighLevel support portal says registration is required for texts to US recipients from 10 digit long code numbers and that toll free numbers do not require it. HighLevel's opt in guidelines also say a person cannot be forced to agree to text messages in order to submit a form, so keep the consent box optional. One compliance guide separates informational texts, which need documented consent, from marketing texts, which need prior express written consent. Ask your attorney which category your reminders fall into. Have the dentist approve the emergency wording, and check accessibility for callers who cannot use keypad menus. This is general information, not legal advice.
Questions people ask
What can the GoHighLevel IVR do?
GoHighLevel's help page says it routes calls based on a workflow or menu input.
What counts as a medical emergency in a dental call?
Dental practice guides list trouble breathing or swallowing, uncontrolled bleeding, a suspected broken jaw, and swelling with fever.
How fast must a knocked out tooth be treated?
Guides citing the American Association of Endodontists say within about 30 minutes is best, with outcomes declining after an hour.
Ready to try it yourself? Start a GoHighLevel account here.
You can also see this in action in our GoHighLevel capabilities demo.