Six questions can sort most new patient inquiries: whether there is pain and how severe, whether there is swelling and where, whether there is trouble breathing or swallowing, whether bleeding will not stop, whether a tooth was knocked out or broken, and whether there is a fever. GoHighLevel's forms can act on the answers with conditional logic. The bottom line: the form does not diagnose, it routes, and the dentist should write the rules.
The lines dental guides draw
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.
The questions and what each does
| Question | Answer | What the form does |
|---|---|---|
| Are you having trouble breathing or swallowing, or is swelling spreading toward your throat or eye? | Yes | Show message: call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room now. Do not submit |
| Is bleeding heavy and not stopping with pressure? | Yes | Show the same message |
| Was an adult tooth knocked out? | Yes | Show message: call [on call number] now, and keep the tooth moist |
| Do you have swelling with a fever, or a suspected broken jaw? | Yes | Show the emergency room message |
| How severe is your pain, from 0 to 10? | 7 or higher | Show the on call number and offer the first available same day slot |
| Is this a routine visit, or do you have a problem? | Routine | Continue to the booking page |
What GoHighLevel documents
GoHighLevel's help page on conditional logic in forms and surveys describes actions that redirect, show a message, disqualify, or show and hide fields, evaluated from the top down, and notes that calendar fields are not supported in rules. So the form screens first, then a separate booking step follows for patients who pass.
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
- Have the dentist approve the six questions and the exact message for each answer.
- Build the form with the questions at the top, ahead of name and contact fields, so a person in distress sees the message first.
- Add conditional rules that show the 911 or on call message and stop the submission for the dangerous answers.
- For a pain score of 7 or more, redirect to a page with the on call number and a same day booking link.
- For routine answers, continue to demographics and then the booking calendar.
- Create a workflow that tags every submission with its screening result, and alerts the on call dentist for the knocked out tooth and severe pain answers.
- Test every path from a phone, including the ones that should stop the form.
Worked example
For example, if the form gets 100 submissions a month and 15 answer yes to a screening question, the form sends those 15 to the right place at once (100 times 0.15), before anyone books a routine slot next week.
Mistakes to avoid
- Letting the form diagnose. It routes, and the dentist decides.
- Putting the screening after the contact fields. Emergencies come first.
- An on call number nobody answers. Test it weekly.
- Skipping the phone test. Most visitors use a phone.
How this was handled before
A receptionist asked a caller what was wrong and decided whether to book a routine slot or alert the dentist. Web forms removed the receptionist. Conditional logic puts her first questions back at the top of the form.
What to measure after launch
Track submissions, emergency screens triggered, on call alerts, and form abandonment at the screening questions. Review each emergency screen with the dentist.
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 write and approve the screening rules and messages, and keep the form in the HIPAA configured account. This is general information, not legal advice.
Questions people ask
What do dental guides treat as a medical emergency?
Trouble breathing or swallowing, heavy bleeding that will not stop, a suspected broken jaw, and swelling with a fever.
How time critical is a knocked out tooth?
Guides citing the American Association of Endodontists say reimplantation has the best chance within about 30 minutes.
What can conditional logic do in a form?
GoHighLevel's help page lists redirect, message, disqualify, and show or hide field actions.
Ready to try it yourself? Start a GoHighLevel account here.
You can also see this in action in our GoHighLevel capabilities demo.