When a salesperson says "we integrate with Dentrix," ask them to describe what happens in the 30 seconds after a caller accepts a Thursday 3pm slot. Their answer places them on one of three rungs.
1. Notification only
The AI captures the details and emails or texts your front desk. Someone opens Dentrix in the morning and types it in. This is a message service. It is useful for after-hours capture, but it does not reduce staff workload and it does not stop double-booking.
2. One-way write
The AI creates an appointment in the PMS but cannot see live availability at the moment of the call. It offers slots from a cached schedule, which is fine at 11pm and dangerous at 11am when your assistant just moved a crown seat.
3. Two-way sync
The AI reads current openings by provider, operatory and appointment type, offers only real slots, writes the confirmed appointment, and reflects any change your team makes in the PMS within seconds. This is the only version that lets you stop checking.
A single test proves which one you are buying: while the demo call is live, have someone book over the slot in your PMS. A two-way integration will not offer it. Anything else will.
