A good dental voicemail greeting says the practice name, when you are open, what to do in an emergency, how soon you will call back, and asks callers not to leave detailed health information. Keep it under 30 seconds. Below are ten scripts for every situation a dental office meets, each with a Spanish version.
By Viktoria Mols, CMO · Published October 30, 2026 · 7 min read
Record them in a quiet room, in the voice of someone who works at the desk, and re-record the holiday and closure greetings each time — a greeting that announces last year's dates tells callers nobody is checking.
Replace everything in square brackets. Reading out a phone number adds about four seconds, so trim the hours sentence if a script runs long. Have your dentist confirm which symptoms your greeting sends to 911 and which to your on-call line. Each script has a Spanish version underneath; if many of your patients speak Spanish, record both, or use script 9 as a single bilingual greeting.
Thank you for calling [Practice]. Our office is closed. We're open [Monday to Thursday, 8 to 5, and Friday 8 to 1]. If this is a medical emergency, hang up and call 911. For a dental emergency, [call our on-call line at (number) / follow the instructions on our website]. Otherwise, leave your name and number — please don't include health details — and we'll call you back [the next business morning].
Gracias por llamar a [Consultorio]. En este momento estamos cerrados. Nuestro horario es [de lunes a jueves de 8 a 5 y los viernes de 8 a 1]. Si tiene una emergencia médica, cuelgue y llame al 911. Para una emergencia dental, [llame a nuestra línea de guardia al (número)]. Si no, deje su nombre y teléfono, sin detalles de salud, y le devolvemos la llamada [el siguiente día hábil por la mañana].
Hi, you've reached [Practice]. Our team is on lunch until [1:30]. Leave your name and number — no health details, please — and we'll call you back this afternoon. If you're having a medical emergency, hang up and call 911.
Hola, se ha comunicado con [Consultorio]. Nuestro equipo está en su hora de almuerzo hasta la [1:30]. Deje su nombre y teléfono, sin detalles de salud por favor, y le llamamos esta tarde. Si tiene una emergencia médica, cuelgue y llame al 911.
Thank you for calling [Practice]. We're with other patients right now and can't get to the phone. Leave your name, number and the best time to reach you — please don't include health details — and we'll call you back today. For a medical emergency, hang up and call 911.
Gracias por llamar a [Consultorio]. En este momento estamos atendiendo a otros pacientes. Deje su nombre, su teléfono y la mejor hora para llamarle, sin detalles de salud, y le devolvemos la llamada hoy mismo. Para una emergencia médica, cuelgue y llame al 911.
You've reached [Practice]. We're closed for the weekend and back on [Monday at 8]. For a medical emergency, call 911. For a dental emergency, [call (number)]. To book or change an appointment, leave your name and number without health details, and we'll return your call on [Monday morning].
Se ha comunicado con [Consultorio]. Estamos cerrados el fin de semana y volvemos el [lunes a las 8]. Para una emergencia médica, llame al 911. Para una emergencia dental, [llame al (número)]. Para hacer o cambiar una cita, deje su nombre y teléfono, sin detalles de salud, y le llamamos el [lunes por la mañana].
Happy holidays from [Practice]. Our office is closed from [date] through [date] and reopens on [date]. For a medical emergency, call 911; for a dental emergency, [call (number)]. Leave your name and number — no health details, please — and we'll call you back when we reopen.
Felices fiestas de parte de [Consultorio]. Estaremos cerrados del [fecha] al [fecha] y abrimos de nuevo el [fecha]. Para una emergencia médica, llame al 911; para una emergencia dental, [llame al (número)]. Deje su nombre y teléfono, sin detalles de salud, y le llamamos cuando volvamos a abrir.
You've reached [Practice], and our office is closed. If you have trouble breathing, bleeding that won't stop, or another medical emergency, hang up and call 911. For severe swelling or a knocked-out tooth, call [on-call number] now. For anything else, leave your name and number, without health details, and we'll call you back [next business day].
Se ha comunicado con [Consultorio] y en este momento estamos cerrados. Si le cuesta respirar, tiene un sangrado que no se detiene u otra emergencia médica, cuelgue y llame al 911. Si tiene hinchazón fuerte o se le salió un diente, llame ahora al [número de guardia]. Para cualquier otra cosa, deje su nombre y teléfono, sin detalles de salud, y le llamamos [el siguiente día hábil].
This is [Practice]. Our office is closed today, [date], because of [weather / a power outage]. If you had an appointment today, we'll call you to reschedule — you don't need to do anything. For a medical emergency, call 911; for a dental emergency, [call (number)]. Otherwise, leave your name and number without health details.
Le habla [Consultorio]. Hoy, [fecha], la oficina está cerrada por [el clima / un corte de luz]. Si tenía cita hoy, nosotros le llamaremos para darle otra; no tiene que hacer nada. Para una emergencia médica, llame al 911; para una emergencia dental, [llame al (número)]. Si no, deje su nombre y teléfono, sin detalles de salud.
Thanks for calling [Practice] — we're glad you're thinking of joining us. We're welcoming new patients. Leave your name, number and the best time to reach you, and we'll call back [within one business day] to find you a first visit. Please don't leave health or insurance details on this message.
Gracias por llamar a [Consultorio]; nos da gusto que quiera atenderse con nosotros. Estamos recibiendo pacientes nuevos. Deje su nombre, su teléfono y la mejor hora para llamarle, y le contactamos [en un día hábil] para su primera cita. Por favor, no deje detalles de salud ni de su seguro en el mensaje.
Thank you for calling [Practice]. Para español, siga escuchando. We're unable to take your call right now. Leave your name and number without health details and we'll call you back [today / next business day]. For a medical emergency, call 911.
[Pausa breve] Gracias por llamar a [Consultorio]. En este momento no podemos atenderle. Deje su nombre y teléfono, sin detalles de salud, y le devolvemos la llamada [hoy / el siguiente día hábil]. Para una emergencia médica, llame al 911.
You've reached [Practice]. [Our voicemail is full right now / We've moved to (new address)]. Please call back during office hours, [hours], or reach us at [email or website]. For a medical emergency, hang up and call 911.
Se ha comunicado con [Consultorio]. [Nuestro buzón está lleno en este momento / Nos mudamos a (nueva dirección)]. Por favor, llame en nuestro horario, [horario], o escríbanos a [correo o sitio web]. Para una emergencia médica, cuelgue y llame al 911.
One honest test: look at last month's call log and count the calls that reached voicemail and never got a call back. Many new patients don't leave a message at all — they call the next practice on their list — so the voicemails you see are the minority of the calls you missed. If that number is more than a handful a week, a better greeting will not fix it; answering will. What those calls are worth is worked through in how much missed calls cost a dental practice, and the options for covering evenings, weekends and lunch are compared in after-hours dental answering.
Dentovox is one of those options: an AI receptionist that answers your practice's calls when your team can't — after hours, at lunch, on the second line — in English or Spanish, and books the appointment into Dentrix, Open Dental or Eaglesoft during the call. Urgent symptoms are recorded as an urgent callback request for your team, and callers describing a medical emergency are directed to 911. You keep your phone number and carrier; calls reach it by forwarding. See the AI receptionist, or call the demo line at (201) 690-2609 and hear it answer.
When someone does pick up, the first call from a new patient has its own order of questions — the full script, in English and Spanish, is in the new patient phone call, step by step.
The practice name, your hours or when you'll be back, what to do in an emergency (911 for a medical emergency, your on-call number or instructions for a dental one), when you will call back, and a request not to leave health details. Keep it under 30 seconds.
Under 30 seconds — about 70 words at a normal speaking pace. Callers in pain or in a hurry stop listening after that, so in an after-hours greeting the emergency instructions belong near the start.
Yes. Tell callers to hang up and call 911 for a medical emergency, and give your on-call number or instructions for a dental emergency. In an after-hours greeting put it near the start; in a short daytime greeting it can close the message.
Voicemail can be used, but it is safest to ask callers for only their name and number and not to leave health or insurance details. That keeps protected health information out of a system that usually isn't set up to protect it.
If a meaningful share of your patients speak Spanish, yes — either a separate Spanish recording or a single bilingual greeting. A caller who doesn't understand the message usually hangs up without leaving one.
Create an account free — no card — build your receptionist, and hear it handle a call on the spot. Your own number activates when you start a plan.