The short answer
Smith.ai's own FAQ says it isn't HIPAA compliant, and that it works with dental practices only on calls that don't involve protected health information. Booking or moving a patient's visit usually involves that information, so in a dental office it leaves out most patient calls. If you need those covered, your alternatives are a dental AI receptionist, a human answering service with a HIPAA option, or the AI built into your phone platform.
How we built this comparison
This is Orbit Online's site, and Orbit is one of the options. We describe Smith.ai, Ruby, Weave and Arini only by what their own websites say, checked on November 6, 2026, and we link to each source so you can check us.
We don't list prices, ours or anyone else's. Prices change often, and many companies in this category quote each practice.
What Smith.ai says about dental calls
Smith.ai sells AI receptionists and live agents. On healthcare, its FAQ is plain: "Smith.ai is not HIPAA-compliant." It says it works with medical, dental and wellness practices on calls that don't involve protected health information (Smith.ai FAQ).
That's an honest line, and a useful one. Smith.ai can still take calls that stay clear of patient details. The question is who takes the rest.
A message, or a booking?
Before you compare anyone, sort your calls. Some need a person. Some need a message. Many can be finished on the call, if the receptionist can write into your schedule.
| The call | What usually works best |
|---|---|
| A patient wants to move a cleaning | Finish it on the call: offer open times and book the new one |
| Someone wants a first visit | Finish it on the call, if the receptionist can write into your schedule |
| A toothache at 8 PM | Your after-hours plan: a message for the morning or your on-call dentist, and 911 advice if it sounds like a medical emergency |
| A question about a bill or a claim | A message to whoever handles billing |
| An upset patient | A person on your team |
Four alternatives to compare
1. Orbit Online (that's us)
- What it is: An AI receptionist built for dental practices. You don't configure anything. We build it, launch it, and manage it for you.
- Where bookings go: We integrate directly with three practice-management systems: Dentrix Ascend, Open Dental and Denticon. That's direct access as an approved developer, not a third-party connector. On a different system? If we don't integrate with it properly, we'll tell you before you buy.
- On the call: It offers only the times your own rules allow, by provider, appointment type, chair and location. It doesn't speak a confirmation your schedule didn't accept. If the schedule refuses a booking, the caller hears that a person will call back.
- What it won't do: No clinical answers, no treatment quotes, no invented appointments. In an emergency, it advises calling 911. It tells any caller who asks that it's an AI.
- Compliance: HIPAA compliant and SOC 2 compliant. A business associate agreement is available.
One office, one month: In September 2026, at a one-office practice we work with, our AI answered 146 calls and put 23 appointments on the schedule. Nearly half of those calls came in while the office was closed. Source: our own call and booking records.
Best for: dental practices on Dentrix Ascend, Open Dental or Denticon that want patient calls finished in the schedule.
Look elsewhere if: you want a person's voice on every call, or prices you can read before you talk to anyone. We quote each practice on a call.
Getting started: Most practices are live on their phones within 7 days. Booking connects once your practice-management system is linked. You forward the calls you want covered: overflow, after hours, or all of them.
2. Ruby
Ruby is a virtual receptionist service where a live receptionist answers, with AI tools in support (Ruby AI). Its HIPAA service includes a business associate agreement at no extra charge. Under that service, messages stay in the Ruby app instead of email or text, and receptionists book through a HIPAA-compliant scheduling tool they can reach without a login (Ruby HIPAA).
Best for: practices that want a person's voice on patient calls.
Ask in the demo: how they would book into your schedule, and where your team sees messages.
3. Weave AI Receptionist
If your phones already run on Weave, its AI Receptionist answers calls and texts, books appointments for qualified dental practice-management systems, and hands calls that need a person to your staff. Weave says it was designed to meet HIPAA standards, and it publishes a business associate agreement (AI Receptionist, BAA). Its plans page lists it as early access.
Best for: practices already on Weave phones.
4. Arini
Arini is an AI receptionist built for dentists. Its site says it answers inbound calls, reactivates patients and handles online scheduling, and the way in is a demo (arini.ai). As with any vendor, ask for the business associate agreement before the first live call.
Best for: practices that want an AI-only receptionist built for dentists.
Other dental AI receptionists include Viva AI and Peerlogic, and Weave bought TrueLark in 2025. The checks below work on any of them.
How to tell a message from a booking on your own calls
- Ask to book a visit. Then check your schedule, not the vendor's report.
- Ask for a time you know is taken. Listen for real open times, not a yes.
- Ask for something your rules don't allow. It should never confirm a visit your schedule didn't take.
- Call after you close with a billing question. See who gets the message, and when.
- Ask if you're talking to a person. You should get a straight answer.
What Orbit does on those calls
- Booking: it offers only the times your own rules allow, and writes into Dentrix Ascend, Open Dental or Denticon directly.
- When it can't book: it doesn't speak a confirmation your schedule didn't accept. The caller hears that a person will call back.
- When you ask: it tells you it's an AI.
When Smith.ai is still the right call
If your office only needs general questions answered and messages taken, with no patient details, that's the work Smith.ai's FAQ says it does for dental practices. Keep it for that, and cover patient calls with something built for them.
Frequently asked questions
Is Smith.ai HIPAA compliant?
No, by its own account. Smith.ai's FAQ says it isn't HIPAA compliant and can't handle calls that involve protected health information. It works with dental practices only on calls that don't.
Is an AI receptionist or a human answering service better for a dental office?
It depends on the call. A person handles an upset patient or an unusual request better. An AI receptionist that writes into your schedule can finish routine bookings after hours and while your team is busy. You can start with the AI on overflow and after hours, and keep people for the rest.
Does Orbit Online book appointments or take messages?
Both, depending on the call. When a time is open and your rules allow it, it books into your schedule on Dentrix Ascend, Open Dental or Denticon. When it can't book, it doesn't pretend: the caller hears that a person will call back, and your team gets the message.
Will callers know they're talking to an AI?
If they ask, yes. It tells any caller who asks that it's an AI, then gets back to the call.
Is Orbit Online HIPAA compliant?
Yes. Orbit Online is HIPAA compliant and SOC 2 compliant, and a business associate agreement is available.
Comparing more options? Read Arini alternatives for dental practices and Weave alternatives for dental practices, or see how an AI receptionist compares with an answering service.
Smith.ai, Ruby, Weave, TrueLark, Arini, Viva AI and Peerlogic are trademarks of their owners. Orbit Online isn't affiliated with any of them. Facts about other companies come from their own websites as of November 6, 2026. If something has changed, email orbit@orbitonline.io and we'll correct it.
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