Dental practices using Mango Voice phone systems have a powerful opportunity to eliminate missed calls and capture new revenue with AI receptionist technology. However, it's crucial to understand the technical reality: third-party AI platforms like the Arini AI Receptionist Platform don't integrate with Mango Voice's phone platform. Instead, they integrate deeply with your dental practice management software (PMS) and connect to any phone system—including Mango Voice—via simple call forwarding. This distinction is key to choosing the right solution for your practice's growth goals and operational needs.

Key Takeaways

• Two distinct paths exist: Mango Voice's native AI (Margo) offers simple, built-in features, while third-party AI like Arini provides enterprise-grade customization and proven ROI for serious growth.
• True integration is with your PMS, not your phone: Arini's power comes from its direct, one-click integration with dental PMS systems like OpenDental and Dentrix, enabling it to book appointments in real-time.
• Call forwarding is the connection method: Arini works with Mango Voice (or any phone system) by receiving calls forwarded from your practice number, requiring just a 15-minute setup in your Mango Voice admin portal.
• ROI is substantial and proven: Case studies show practices capturing $56,000+ in new revenue in the first 30 days and achieving a 24% profit increase through systematic call conversion.
• Enterprise scale is a key differentiator: For multi-location DSOs, Arini's platform is built to handle complex, customized workflows across numerous offices, a capability not demonstrated by native phone system AI.
• HIPAA compliance is non-negotiable: Both paths can be compliant, but Arini provides a transparent Trust Center and signs Business Associate Agreements to safeguard patient data.

Understanding the Two Paths to AI for Mango Voice Users

If you're searching for how to add an AI receptionist to your Mango Voice system, you'll encounter two fundamentally different approaches. The first is using Mango Voice's own AI features, often referred to as "Margo." The second is using a specialized, third-party AI platform like Arini. The core difference lies in their architecture and integration points.

Mango Voice's native AI is a feature of their phone system. It's designed to work seamlessly within their ecosystem, providing AI-powered call summaries, sentiment analysis, and a basic receptionist function, but only if you are a Mango Voice customer. Its primary integration is with your phone lines and, to a degree, your PMS for logging calls.

A third-party AI receptionist like Arini is a standalone, cloud-based SaaS platform built from the ground up for the dental industry. Its primary integration is not with your phone system, but with your dental practice management software. This is where its intelligence lives—it knows your schedule, your providers, your appointment types, and your insurance policies. It connects to your phone service (Mango Voice, Weave, or any other) through a universal method: call forwarding. This architectural choice provides a significant advantage: your AI intelligence is independent of your phone vendor.

Mango Voice's Native AI: The Built-In Option

Mango Voice offers its own suite of AI features, including an AI receptionist capability, as an add-on to its VoIP phone service. For practices already deeply embedded in the Mango Voice ecosystem, this can be a straightforward path to basic AI functionality.

This native approach works by leveraging Mango Voice's direct access to your call data. It can provide features like automatic call transcription, sentiment analysis for both the caller and your staff, and screen pop caller ID that displays patient information from your PMS if it's integrated. The AI receptionist, Margo, can answer calls and handle basic inquiries.

However, this solution is inherently tied to the Mango Voice platform. If your practice ever decides to change phone providers, you lose your AI receptionist. Furthermore, while it offers simplicity, its customization and deep workflow automation for complex dental scheduling are often more limited than a dedicated, enterprise-grade platform designed solely for the dental vertical.

Arini AI: The Enterprise-Grade, PMS-Integrated Solution

For dental groups, DSOs, and private practices seeking operational efficiency and significant revenue growth, a specialized AI receptionist like Arini offers a more robust and scalable path. The Arini AI Receptionist Platform is not a phone system feature; it is the AI receptionist itself.

Its power stems from its direct integration with your dental PMS—systems like OpenDental, Dentrix, EagleSoft, and Denticon. Through this integration, Arini can perform at a level a native phone AI cannot. It doesn't just answer calls and text messages; it can execute your practice's specific scheduling logic, including block scheduling and custom rules for different providers and appointment types.

From a phone system perspective, connecting Arini to your Mango Voice service is remarkably simple. Arini provides you with a dedicated phone number during onboarding. You then log into your Mango Voice admin portal and configure a call forwarding rule. This rule can be set to send all calls, after-hours calls, or overflow calls (when your front desk is busy) to Arini's number. This entire setup process takes about 15 minutes and is a standard feature in any modern VoIP system.

Seamless Integration: Connecting Arini to Your Workflow

The real "integration" work happens between Arini and your PMS, not your phone. This is handled by Arini's implementation team, who will work with your practice to connect securely to your PMS via a one-click integration. This is where the magic happens.

Once connected, Arini's Workflow Customization Module allows you to tailor its behavior to your exact needs.

Key Configuration Settings include

• Office Hours: Defining when Arini should handle calls for your practice and its providers.
• Appointment Types & Rules: Teaching Arini your specific appointment types (e.g., new patient exam, hygiene, crown prep) and the rules for scheduling them, such as buffer times or provider-specific requirements.
• Custom Call Flows: Designing the conversation logic for different call types, from a simple appointment request to a complex insurance question.
• Emergency Triage: Setting up protocols for handling after-hours emergency calls.

This deep, PMS-centric integration is what allows Arini to function as a true extension of your front desk team, booking appointments directly into your schedule without creating double work.

Boosting Efficiency: Arini's Role in Call Answering and Scheduling

The primary value of an AI receptionist is ensuring that no patient call goes unanswered. According to The Impact of Missed Calls in Financial Services, missed calls represent one of the most significant revenue leaks for service-based businesses. Arini's Call Answering & Scheduling Module delivers on this promise 24/7, a critical advantage for capturing new patient leads that often call outside of standard business hours.

When a call is forwarded from your Mango Voice line, Arini's AI voice agent, tuned with natural language processing for dental workflows, greets the caller. It can seamlessly handle requests to book a new or returning patient appointment. Because it is integrated with your PMS, it can see real-time availability and book the appointment directly into your calendar.

This capability directly tackles the problem of missed calls, which are a significant revenue leak for dental practices. One case study with Kare Mobile showed that Arini was able to reduce missed calls by 80%, converting those lost opportunities into tangible production. The result was $56,000 in new revenue booked in just the first 30 days.

By handling routine calls, Arini allows your front-desk staff to focus on in-office patient experience and complex tasks that require a human touch, effectively reducing their burden and preventing burnout.

Enhancing Patient Communication with AI-Powered FAQs

Not every call is about scheduling. Many are simple inquiries about office hours, insurance accepted, or billing policies. According to CDC research on healthcare communication, clear and accessible patient communication improves health outcomes and satisfaction. Arini's Patient FAQ & Communication Module is designed to handle these common questions autonomously through both voice calls and text messaging.

During the implementation process, your practice can build a custom knowledge base of FAQs for Arini to reference. The AI can provide consistent, accurate answers to questions like "Do you accept Delta Dental PPO?" or "What are your office hours on Saturdays?" This ensures that patients get the right information every time, without needing to wait for a staff member to become available.

This feature significantly reduces the volume of calls that are escalated to your human team, allowing them to concentrate on higher-value interactions. It also provides a superior patient experience, as wait times for basic information are eliminated.

Driving Revenue and Growth: The Proven ROI

The financial impact of integrating a powerful AI receptionist like Arini is not theoretical; it's backed by real-world case studies. For multi-location DSOs, the results are particularly compelling.

Unified Dental Care, an 8-location practice, faced a situation where its rapid growth outpaced its ability to hire sufficient front-desk staff. The result was a high volume of missed calls representing over $100,000 in lost monthly revenue. After deploying Arini to handle 100% of its inbound calls, the practice saw a dramatic turnaround. The outcome was a 12% revenue increase, a 17% headcount reduction, and a 24% profit increase.

This level of ROI is tracked and measured through Arini's Analytics & Notifications Module, which provides a dashboard for call volume, answered calls, missed calls, and booked appointments. It even translates booked appointments into their estimated production value, giving you a clear, quantifiable view of your AI's financial contribution.

Protecting Patient Data: HIPAA Compliance and Security

In the healthcare industry, data security is paramount. The Arini AI Receptionist Platform is 100% HIPAA compliant for all patient interactions. This means Arini signs a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with your practice, a legal requirement for any vendor handling protected health information (PHI), as outlined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Arini employs robust security practices, including secure PMS and telecom integrations, a least-privilege model for internal access, and data privacy safeguards aligned with healthcare standards. The company's ongoing development toward SOC 2 and ISO certifications further underscores its commitment to security, and its policies are transparently documented in its public Trust Center.

Customizing Your AI Experience for Maximum Impact

One of Arini's most significant advantages over a native phone system AI is its depth of customization. The Integration & Workflow Customization Module provides flexible tools that allow the AI to adapt to your practice's unique protocols.

For a solo practice, this might mean simple after-hours coverage for new patient appointments. For a large DSO with multiple specialties and locations, it can mean complex routing rules that send a call for orthodontics in one city to the appropriate specialist's schedule, while a general dentistry call in another city is handled by a different set of rules. Arini's platform is built to scale with your operations, a capability that is essential for large enterprises but is not a feature typically found in a phone system's add-on AI.

This level of personalization ensures that the AI receptionist doesn't feel like a generic robot, but rather a well-trained, consistent member of your team who knows your practice inside and out.

Frequently Asked Questions

How exactly does Arini connect to my Mango Voice phone if it's not a direct integration?

Arini connects via standard call forwarding, a universal feature on all VoIP phone systems, including Mango Voice. You simply log into your Mango Voice admin portal, navigate to your call routing or switchboard settings, and create a rule that forwards calls (e.g., after-hours, when all lines are busy, or all calls) to the dedicated phone number provided by Arini. This is a simple, 15-minute configuration that does not require any special API access or technical support from Mango Voice.

Can Arini's AI handle complex, multi-step scheduling scenarios that our front desk manages?

Yes, this is a core strength of Arini's platform. During the implementation process, you work with Arini's team to teach the AI your specific scheduling logic. This includes block scheduling for hygiene, buffer times between appointments, provider-specific rules, and handling multiple appointment types in a single call. Its deep PMS integration allows it to execute these complex workflows just as a well-trained human would, but with the consistency and 24/7 availability of AI.

What happens if the AI can't handle a call or the caller demands to speak to a human?

Arini's call flows are designed with escalation paths. You can configure the system to offer a live transfer to your front desk during business hours or to take a detailed voicemail that is transcribed and sent to your team for follow-up outside of hours. The AI is trained to recognize frustration or complex situations that are better handled by a human and will offer this option to the caller.

How long does it typically take to get Arini fully operational with my Mango Voice and PMS?

The entire onboarding process is designed to be quick and minimally disruptive. The PMS integration is handled by Arini's technical team and is often a one-click process. Teaching the AI your custom workflows takes a few hours of your team's time, typically spread over a few days. Configuring the call forwarding from Mango Voice takes about 15 minutes. Most practices are fully live and handle real patient calls within 1-2 weeks of signing up.

Will implementing Arini require my staff to learn a new, complicated system?

No. For your front-desk staff, Arini is largely invisible. Appointments booked by the AI appear directly in your existing PMS calendar, just as if a staff member had booked them. Your team will receive real-time notifications for every new booking, but they won't need to log into a separate Arini system to manage their daily workflow. The primary user of the Arini platform for configuration and analytics is typically an office manager or practice owner."