Every question about Aria, answered.
How Aria works, CDCP intake, PHIPA compliance, PMS integration, pricing, setup time, bilingual support, and what happens in an emergency. If your question is not here, book a demo call.
How Aria Works
Aria is a live conversational AI that answers calls, books appointments, and triages emergencies 24/7.
What is an after-hours dental answering service?
An after-hours dental answering service handles incoming calls when your front desk is unavailable: evenings, weekends, holidays, lunch, and overflow. Aria answers calls, books appointments directly into your practice management software, responds to common patient questions, triages emergencies, processes CDCP intake, and sends SMS confirmations. Your team reviews a full overnight transcript when they arrive the next morning.
Is Aria a recording or a live AI?
Aria is a live conversational AI, not a recording or a phone tree. Patients have a real back-and-forth conversation. Aria listens, understands context, handles interruptions, clarifies when needed, and adapts to what the caller says. The experience is closer to speaking with a live person than to navigating a voice menu.
Does Aria replace my front desk staff?
No. Aria handles after-hours coverage: evenings, weekends, and holidays when your front desk is closed. Your team continues handling daytime calls, patient care, and complex scheduling during business hours. Most practices use Aria as a complement to their front desk, not a replacement.
Will patients know they are talking to an AI?
Aria does not introduce herself as AI. She introduces herself as your practice's answering service. If a patient directly asks whether they are speaking with a person or a computer, Aria discloses that she is an automated assistant and offers to have someone call back during business hours.
How does Aria handle callers with accents or background noise?
Aria is built on enterprise voice AI with high accuracy across accents and noise conditions. When she is uncertain, she asks for confirmation rather than guessing. This reduces errors in appointment data and patient records.
CDCP and PHIPA
Aria is PHIPA compliant with Canadian data residency. The 7-step CDCP intake runs automatically after hours.
Can Aria handle CDCP (Canadian Dental Care Plan) calls?
Yes. Aria runs the full 7-step CDCP intake automatically: greets and qualifies the caller, verifies the Sun Life member ID, collects date of birth, confirms the practice accepts CDCP patients, explains coverage details, checks availability, and books with SMS confirmation. No other after-hours service in Canada automates this.
Is Aria PHIPA compliant?
Yes. All patient data is stored on Canadian servers. Calls, transcripts, and patient records are encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256). Every interaction is logged with a complete audit trail. A data processing agreement covering PHIPA obligations is available for all practices.
Where is patient data stored?
All data is stored on Canadian servers only. No patient information leaves Canada. This satisfies PHIPA requirements for Ontario practices and the equivalent requirements under PIPA (BC) and HIA (Alberta).
Do you provide a data processing agreement?
Yes. A data processing agreement covering PHIPA obligations, Canadian data residency, retention periods, and security controls is provided as part of onboarding.
Integration and Setup
Aria is live in 3 to 5 business days. No hardware. Integrates with Dentrix, ClearDent, Open Dental, ABELDent, Eaglesoft, and CareStack.
Which practice management systems does Aria integrate with?
Aria integrates with Dentrix, ClearDent, Open Dental, ABELDent, Eaglesoft, and CareStack. Appointments booked after hours appear in your PMS the next morning. New patient records are created automatically.
How long does setup take?
Most practices are live in 3 to 5 business days. The one-time setup fee covers full configuration: practice details, hours, dentists, services, insurance accepted, CDCP status, emergency protocols, PMS integration, and testing. No hardware to install. No software to learn.
Does my phone number change?
No. You keep your existing number. After-hours call forwarding is a standard feature on most business phone systems. We provide the forwarding number and instructions. Setup takes five minutes.
Can I make changes to the configuration after going live?
Yes. Configuration changes are included in your monthly plan. Dentist schedule change, new insurance accepted, updated hours: submit the change and we update Aria within one business day.
Pricing and Contracts
Flat monthly pricing. No per-call fees, no usage caps, no setup fee, no long-term contracts. From $299/month or $199/month billed annually.
How much does Aria cost?
$299/month on the monthly plan (no contract, cancel anytime) or $199/month billed annually ($2,388/year). No setup fee on either plan. Enterprise and DSO pricing is available for groups of 6 or more locations. All plans include unlimited calls with no per-call fees.
Are there per-call fees or usage caps?
No. Pricing is flat monthly. You pay the same whether Aria handles 10 calls or 300 calls in a month. No per-call fees, no per-minute charges, no overage fees.
Is there a long-term contract?
No long-term contract is required. The monthly plan is month-to-month. Cancel with 30 days notice. The annual plan is billed once per year with no cancellation mid-year.
What does setup include?
Setup is included at no extra cost on both plans. Full configuration covers practice details, hours, services, dentists, insurance accepted, CDCP status, emergency routing, PMS integration, and testing. Most practices are live in 3 to 5 business days.
Language and Availability
Aria is available 24/7 in English and French. Bilingual calls are handled natively, including CDCP intake and SMS confirmation.
Is Aria bilingual?
Yes. Aria handles calls in both English and French. When a caller speaks French, Aria automatically switches languages and completes the entire call in French, including CDCP intake and SMS confirmation. This is critical for practices in Quebec or those serving francophone patients across Canada.
When is Aria available?
Aria is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holidays. Call forwarding activates when your front desk closes and deactivates when they open. Some practices also use Aria for lunch coverage and overflow during busy periods.
What happens during a dental emergency?
Aria identifies the emergency (pain, swelling, broken tooth, bleeding), gathers the patient name and callback number, routes immediately to your on-call line, and sends an SMS alert to the on-call dentist. The call is fully logged with a transcript.
Can I try Aria before committing?
Yes. Call the live demo line at (365) 360-4369. No signup required. You will hear Aria handle a real after-hours call scenario. Book a demo call to discuss your practice specifics.
Still have a question?
Call the live demo line to hear Aria in action. No signup required. Book a call for practice-specific questions.
Explore more
Detailed pages on setup, pricing, CDCP intake, and compliance for Aria after-hours dental answering.
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