How does a patient call reach Salva?
Salva sits behind your published office number through call forwarding. Your patients still dial the same number they've always dialed. The carrier forwards that call to the Salva line, and Salva picks up before the second ring.
That means no porting your number, no IVR menu, no "press 1 for…" — the patient hears a human-sounding voice greeting them by your practice name.
What happens in the first 10 seconds?
- Greeting — Salva opens with your custom greeting (e.g., "Bright Smiles Dental, this is Claire — how can I help?").
- Listen — The patient describes what they need. Salva transcribes in real time.
- Classify — Their first utterance is scored as routine, urgent, or emergency. That decision drives everything that follows.
What can Salva do on a call?
Out of the box, Salva can:
- Answer questions from your FAQs — hours, location, insurance, parking, services
- Book appointments (when OpenDental is connected)
- Take a message for callbacks
- Transfer to a human when the call needs one
- Escalate emergencies to a separate on-call line
It is built to defer cleanly on anything clinical — it never gives medical advice.
When does a call end?
Salva ends the call when:
- The caller's request is fully handled (booked, FAQ answered, callback collected)
- The caller hangs up
- The call is transferred to your office or emergency line
- The monthly voice-minute cap is reached (see Voice minutes and limits)
Every completed call appears in your dashboard with a full transcript, the caller's phone number, the classified urgency, and any outcome flags (booking requested, callback needed, etc.) — covered in Reading your inbox.
What doesn't Salva do?
Salva is not a generic IVR or a voicemail. It also is not a clinician — it will not diagnose, recommend medication, or quote insurance coverage it can't verify. When in doubt, it transfers or schedules a callback. That's the whole design.
Published April 10, 2026