A day at the front desk
Who can do this: Everyone on your team. Some pages depend on your role; those are marked.
This page is a suggested rhythm, not a rule. Each step links to the page that explains it in full.
Before patients arrive
Section titled “Before patients arrive”- Check the connection light. At the top right of every page on a computer, a green dot means NixDent is syncing with Open Dental. (On a phone the top bar has no dot.) If it says Practice offline, click it to send a support request. Schedule figures will be out of date until it is fixed.
- Pick your office. Use the location picker at the top left. Most pages follow it. Call Logs lists calls across all the offices you have access to, and the Phone page has its own office menu.
- Run the huddle. Go to Front Desk → Huddle. Look at Today: the number on the tab is how many appointments are still unconfirmed. See Run the morning huddle. Print the schedule if your team likes paper.
- Look at what the AI handled overnight. Go to AI Receptionist → Call Logs. An amber mark in Follow-Up means the AI thinks someone should call the patient back. Filter Status to Needs Staff or Message Taken. See Review what the AI handled.
- Clear your messages. Open Messages. Click Unread, then Unreplied. See Text patients from Messages.
During the day
Section titled “During the day”- Answer the phone in your browser if your practice uses NixDent Phone. Incoming calls pop up on whatever page you are on. See Make and take calls with NixDent Phone.
- Keep an eye on Pulse (the bell, top right). It shows bookings, completed forms, payments and texts as they happen. See Watch the Pulse feed.
- Find a patient from Patients, or click a name anywhere to open their card. See Find a patient and The patient card.
- Book or move an appointment from Schedule. See View the schedule and book an appointment.
- Take a payment from the patient card or a Messages conversation. See Take a payment. Needs the Owner, Office Manager, Billing or Front Desk role.
- Work a list in the quiet moments. Under Front Desk you will find the Recall List, Unscheduled Treatment, ASAP List and Broken Appointments. See The Front Desk menu.
- Not sure what a number means, or want a quick answer? If Ask NixDent is switched on for you, use it. See Ask NixDent: ask about your practice.
Before you leave
Section titled “Before you leave”- Open the Tomorrow tab in the huddle. If it says Confirm before end of day, there are unconfirmed appointments for tomorrow.
- Check Messages once more for anything unread or unreplied.
- Check Call Logs for any new calls marked for follow-up.
- Hand off anything you couldn’t finish with an internal note on the Messages conversation (⋯ → Internal note). Notes are visible only to staff.
If you are an Owner, Office Manager or Billing
Section titled “If you are an Owner, Office Manager or Billing”Your role also opens Analytics (production, collections, reports) and Front Desk → Reports (appointment trends). A good weekly habit is the headline strip on Analytics, then the reports behind any amber number. See Read the Analytics page and Practice Reports.
Front Desk and the clinical roles don’t see these two pages.
Common problems
Section titled “Common problems”A list looks empty. Check the location picker first.
I can’t see a page my coworker can. Pages depend on role. Ask your office manager to check your roles. See Roles and what they allow.
Numbers on the dashboard and in Analytics don’t match. They count things differently (for example production by procedure date versus insurance write-offs by payment date). See Read the Analytics page.