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FriendlyBots

Dental Anxiety Support & Pre-Visit Prep

A calm, empathetic assistant that helps anxious patients understand what to expect, explains comfort and sedation options, and quietly briefs the clinician beforehand, so fear stops being the reason people avoid the dentist.

Patient experience

The pain point

Fear of pain and the unknown stops many patients from booking or following through with treatment. That anxiety is rarely voiced to reception, so it goes unaddressed and patients simply stay away.

~1 in 6

Australian adults have high dental fear. Almost 1 in 3 of them has not seen a dentist in over 10 years (Armfield, ARCPOH, University of Adelaide)

Fear, not cost

Many anxious patients never voice their fear to reception, so it goes unaddressed and they simply stay away

How FriendlyBots handles it

Gives nervous patients a private, judgement-free space to ask what they are really worried about. It explains procedures gently, walks through comfort and sedation options, offers practical pre-visit prep, and flags the patient's concerns to the clinician so the visit starts on the right foot.

Acknowledges

Validates the fear first, never dismisses it.

Informs

Walks through what to expect, step by step, in plain language.

Offers comfort

Explains numbing, breaks, hand signals, sedation options.

Briefs clinician

Flags anxiety + triggers to the team before the visit.

How the conversation flows

End-to-end flow from a nervous enquiry through reassurance to a booked and briefed visit.

flowchart TD A([Patient expresses nervousness]) --> B[Acknowledge + reassure] B --> C{What is the main worry?} C -->|Pain| D[Explain numbing + comfort options] C -->|The unknown| E[Walk through what to expect] C -->|Past bad experience| F[Offer gentle-dentist + sedation info] D --> G[Offer pre-visit prep tips] E --> G F --> G G --> H{Ready to book?} H -->|Yes| I[Book + flag anxiety to clinician] H -->|Not yet| J([Send reassurance resources + check back]) I --> K([Visit booked - clinician briefed]) classDef e fill:#f8ebe4,stroke:#b34a39,color:#2e2a26; classDef s fill:#f5e6da,stroke:#c2613d,color:#2e2a26; class J e; class I,K s;

Sample conversation flow

Patient hesitating to book due to fear of pain.

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Patient hesitating to book

Hi! No pressure at all. Lots of people feel nervous about the dentist, you're in good company. What's worrying you most?
I'm scared it'll hurt Bad experience before Not sure what happens
I'm scared it'll hurt
That's a really common worry, and a fair one. For a check-up there's usually no discomfort at all. If any treatment is needed, we numb the area first so you don't feel pain, and you can raise your hand any time to pause. Would it help to know what a first visit actually involves?
Yes please
Of course. A first visit is just a gentle look and chat: we check your teeth and gums, maybe take an x-ray, and talk through anything we find. Nothing is done without explaining it first and getting your okay. Many nervous patients say the wait was scarier than the visit.
If you'd like, I can book you with Dr Lee, who's lovely with anxious patients, and let the team know in advance so they take extra care.
Yes, book with Dr Lee Send me more info first
Yes, book with Dr Lee
Done! You're booked, and I've quietly flagged that you'd like a gentle, well-explained visit. You've got this!

Booked + anxiety note added to clinician's view

What makes it work

Validate before informing

The fear is acknowledged first, always.

Private and judgement-free

Easier to admit fear to a bot than reception.

Plain, gentle language

With no graphic clinical detail.

Comfort options surfaced

Proactively (numbing, breaks, sedation).

Clinician briefing

Means the patient never has to re-explain on arrival.

No-pressure exit

Resources and a soft check-back if not ready.

Success metrics

Anxious-patient conversion

Pre-visit briefings

Follow-through rate

Patient sentiment

Sources