Frequently asked questions

Quick answers to the questions front-desk staff and practice owners ask most about FrontDesk. Each answer points you to a fuller article when you want the details.

Getting started

What is FrontDesk?

FrontDesk is your practice’s front-office workspace. It brings together your Calendar, a live Bird Eye View of who’s in the building, a Triage Inbox for anything that needs a person, patient Messages and Email, full patient records under Patients, custom intake Forms, and the Settings that teach Elva how your office runs. See Getting started with FrontDesk.

Where do I start each day?

Open the Calendar to see the day’s schedule and KPIs, then keep the Bird Eye View handy to watch patients move through their visits. Check the Triage Inbox for anything that needs a person. See Calendar and Bird Eye View.

What’s the difference between FrontDesk and the AI Receptionist?

The AI Receptionist is Elva answering your patients on calls, texts, emails, and chats. FrontDesk is where your team works alongside Elva — running the schedule, moving patients through their visit, handling the conversations that need a person, and keeping every record and form in one place. See Getting started with FrontDesk.

Calendar & scheduling

How do I switch between Day, Week, and Month?

At the top of the Calendar, choose Day, Week, or Month. In Week or Month you can click Glance to show an overview strip across the top. See Calendar.

Can I organize the schedule by room instead of by provider?

Yes. On the Calendar, click Options and set View mode to Operatory (or Provider). The same drawer lets you adjust time spacing with Time density and focus on appointments that need attention with Red only or Yellow & Red. See Calendar.

What do the colored flags on an appointment mean?

They tell you what still needs doing. Red · Critical flags (like Unconfirmed or Eligibility failed) must be fixed before the visit; Yellow · Attention flags (like Forms incomplete or Outstanding balance) are worth a look; Green · ELVA handled flags (like Confirmed by patient) are already done. See Calendar.

How do I see everything about an upcoming appointment?

Click the appointment to open its dossier. You’ll see clinical alerts, the Opportunity Window playbook for check-in and checkout, Insurance Insights, notes, and more — so anyone on the team can step in prepared. See Calendar.

During the day

How do I track where patients are in the building?

Open the Bird Eye View. Every patient appears as a card in one of five lanes — Arriving soon, Waiting room, In operatory, Walking out, and Finished — and you drag a card to the next lane as the patient moves. See Bird Eye View.

How do I see how much we’ve produced so far today?

The Bird Eye View shows production captured in the Finished lane and across the KPI strip, and the Calendar rail shows Production captured and Projected vs goal for the day. See Bird Eye View and Calendar.

Messages, email & triage

Where do I find things that need a person?

The Triage Inbox. Anything Elva can’t fully resolve lands there under Attention, and the calls your team should make appear under Calls to make. Urgent items show a banner with a Review now button. See Triage Inbox.

How do I reply to a patient’s text?

Open the conversation in Messages. If Elva is handling it, click Take over to type your own reply. The right panel shows the patient’s details, insurance, topics, and history so you can answer accurately. See Messages & Email.

Elva drafted an email reply — how do I send it?

Open the email in Email, go to the Actions tab, and review the Suggested replies (each shows its risk). Click Run to use one, edit it as needed, and send — or Skip to write your own. See Messages & Email.

What does “Needs me” mean in the inbox?

It’s the filter for conversations a person should handle — in Messages, conversations Elva has paused or isn’t auto-handling; in Email, messages where Elva held a draft for your review. See Messages & Email.

Can I text many patients at once?

Yes. In Messages, click Broadcast to send one text to many patients. Each recipient lands in their own thread, so replies come back individually. See Messages & Email.

Patients & forms

How do I prep for the patients coming in?

Open Patients to see today’s roster grouped into Today and Tomorrow. Each card shows a readiness label — Ready, Needs prep, or Critical — and flags for anything outstanding. Click a patient to open their full profile. See Patients.

What’s on a patient’s profile?

Six tabs: Profile (the patient at a glance), Communications (every message), Insurance (coverage and claims), Forms (what’s sent and completed), Treatments (how to present and follow up on treatment), and Invisalign. See Patients.

How do I send a form to a patient?

Forms are sent based on how each one is set up — for example “Send to all new patients before first appointment” or “At booking confirmation.” You manage your forms and how they go out on the Forms page, and you can track each patient’s forms on their Forms tab. See Forms and Patients.

Can I build my own form?

Yes. On the Forms page, click Create to open the drag-and-drop builder. Add fields from Patient Info, ready-made Smart Blocks, or plain Basics, set each field’s label and whether it’s required, preview it, and save a draft. See Forms.

Setup & training Elva

How do I add a new dentist or hygienist?

Go to Settings ▸ Providers, add the provider, and set their color, role, schedule, and online-booking availability. Their color then appears across the Calendar and Bird Eye View. See Settings.

How do I make sure Elva follows my office’s rules?

Write them under Settings ▸ Clinic Playbook, in plain English, organized into categories like Scheduling & Bookings and Financial & Insurance. For example, “Don’t book Dr. Lin past 4pm.” See Settings.

How do I control how often Elva contacts patients?

Go to Settings ▸ Priority & Fatigue. Reorder Elva’s priorities (with Clinical safety always first) and set the fatigue sensitivity slider to balance reaching patients against not over-messaging them. See Settings.

How do I change how Elva sounds in her messages?

Go to Settings ▸ Recall Brand & Voice to set her tone (Warm & personal, Professional & clean, or Friendly & casual), reading level, sign-off, and whether to use emoji. See Settings.