Paira in Action: Meet Our AI Receptionist
A New Kind of Welcome
When you walk into Pul's Zahnmedizin at the WiloHealthCube in Dortmund-Hörde, the first thing you will notice is that our reception is different. There is no harried receptionist juggling three phone lines while a queue of patients waits at the counter. Instead, you are greeted by Paira, our AI-powered receptionist -- a lifelike 3D avatar displayed on a dedicated screen, ready to help you in your preferred language.
Paira is not a chatbot on a website. She is the centrepiece of our reception experience, purpose-built for the demands of a modern dental practice.
Who Is Paira?
Paira is an intelligent AI receptionist developed by our technology partner Bodo Tech, a Dortmund-based company specialising in AI solutions for healthcare. She appears as a realistic 3D avatar on a screen at our reception area, complete with natural facial expressions and lip-synchronised speech. When you speak to Paira, she listens, understands, and responds -- just like a human receptionist, but with a few important advantages.
She speaks German, Turkish, and English fluently, switching between languages mid-conversation if needed. She is available every hour of every day, answering questions about appointments, treatments, opening hours, and directions even when the practice is closed. And she never has a bad day, never forgets a detail, and never puts you on hold.
What Paira Does at Our Practice
Paira handles a comprehensive range of reception tasks that would traditionally require a dedicated staff member:
Check-In and Registration
When you arrive for your appointment, Paira guides you through the entire check-in process. She verifies your identity, confirms your insurance details, and ensures all required forms and documents are in order. If anything is missing, she helps you complete it on the spot using a digital interface. Only once everything is ready does she notify the treatment team that you are prepared.
Appointment Management
Need to book, reschedule, or cancel an appointment? Paira handles it directly. She accesses our scheduling system in real time, shows you available slots, and confirms your booking immediately. No phone tag, no waiting for a callback.
Answering Your Questions
Paira can answer a wide range of questions about our practice: what to expect during a specific procedure, what documents to bring, how to find us, and what our opening hours are. She draws on a comprehensive knowledge base about dental treatments and our specific practice workflows.
Waiting Room Coordination
Once you are checked in, Paira keeps you informed about estimated wait times and notifies you when the treatment room is ready. If there are unexpected delays, she communicates this proactively so you are never left wondering.
Treatment Preparation
For patients who are nervous or unfamiliar with a particular procedure, Paira can explain what will happen during the appointment, what preparation steps are recommended, and what to expect afterwards. This reduces anxiety and helps patients arrive better prepared.
Why a 3D Avatar Matters
We deliberately chose to give Paira a visual presence rather than making her a disembodied voice or a text-based chatbot. Research in human-computer interaction consistently shows that visual avatars increase trust, engagement, and comprehension during conversations. When patients can see facial expressions and lip movements that match the spoken words, the interaction feels more natural and less intimidating.
Paira's avatar was designed to appear professional, approachable, and neutral. She is not trying to be a replacement for a human face -- she is clearly an AI assistant. We believe in transparency: patients always know they are interacting with technology, and they can request to speak with a human team member at any time.
On-Premise Technology: Your Data Stays Here
One of the most important aspects of Paira is where she runs. Unlike many AI assistants that rely on cloud services operated by large technology companies outside Europe, Paira operates on our own on-premise infrastructure. This means your conversations and personal data never leave our practice's secure environment.
All processing happens locally within our systems in the WiloHealthCube. There are no transatlantic data transfers, no third-party servers storing your health information, and no dependency on external cloud providers. This is a deliberate architectural decision driven by our commitment to patient privacy and compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and German healthcare data protection requirements.
What Paira Does Not Do
Setting clear boundaries is as important as describing capabilities:
- Paira does not diagnose. She will never tell you what is wrong with your teeth or recommend a specific treatment. That is exclusively the responsibility of our dental team.
- Paira does not make medical decisions. If you describe symptoms or health concerns, she will always direct you to our clinical staff.
- Paira does not store conversations permanently. Once your interaction is complete, the conversation data is not retained beyond what is necessary for your current visit.
- Paira is not a barrier. At any point, you can ask to speak with a human team member, and we will accommodate that immediately.
Paira is here to make your visit smoother, not to stand between you and your dental team.
The Bigger Picture
Paira is one part of our broader commitment to building a dental practice that respects your time, speaks your language, and uses technology as a tool for better care. Combined with our digital workflows, intelligent scheduling, and the interdisciplinary advantages of the WiloHealthCube, she represents a new standard for what a dental visit can be.
We did not adopt AI because it is fashionable. We adopted it because it solves real problems: overburdened reception staff, missed calls, language barriers, and administrative bottlenecks. When routine tasks are handled intelligently, our clinical team can focus entirely on what they do best -- taking care of your dental health.
Come and Meet Paira
We invite you to experience Paira for yourself when you visit our practice. Whether you prefer German, Turkish, or English, she will greet you, guide you through check-in, and make sure your visit gets off to the best possible start.
If you have questions before your visit, you can reach us at info@pulszahnmedizin.de.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is Paira and how does she work?
Paira is an AI-powered receptionist displayed as a lifelike 3D avatar at our practice reception. She uses natural language processing to understand and respond to patients in German, Turkish, and English. She handles check-in, appointment scheduling, patient questions, and waiting room coordination. Paira runs on our own on-premise infrastructure, meaning all data processing happens within our secure practice environment rather than on external cloud servers.
Can I still speak to a human receptionist if I prefer?
Absolutely. Paira is designed to assist, not to replace human interaction. At any point during your conversation with Paira, you can request to speak with a member of our team, and we will accommodate that immediately. Many patients find Paira helpful for routine tasks like check-in and appointment booking, while preferring human contact for more personal or complex matters.
Is Paira safe to use with my personal health information?
Yes. Paira operates entirely on our on-premise infrastructure within the WiloHealthCube. Your data is never transmitted to external servers or third-party cloud providers. All communication is encrypted to current standards, and we comply fully with GDPR and German healthcare data protection regulations. Conversations are not stored permanently beyond what is necessary for your current visit.
Does Paira work for emergency situations?
Paira can recognise when a patient describes an urgent dental issue and will immediately escalate the situation to our clinical team. She is trained to identify emergency keywords and symptoms in all three languages. However, for acute medical emergencies, patients should always call 112 (the European emergency number) directly. Paira is designed for practice reception tasks, not emergency medical response.