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Which AI receptionist for a dental practice in Brussels?
Tilcao is an AI receptionist for dental practices in the nineteen communes of Brussels. It answers the practice phone and WhatsApp in French, Dutch or English, keeps the same conversation going when the patient changes language, says at the start that it is an AI, and books, moves or cancels the appointment in your diary where your practice software allows it. You can hear it now on the demo line, +32 460 23 23 00, by phone or on WhatsApp.
Whether your practice is in Ixelles, Uccle, Schaerbeek, Etterbeek or Anderlecht, it works the same way: you keep your number, and it forwards to Tilcao when nobody picks up, during a treatment or after hours. What it does on a call, and what it never does, is on the page about the AI dental receptionist.
Other suppliers are set side by side in AI dental receptionists compared. In Brussels the first question to ask each of them is whether it speaks both French and Dutch, and whether it can switch between them in one call.
How many dentists work in Brussels?
On 31 December 2025, 1,529 dentists with the right to practise were domiciled in the Brussels-Capital Region, 13.3% of the 11,521 in Belgium. That is the finest official figure there is. Belgium publishes dentist numbers by region and province and no finer, so there is no official count per Brussels commune, and nobody should invent one.
Of those 1,529, 1,362 are recognised general dentists. The figure that matters most to a practice owner is the age profile: 22.6% of Brussels dentists with the right to practise are 65 or older, against 36.8% in the Flemish Region and 36.1% in the Walloon Region. Brussels has the youngest profession in the country.
One caution. The count covers everyone who holds the right to practise, including people who no longer see patients. The federal health ministry put the share of Belgian dentists actually working in care at 65% in February 2026. The number is a ceiling, not a headcount of dentists in the chair.
| On 31/12/2025 | Brussels-Capital | Flemish Region | Walloon Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dentists with the right to practise | 1,529 | 6,662 | 3,330 |
| Share of Belgium | 13.3% | 57.8% | 28.9% |
| Recognised general dentists | 1,362 | 6,012 | 3,052 |
| Share aged 65 or older | 22.6% | 36.8% | 36.1% |
Why does a Brussels practice answer in French, Dutch and English?
Because its patients call in all three, on the same day and sometimes in the same call. The Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual, French and Dutch. That language law binds public services, not a private dental practice, so legally you may work in French only. Commercially the question was settled long ago, in favour of both languages, and around the European quarter, in Etterbeek, Ixelles and Schaerbeek, English joins them.
Brussels practice profiles on rosa.be commonly list five to eleven languages spoken. No front desk keeps that up all day without something giving: the patient waits, hangs up, or the assistant leaves the chair to take the line.
Tilcao has no menu at the start, no "press 1 for French" and no promise to call back in the right language. It answers in the language the patient speaks and changes when the patient does. The summary for your team arrives in the practice’s working language, whatever language the call was in.
- The patient opens in Dutch: the conversation stays in Dutch from start to end.
- The patient moves from French to English mid-call: Tilcao follows without starting over.
- A patient asks for a Dutch-speaking dentist: Tilcao applies the rule you wrote, not a guess.
- A language other than French, Dutch or English: Tilcao does not guess, and hands over under your rule.
SourceBrussels dental practice profiles on rosa.be, a Belgian booking platform, read in September 2026
Why does a missed call cost more in Brussels?
Because the patient has more choice here than anywhere else in Belgium. Brussels had 9.9 active dentists per 10,000 inhabitants, against 7.3 in the Flemish Region and 6.7 in the Walloon Region. A patient whose call reaches voicemail does not always ring back. They ring the next practice, often a few streets away.
Where practices are scarce, a lost call comes back the next morning. In Brussels it often does not, and a patient list built one call at a time is lost the same way. The phone is the first contact of a practice surrounded by colleagues, not a convenience.
Out-of-hours dental care in Brussels: two numbers, one per language
Brussels is the only place in Belgium where the dental on-call service runs on two separate lines, one per language community. The French-speaking Brussels service answers on 02 426 10 26 on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and bridge days, from 09:00 to 17:00. The Dutch-speaking line, which covers Flanders and Brussels, answers on 0903 39 969 on the same days from 09:00 to 18:00, at 1.50 euros a minute.
Neither answers on weekdays, and neither answers in both languages. So a Brussels practice needs a rule with two branches: the service to name depends on the language the patient calls in. Tilcao does not replace the on-call dentist. It answers your number, applies your written rule in the language of the call and repeats the number to dial twice. More on the evening and weekend gap in out-of-hours dental calls.
| Service | When it answers | Language |
|---|---|---|
| French-speaking dental on-call service, 02 426 10 26 | Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and bridge days, 09:00 to 17:00 | French |
| Wachtdienst, 0903 39 969, 1.50 euros a minute | Weekends, public holidays and bridge days, 09:00 to 18:00 | Dutch |
| Weekday evenings and nights | No dental on-call service is open | None |
Do we change our number or our software?
No. Your number stays the one patients know, and you choose when it forwards: when the line is busy, when nobody answers, or always. Your practice software stays the record. Tilcao reads the diary and writes the appointment types you open to it, nothing else, and never writes in the clinical file or touches billing.
Where your software allows a connection, it is set up and tested on your own installation before go-live. Where it does not, Tilcao still answers, checks who is calling and leaves your team a ready request to confirm. Which Belgian systems are concerned is on dental software in Belgium.
Questions practices ask
Is a private dental practice in Brussels required to answer in Dutch?
No. The Brussels language law applies to public services, not to a private dental practice, so you may legally work in French only. In practice a Brussels practice gets Dutch and English calls all day, so both languages are a commercial norm rather than a legal duty.
What happens if the patient starts in French and switches to Dutch or English?
Tilcao changes language and carries on with the same conversation. There is no menu at the start and nothing to repeat. It is the everyday Brussels case: two languages in one call, sometimes three.
Does the patient know they are talking to an AI?
Yes. Tilcao says it is an AI in its opening sentence, right after the greeting, in French, Dutch or English. Article 50 of the EU AI Act has required that notice since 2 August 2026.
Does it know the Brussels dental on-call numbers?
It says what your rule tells it to say. If your rule names 02 426 10 26 for French-speaking callers, 0903 39 969 for Dutch-speaking callers or your own mobile, Tilcao reads it out and repeats it twice. It never judges how urgent a complaint is: that is clinical work and stays with your dentists.
Can I test it in all three languages before committing?
Yes, today. Call the demo practice on +32 460 23 23 00 or message it on WhatsApp. Start in French, switch to Dutch or English, and it follows, looks for a slot and books, as it would for a patient of your practice.
What does an AI receptionist cost a Brussels practice?
Tilcao does not publish a price. It is set per practice, by call volume, number of dentists or chairs, the channels you open and the work needed to connect your software, and agreed on a call. The Belgian point of comparison is a telephone answering service and the hours your assistant already spends on the phone.