How to set up call forwarding for your dental clinic (60-second guide)

If you're new to call forwarding, here's the entire concept in one sentence: when your clinic's phone rings and nobody picks up (or the line is busy, or it's after hours), the call is automatically redirected to a different number.

That different number can be a human after-hours receptionist, a voicemail box, or — what we recommend — an AfterCaller AI receptionist that will answer, book, and confirm in the caller's language.

This guide walks you through three forwarding scenarios. Most clinics finish it in under 60 seconds.

The three GSM codes that matter

If you're forwarding from a mobile phone (a SIM-based clinic line, common in private practices and Gulf clinics), the GSM standard gives you three forwarding rules:

• **61* — forward when the call is not answered (after a set number of rings)
• **67* — forward when the line is busy
• **62* — forward when the phone is unreachable (off, no signal)

The "all the time" forward is **21*.

To set conditional forwarding to a specific number on a UK mobile, dial **61*[number]# from the clinic line.

For most clinics the only one you need is **61*, which forwards unanswered calls to AfterCaller. Your daytime team still answers normally; only calls that ring out get forwarded.

To check the current setting: dial *#61#. To cancel: dial ##61#.

RingCentral

RingCentral is one of the most common PBXs for UK private clinics. The forwarding rule lives at:

• Admin Portal → Phone System → Phone Numbers
• Pick the clinic's main number
• Choose Call Forwarding & Voicemail
• Toggle on When user is not available → "Forward to external number" → enter your AfterCaller number

Confirm with "Save". The change is live within a minute.

If your clinic uses call queues, the same setting is at Phone System → Groups → Call Queues → [your queue] → Call Handling. Set the "After waiting" rule to forward to the AfterCaller number.

8x8

For 8x8 (X Series) the path is similar but the UI moves it one tier deeper:

• Admin Console → Users
• Pick the clinic line's user
• Voice Basic Settings → Call Forwarding
• Choose When the call is not answered and put the AfterCaller number in
• Apply

8x8 also lets you set a "Schedule-based" forward — useful if you want the AI to handle every call after 6pm, even when staff are on-site.

BT Cloud Voice

BT Cloud Voice (Cloud Work and the legacy Cloud Voice product) is widely used in UK clinics on BT business contracts. The path:

• Business Portal → Sites → [your site] → Users
• Open the user/extension that handles inbound calls
• Features → Call Forwarding → choose No Answer
• Enter the AfterCaller number, ring count 4–6
• Save

If you can't see the option, it usually means your BT package doesn't include conditional forwarding by default — call BT business support and request "Call Forwarding No Answer" on the line. It's a free flag on most contracts.

Mobile-only (no PBX)

Plenty of solo and boutique clinics still run on a mobile SIM as the primary clinic number. The GSM codes above work on every UK mobile network — EE, Vodafone, O2, Three.

For an iPhone: Settings → Phone → Call Forwarding has a simple toggle plus a number field. Note that the iOS settings panel only exposes the unconditional **21* forward, which forwards every call. If you want conditional forwarding (i.e. only when unanswered), dial the GSM code by hand from the phone app.

For Android: Phone app → ⋮ → Settings → Calls → Call forwarding typically exposes all three conditions (unanswered, busy, unreachable) as separate toggles. Set "When unanswered" to your AfterCaller number.

What number to forward to

When you sign up with AfterCaller, we provision a dedicated phone number in your country (UK +44 for UK clinics, +971 for UAE, +966 for KSA, etc.) and tie it to your clinic's AI receptionist. That's the number you forward to.

We give it to you during the activation call — the same 15-minute setup conversation we cover in the pricing setup section.

What happens on the call

Once forwarding is on:

1. A patient dials your normal clinic number. 2. The phone rings 4–6 times (your choice). 3. If nobody picks up, the call quietly forwards to the AfterCaller number. 4. The patient hears your branded greeting in their language. They don't know the call was forwarded — there's no audible transition. 5. The agent books the appointment, sends an SMS confirmation, and logs everything to your dashboard.

The patient experience feels like calling a clinic that always answers.

Things that go wrong

A handful of things to watch for in the first week:

• Forwarding doesn't apply when the line is busy. Some clinics set only **61* (no answer) and don't notice they're still losing busy-signal calls. Set **67* as well.
• Ring count too high. If the clinic phone rings 8+ times before forwarding, callers hang up first. Set to 4–6 rings.
• The PBX strips the originating number. If your PBX forwards calls but blanks the caller ID, AfterCaller can't follow up by SMS to the original caller. Check that "send caller ID on forward" is enabled.

If forwarding isn't behaving as expected, our setup team checks all of this during the activation call.

Why this is the only technical change you need

People sometimes ask if AfterCaller requires changing their PBX provider, porting their number, or installing software. None of that is true. AfterCaller sits behind a single forwarding rule. Your clinic's primary number stays exactly where it is. If you cancel AfterCaller, you remove the forward and you're back to your previous setup the same day.

That's it. Forwarding is the entire integration. The rest of the work — training the agent on your treatments, prices, and languages — happens during the 10-minute onboarding.

See if AfterCaller works for your clinic

Every clinic is different — different patient mix, different hours, different software. The fastest way to find out whether AfterCaller fits is to spend ten minutes telling us about yours.

Tell us about your clinic →

Or skip straight to setup at the pricing page.