How to Set Up WhatsApp Messaging for Your Clinic

Send automated WhatsApp messages to your patients — appointment confirmations, reminders, cancellations, and reschedule notifications. This guide walks you through the full setup.

In this article:

• What You'll Need

• Step 1 — Create Your Meta Business Account

• Step 2 — Create a WhatsApp Business Account

• Step 3 — Share Your WhatsApp Account with Dentare

• Step 4 — Generate an Access Token

• Step 5 — Connect WhatsApp in Dentare

• Step 6 — Load Message Templates

• Step 7 — Assign and Test Templates

• Step 8 — Go Live

• Troubleshooting

What You'll Need

• An active Dentare subscription

• A phone number dedicated to WhatsApp Business (this number cannot be used on regular WhatsApp at the same time)

• Your clinic's business registration documents (for Meta verification)

• About 1–2 hours for initial setup, plus 2–5 business days for Meta to verify your business

Step 1 — Create and Verify Your Meta Business Account

1. Go to Meta Business Manager and sign in

2. Click Create Account (or use your existing business account)

3. Make sure the business name matches your clinic's legal registered name

Verify Your Business

Meta requires business verification before WhatsApp can be used in production.

1. In Meta Business Manager, go to Settings > Business Info > Business Verification

2. Click Start Verification

3. Upload your documents:

   • Business registration certificate

   • A utility bill or bank statement showing your business name and address

4. Submit and wait — verification typically takes 2–5 business days

5. You'll receive an email from Meta when approved

Note: You can continue with the next steps while waiting for verification, but messages cannot be sent to patients until it's approved.

Step 2 — Create a WhatsApp Business Account and Phone Number

1. In Meta Business Manager, go to Accounts > WhatsApp Accounts

2. Click Add and follow the setup wizard

3. Enter the phone number you want to use for WhatsApp messaging

4. You'll receive a verification code via SMS or phone call — enter it to confirm

Important: This phone number will be used exclusively for WhatsApp Business. If it's currently used on regular WhatsApp, you'll need to disconnect it first. We recommend using a dedicated clinic number.

Step 3 — Share Your WhatsApp Account with Dentare

Dentare is a registered WhatsApp Tech Provider. To receive message delivery updates and manage templates on your behalf, your WhatsApp Business Account must be linked to Dentare's platform.

1. In Meta Business Manager, go to your WhatsApp Account settings

2. Navigate to Partners (or Business Partners)

3. Click Add Partner

4. Enter Dentare's App ID: 1423753479195229

5. Grant the requested permissions and confirm

Once linked, Dentare will automatically receive delivery notifications for messages sent from your clinic — you don't need to configure any webhooks yourself.

Step 4 — Generate an Access Token for Dentare

Dentare needs an access token to send WhatsApp messages on behalf of your clinic.

Create a System User

1. Go to Meta Business Manager > Business Settings > System Users

2. Click Add to create a new System User

3. Set the user type to Admin

4. Give it a name (e.g., "Dentare Integration")

Generate the Token

1. Click on the System User you just created

2. Click Generate New Token

3. Select your WhatsApp Business Account from the list

4. Enable both of these permissions:

   • whatsapp_business_messaging — allows sending messages

   • whatsapp_business_management — allows managing message templates

5. Click Generate Token

6. Copy the token immediately — you won't be able to see it again

Keep this token safe. Treat it like a password.

Collect Your Credentials

You'll need three values for Dentare. Find them in the Meta Developer Dashboard under WhatsApp > API Setup:

• Access Token — The token you just generated

• Phone Number ID — Found under WhatsApp > API Setup > Phone Number ID

• WABA ID — Found under WhatsApp > API Setup > WhatsApp Business Account ID

Keep these handy — you'll need them in the next step.

Step 5 — Connect WhatsApp in Dentare

1. Log in to Dentare as an account admin

2. Go to Settings > Integrations

3. Click Create Integration

4. Select Kind: WhatsApp

5. Select Provider: Meta WhatsApp

6. Fill in the three fields:

7. 1. Meta Access Token: The permanent token from Step 4
   2. Phone Number ID: Your Phone Number ID from Meta Dashboard
   3. WABA IDYour WhatsApp Business Account ID

8. Click Save

Activate the Integration

1. After saving, click Test on the integration page

2. If everything is correct, the integration will show as Active

Step 6 — Load Message Templates

WhatsApp requires all business messages to use pre-approved templates. Dentare provides 12 standard templates ready to use.

1. On your integration page, click Manage Templates

2. Click Load Defaults

3. You'll see 12 templates — 4 message types in 3 languages (English, Albanian, Macedonian):

4. - Confirmation — Sent when an appointment is booked

5. - Reminder — Sent before an upcoming appointment

6. - Cancellation — Sent when an appointment is cancelled

7. - Reschedule — Sent when an appointment is rescheduled

1. Select the templates you want to use

2. Click Push Selected to Meta

Wait for Approval

• Templates will show a yellow "Pending" badge

• Meta typically approves them within a few hours

• Click Sync from Meta to check for updates

• Approved templates show a green badge

• Rejected templates show a red badge with the reason — review Meta's template guidelines and resubmit

Step 7 — Assign and Test Templates

Assign Templates to Message Types

Once templates are approved:

1. In the Unassigned Templates section, find an approved template

2. Click the message type name (e.g., "Confirmation") to assign it

3. Repeat for all 4 message types (Confirmation, Reminder, Cancellation, Reschedule)

Only one template per message type and language is allowed. To swap, unassign the current one first.

Test Each Message Type

1. In the Test Send section, enter a real phone number (e.g., 38970123456)

2. Click each test button:

   • Test Confirmation

   • Test Reminder

   • Test Cancellation

   • Test Reschedule

3. Verify each message arrives on the phone

4. After delivery is confirmed, the badge changes from "Needs test" (yellow) to "Ready" (green)

All 4 message types must show "Ready" before Dentare will send messages to patients.

Step 8 — Go Live

Enable WhatsApp in Account Settings

1. Go to your Account Settings and click edit on your clinic

2. Enable WhatsApp Enabled

3. Turn on the message types you want:

   • WhatsApp Confirmation — sends when appointments are booked

   • WhatsApp Reminder — sends before appointments

4. Set Reminder Hours Before (default: 24 hours before the appointment)

Verify Patient Opt-in

WhatsApp messages are only sent to patients who have opted in:

• Each patient must have WhatsApp notifications enabled in their profile

• This can be set during patient registration or updated later in the patient's Notification Preferences

• Patients without opt-in will not receive any WhatsApp messages

You're Live!

Your clinic will now automatically send WhatsApp messages based on appointment actions.

Troubleshooting

Test connection fails Double-check your Access Token and Phone Number ID are entered correctly in Dentare.

Messages not delivered Make sure your WhatsApp Business Account is shared with Dentare (see Step 3). Without this, delivery updates won't be received.

Template rejected by Meta Check the rejection reason on the template page. Review Meta's template guidelines and resubmit.

Patient not receiving messages Confirm that WhatsApp notifications are enabled on the patient's profile under Notification Preferences.

Templates stuck on "Pending" Click "Sync from Meta" — Meta may have already approved them. Allow up to 24 hours for review.

"Needs test" badge won't change to "Ready" Ensure your WABA is shared with Dentare so delivery confirmations are received. Check Step 3.

"Load Defaults" shows all templates as already existing Templates were already pushed. Use "Sync from Meta" to update their statuses.

Push defaults failed Verify your WABA ID is correct and your access token has the whatsapp_business_management permission.

Test send fails Make sure the integration is active and the phone number is entered correctly (e.g., 38970123456).

Need help? Contact the Dentare team for assistance with your WhatsApp setup.