Dentolize · Hidden-Number WhatsApp Contacts Walkthrough
On this pageWhat to teachStep-by-step: what a staff member sees todayWhere this doesn't come up

For Training

What to teach

Staff working the WhatsApp Conversations or Requests tabs don't need to change how they work — this fix is meant to be invisible in the common case. What's worth a short mention in onboarding or a release note to existing users:

  1. You may occasionally see a conversation addressed by @username or by a code like EG.169... instead of a phone number. That's normal — it means the contact has hidden their number from WhatsApp businesses. Treat it like any other conversation; you can read and reply to it the same way.
  2. You won't be able to look up or call that contact's phone number from the conversation, because Dentolize genuinely doesn't have it. If you need their number for another reason (billing, records), ask them directly.
  3. A first-time hidden-number contact won't automatically become a lead, even if your clinic has lead auto-creation turned on. If a hidden-number contact should be tracked as a lead, create one manually from the conversation.
  4. Duplicate-contact and "new patient" shortcuts that rely on phone number won't be available for a hidden-number conversation (you'll notice the duplicate-check button is simply absent). This is expected, not a bug.

Step-by-step: what a staff member sees today

  1. Open WhatsApp → Conversations. Most rows show a phone number as usual.
  2. A hidden-number contact's row shows their WhatsApp display name (same as always) and, where the phone number would be, either @theirusername or a short alphanumeric code.
  3. Click into the conversation and reply exactly as you would for any other contact — there's no different UI, no extra step.
  4. If the same contact later reveals their number (or you already had it from a previous conversation), the conversation updates in place — it does not split into two separate threads.

Where this doesn't come up

Because this is a fallback behavior (most contacts still show a normal phone number), there's no need for a dedicated training module — a one-paragraph mention in existing WhatsApp-feature training material, plus the FAQ-style notes above, is enough.