Dr. John Meis (00:01.442)
Hey everybody, welcome to this episode of The Double Your Production Podcast. I'm Dr. John Meis and I am here with Dr. Kathryn Alderman. Hey Kathryn, how you doing?
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (00:10.386)
Thank you so much for inviting me. I'm honored to be here and it's always great to talk to you. So thank you for inviting me.
Dr. John Meis (00:17.868)
You're sure welcome. Thanks for thanks for being with us. Kathryn and I have known each other for a few years now, and she's really an amazing person. She happens to have a dental degree and an MBA and an engineering degree. And so she's now in the space of AI and creating AI solutions. And so maybe you can fill us in on your journey, even put a little more color to it.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (00:47.92)
I love it. So I used to run a dental location, multiple dental locations, for almost 20 years. And of course, there was a new type of problem every single day. So I was in a business of solving problems every day. Every single day I would wake up, and as a leader and as a business owner, I had to solve a new problem every day.
So when AI came out, I was just in awe that now I can use AI to help me to solve problems. And for the last three years, I've been mastering on how to use AI to solve problems. And my mission is really to tell dentists and practice owners it doesn't have to be this hard anymore. It doesn't.
We still have problems as a business owner. As business owners, we still have to come to work and face problems, but now we have AI to help us. And my mission is to teach dentists, to teach leaders and a practice owners how to use AI to solve problems. And not to replace humans in our team, but to really help AI to supplement and to support our human team. And for us to become better leaders, better business owners, and to lead better, to be stronger leaders and to be more profitable dental practices. That's why I speak and teach AI.
Dr. John Meis (02:19.406)
Yeah, no, that's awesome. I share that same philosophy that AI, our intention with AI shouldn't be to replace people, but should be to help them be more effective, more efficient. and so you know what what's happening to me and I think most everybody else, there's just so much stuff coming at us about AI. So all these new companies with products that are all claiming to be absolutely amazing. And as I've reviewed them, some are, some aren't. There's some of the things that I think I know and this is why I invited you on because you're the expert, but one of the things I think I know is that number one, there isn't a tool that does everything. Is that true or not?
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (03:13.394)
Absolutely, absolutely.
Dr. John Meis (03:14.902)
Okay. And so none of them does it all. And then you see right now there's a bit of a race in the public opinion, I guess. You know, there's Claude, there's Chat GPT, there's OpenAI, there's these tools. It seems like one gets ahead of the other one and then they catch up and they pass and is that how you see it as well?
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (03:43.45)
Yes, so what I tell people, what I tell people is that stop chasing tools, stop chasing AI tools, stop chasing shiny solutions, because there is so many AI tools, and every single day there is more AI solutions coming on the market. I tell any type of business software and a leader of this that most organizations don't have an AI problem, they have a workflow problem, and AI is not gonna fix it. So let's look at your workflow first.
I should start with a business challenge, not a software purchase. So if you have a problem in organization, look at your workflow. Where is that workflow broken? Where's the problem? Are you struggling with a patient follow-up, scheduling, team training, marketing operations? Start there.
Then ask, "Can AI help us here?" So you should start with a business challenge, not a software purchase. Because AI is not gonna fix this problem unless we fix a workflow. So and then and then you can ask how AI can help us do better. And the future really belongs to the organizations that implement AI strategically rather than collecting AI tools. So don't look at all these shiny tools.
Dr. John Meis (04:53.26)
I love it.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (05:09.97)
Kind of cut off the noise and just know what does your organization need. That's a new type of leadership. That's what leaders have to do. They can they have to start asking us questions and look at it that way.
Dr. John Meis (05:24.738)
Yeah, no, I love that approach. The Team Training Institute, we're, you know, known for our systems, taking things that are chaotic and putting in systems which is workflows systems, same idea. And so the way we've been thinking about AI is the part of those systems is repetitive, menial, requires no judgment. Those are great things to have AI help with, and is that kind of how you're seeing it as well?
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (05:53.734)
Yes, I would like to add that certain number of tools, some AI solutions, are actually performed better than our humans. For example, revenue cycle management, insurance verification, that is done better, faster by AI than humans, if it's the right AI solution.
But some of the tools, they just cannot be some of the solutions. Like, for example, AI receptionist, it cannot handle all the phone calls on its own. So we have to know how to use AI receptionist in our workflows to complement, to complement great communication with our patients, being available to our patients, and scheduling those patients without losing those patient phone calls.
Do you see? Because right now, if we add AI receptionist, and that AI receptionist becomes our main portal of answering phone calls, guess what? We're gonna be losing money because we're gonna be losing those new patient phone calls and existing patient phone calls. You can look at the data and see that you will have a higher drop off rate.
So when we look again, it goes back to looking at the problem and deciding what AI solution can actually help you and do better than you humans and free up you humans and where humans cannot delegate all to AI solutions and a human still have to handle this task, and AI just becomes a supporting tool. This is where this is really important to know the difference.
Dr. John Meis (07:40.78)
Yeah, it's funny that you bring that particular thing up because this is what we've observed as well is that when we use an AI phone answering type tool, the conversion to an appointment goes way down, right? It's not nearly as good as if there's a human. However, if we're not going to get the call, then our conversion rate is zero. So it's better than zero, but not as good as a human.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (07:53.608)
You got it.
Dr. John Meis (08:10.272)
So people using it for for overflow when when there's no one answering the phone or in off hours. It may be good enough to have some effect there, but it's certainly during normal business hours, not probably the way I think things are going right now. Certainly, and of course all these tools are getting better. Go ahead.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (08:22.056)
Yeah. Can I tell you the future? Can I tell you what's gonna happen? I'll tell you the future. Let's look actually, it's not a very far future. It's actually just a few months away. And this is a future. This is what will happen, an AI receptionist will become mandatory for every single office. Here's what's happening: Google rolled out a new AI mode, and what it's means is that AI search is completely changing how our prospective patients are finding us.
Dr. John Meis (08:27.234)
Yes. Yes, yes.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (08:51.608)
For example, if you're not in top three recommendations by AI mode, you will not be shown in an AI mode, chat GTP, Claude, Copilot. What it means is that now patients, when they pick up their phone and go to search for a new dentist, they will be looking at the AI mode.
They're gonna be looking at the chat GTP Cloud and saying, This is what they will be saying. I haven't been to a dentist in five years. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield find me the best one next to me. Do you see? All they will find somebody. All they will say is I hate dentists. I need somebody nice and gentle and that is not very expensive.
Dr. John Meis (09:36.91)
Yeah.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (09:48.08)
The dental practices are not optimized for that. Our websites are not optimized for that. So this is a big switch that very soon every website and every dental office will have to adjust to that. Otherwise, they will be lost in a in you know traffic of Google, Chat GTP cloud, saying that when people will understand that this is happening, which is happening in the next two, three months.
Do you see? We will want to look at those phone calls and leads that come to us like gold. And for that, AI receptionist becomes very important because we want to catch those leads.
Dr. John Meis (10:19.639)
Yeah, wow.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (10:44.306)
So we don't look at the AI receptionist only answering our phone calls. We look at the AI receptionist being available to capture the traffic, phone calls and requests that do come to our offices. So this is a big shift. It is happening, and really what's happening, it is actually happening in the next I would say two, three months, maybe even less.
Dr. John Meis (11:04.674)
Yeah, wow, that's fantastic. We'll be watching for that because that you know ultimately if your practice has has a particular niche or or you have a particular interest, you could drive more traffic through that based on the design of your websites. So yeah, that's awesome. So tell us kind of what, in your opinion, what are the things that in dentistry where AI is is working really well right now?
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (11:36.21)
Supporting humans and not replacing them. Let's I would say the easiest case study where AI can really support our humans. Number one is confirm looking up insurance benefits. There is not a single person on our teams that comes to office and says, I'm excited to confirm insurance benefits today.
They don't have time to do that. They don't have energy to do that. So this is actually one of the most important things where AI can support. And I truly still don't understand why dental offices would not utilize that service. That's I actually work with Diva. Diva is one of my top ones because they're solid, you can trust them. So that's one. So that's a one case study where AI can really help.
Dr. John Meis (12:02.55)
That's good.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (12:31.788)
Another one is that our patients don't often understand what we'll tell them. They're confused. It's too much. So AI is really helping to make the treatment easier to understand. And patients end up trusting us and accepting needed treatment.
So this is a second case study. It's not just about nice, it's a must-have. Because we know that most patients don't trust us because they cannot see the problems. So the second case study is using AI visuals and show visuals using Pearl, OverJet, showing visuals on a screen where AI is seeing a problem. Sadly, our patients do trust AI more than they trust us.
Dr. John Meis (13:31.79)
it's true. Or at least it adds to the trust pile that you're trying to build up with your team and you know, and all the things. It certainly is huge. And that act of making what you see visual to patients is really powerful on case acceptance. Really powerful.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (13:53.038)
Say, I would say knowing what I know, being in a clinical for 20 years, seeing patients' eyes, knowing all the objections, and hearing every single objection. I know this conference when I pull up that AI visuals using Pearl and OverJet, it makes a huge difference in how patients see and understand their needed treatment. It's a game-changer for sure.
Dr. John Meis (14:40.162)
Yeah, awesome. Awesome. So in your personal life, outside of the demos, how are you using AI? Do you have some favorite tricks and tips you want to pass on to us?
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (16:52.12)
Absolutely. I use AI every single day. So I'm a woman, I'm a mom, I'm a leader, I have a big company, engineering company, so I use AI every single day. Number one for planning, creating executive reports, planning, but also but also to create products, to create agents. To create workflows and to automate processes with AI.
For example, let's break it down because I you know you may say, Kathryn, give me a good example. I'm a mom and I also want to feel good, look good. I don't want to feel exhausted and overwhelmed. I don't. So I'm using AI to be my best supporter, my best assistant, and in every single way from businesses to planning vacation to managing my kids. For example, my child is expected to perform in New York next week. And I was given a list of 25 songs to choose from and to be prepared to perform. And really 25 songs now I have to look up them on Spotify, listen, and make a choice. I don't have a two hours to do that. So guess how fast it's took me to create an AI agent to create this list and have a list on my Spotify? Guess how long it's took me?
Dr. John Meis (18:34.232)
Probably two or three minutes.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (18:36.594)
Seven minutes. I had it uploaded and ready and I went to work. Yeah, and I want to and I want to share that. For example, I uploaded that PDF into Chat GTP and a chat GTP can create AI agents now very quickly. I uploaded that PDF list, gave access to my Spotify, and literally went to have coffee. I came back and I had a Spotify list of twenty-five songs ready for me to listen to.
Dr. John Meis (18:38.104)
Seven minutes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (19:06.244)
And for my teen to listen to and choose one song, which we chose one for New York. Do you know we chose a song? But truly, that was one of the things that helps me to lead my teens to be a mom and to really have the best life without feeling overwhelmed with everything that is on my plate.
So I would say I use AI every single day and I use different tools. Do you want to hear my favorite tools? Do you want to hear some of my favorite ones? Lovable. Lovable is absolutely amazing. Lovable is one of the best tools you can use. That's to make websites. That's what you don't really have to have a web developer anymore. You can you can use Lovable.
Dr. John Meis (19:40.556)
Yes. Yes.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (20:00.93)
And it's really good technically, it's really easy to use, so Lovable. Gamma for PowerPoints and presentations and pitch decks. You can do..
Dr. John Meis (20:11.682)
What was that again? Grammar. Gamma, yeah, right. Yep. Yep.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (20:30.608)
Gamma, Gamma, Gamma, it's G yeah, yeah. So then I use then I use Gemini Enterprise. Gemini Enterprise allows me to create AI agents securely by using my Google ecosystem. So if I want to stay in a Google ecosystem, Gemini Enterprise is great because it can create secure compliant AI agents very quickly from a prompt. And then it can create videos, pictures, and not only that, it's can it's it there is so much to that, Gemini Enterprise. And then Chat GTP is your best friend because ChatGTP can have a long memory. It's a very cheap. So ChatGTP is your workflow, your friend. You can use it, and then you take the work that ChatGTP does and take it to other AI agents. Do you see? And of course, Claude. Claude is my executive director of everything. Do you know? But in Claude, I have my executive director board. So I have my advisor board, I have a marketer.
Dr. John Meis (21:02.126)
Right.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (21:27.322)
I have a lawyer, I have a CEO, I have a CFO of my company, and they evaluate things and give me feedback on what I should do. So this is where the consulting and analysis by AI comes in handy, and that's what I do in my Claude, in my Claude projects. So so that's my top ones, I would say, and there is more, but that's my top ones.
And of course I use a receptionist for my own for my own business. That's I would say the main ones that I everybody can use and everybody can have an access to them. They're not difficult to use and they're very helpful.
Dr. John Meis (22:14.838)
Yeah, awesome. So if somebody were going to start, they're not knowledgeable about AI now, and they want to start somewhere, where would you suggest they start to to learn about it and to start building their their foundation of knowledge?
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (22:38.566)
That's a really hard question, and here's why. AI is changing every single day. So I may go to sleep and wake up to new AI updates. So I have an AI for Leaders class, and that class is pretty updated. So I would say I would say choose a person that you like in an AI expertise field and follow them. There is so many choices. For example, for example, choose somebody you trust and choose somebody you like and then follow their programs, follow the classes because there is so much right now. But again, it's changing so fast that you truly have to be committed to studying and catching up with the AI every single day.
Dr. John Meis (23:33.292)
Yeah. I like that idea of picking one person and and sticking with that person because you know, you're gonna get so much coming at you from every different angle and all of them have a different point of view. But if you can choose one that you're like you said, get comfortable learning from and trust and just go a step at a time. You're never gonna keep up with all the changes and all the agents. There's no way. 'cause they're all right. Yeah.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (23:59.964)
You don't need to. You don't need to. You don't need to. And truly, we have to realize if we add every AI agent that everybody tells us to add, we're gonna be paying so much money and all these AI agents are not interconnected. They're not talking to each other yet. So because of that, it can become just a bigger headache adding too many AI agents. That's why AI implementation has to be carefully done so it's not overwhelming to you and it's actually making results where you feel supported and you're making more money.
Dr. John Meis (24:37.314)
Yeah, yep. Yep. That's the idea. You know, we all want to use these tools so that we work less, the work that we have is easier, and that we have a better patient experience, better team experience. And if we do all those things well, there's no way we won't be earning more, which is the name of the game.
All right, so tell us about the thing that you can see out in the future, whether it's related to dental or not, that AI is going to bring about, that really is that one thing that is just you're just so excited for it to happen.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (25:16.514)
I am obsessed about something. Obsessed. So we used to do B2B, B2C communication. I am obsessed about B2A communication. And I mentioned before that I got an engineering. I finished just engineering program, but what it means, we have to know how to talk to AI agents as a business.
We're not just talking to another business or two clients. Now we have AI agents to talk to. This is not gonna change. It's only gonna escalate and become a normal part of our life. For example, we have to know how to talk to internal AI agents that we implement and bring to our businesses. But yet we have to know how to talk to external AI agents like Google AI mode, Chat GTP, Cloud, Copilot. So this is where I am working. That I am not just implementing AI solutions, I am helping businesses to transition to healthy, quality, B2AI communication. And what it means to translate it.
Imagine every business has massive amount of knowledge, phone calls, brand, reputation, culture. Imagine this. A lot of information and none of that is cohesive a lot of times. It's maybe living in a back is office manager head, TC, or it's maybe stored in SOPs that have not been updated in years.
Dr. John Meis (27:00.568)
Yes.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (27:15.826)
So my job is to take all of this knowledge, make it very easy for businesses to structure it and to simplify it. And now I create this basically communication that can be used with the AI agents that we implement internally and we work with them externally. So basically, I make it easy for businesses to work with the AI agents, implement AI agents, and to talk to external AI agents. And I am obsessed about it. That's what I'm obsessed about.
Dr. John Meis (27:43.596)
Yeah that's awesome. It's gonna be absolutely fascinating to see these things as they develop and the problems that they're gonna solve. I'm just really excited about the future and I know you are too.
Dr. Kathryn Alderman (28:05.106)
But it's like we live in it now. We live in it now. This is not a future anymore. This is happening every single day, just kind of a silently, but it's happening every single day. Yes, I'm excited.
Dr. John Meis (28:19.618)
Yeah. All right. Well, Dr. Alderman, thank you so much for being with us. That's it for this episode of The Double Your Production Podcast, and we'll see you next time.
