Dr. Nate Jeal and Dr. Bao-Tran Nguyen have opened seven dental practices, and on their newest build, the only original hire still on the team after 13 months is their AI agent, Sally. In this episode, Ashley talks with them about designing The Smile Formula after six previous practices, why they make team decisions faster now, and how Sally went from answering after-hours calls to texting new leads and verifying insurance. Nate also shares a simple formula for calculating what every missed call costs a practice. In this episode: ✅ How they found and expanded their Vancouver space ✅ The front desk and waiting room non-negotiables behind The Smile Formula ✅ Why six original hires turned over and what experience taught them about fit ✅ How to choose AI tools your team will actually use ✅ The missed call math every practice owner should run ✅ How Sally responds to Meta, website, and CRM leads instantly by text ✅ How to build and test your own AI agent in about ten minutes A Seventh Practice and a Second Space Nate and BT were dental school classmates in Winnipeg, where they built and bought practices before selling them during COVID and moving to Vancouver. After a few years focused on coaching and consulting, they opened The Smile Formula at the end of May 2025. Midway through permitting, the space next door became available, so they took it and went back to the drawing board on the design. Non-Negotiables from Six Previous Practices BT wanted a small front desk that seats one person at an elevated counter, so patients check in at eye level, inspired by the hotel check-in experience in Las Vegas. She also kept the waiting area small, because patients are seated on time. Nate built the practice around elective and cosmetic dentistry in a mostly non-insurance model, which has attracted a consistent patient avatar. Six Hires, One Left They opened with six team members and 13 months later, the only original employee still there is Sally. BT shares that after 15 years, they no longer give someone three chances when it isn't a fit. Their advice: expect the unexpected, and keep your sense of humor. Choosing AI Your Team Will Use Dentists tend to bring new tools home from a conference and hand them to the team. BT recommends picking the three or four things AI can do right now that save your team time, then letting the team tell you what they need instead of the other way around. Building Sally Nate started building Sally more than a year before The Smile Formula opened, applying what they teach about case acceptance and communication. She was answering calls a month and a half before opening day. She's built to be empathetic, confident, and clear on the next step, and to steer a wandering conversation back toward booking. The Missed Call Math To find the value of an average patient, divide your total annual revenue by the number of unique patients seen that year. Across the roughly 300 practices Sally works with, that number lands between $1,000 and $1,200, and about half of missed calls are new patients. One mid-sized DSO group dropped its missed call rate from 25% to 3% after adding Sally. Instant Response to Every Lead Sally now texts new leads from Meta, website forms, and the CRM the moment they come in. Since the feature launched at the end of August, Sally has booked more than 40 patients by text at The Smile Formula in August and September alone. Nate admits he used to tell his team that texting patients was unprofessional, and he was wrong. Insurance and the Human Touch Sally can also verify insurance, so teams can present treatment with the breakdown in hand instead of calling patients back weeks later. Even when Sally books the appointment, BT coaches every office to have a team member call and welcome the new patient to the practice. Try Sally for Yourself Through the new Agent Builder, any dentist can build a custom AI agent in about ten minutes by answering questions in a chat, then have it call them to test the experience. Listeners get seven days and 100 minutes to try it. Links: Try Sally: start.callsally.ai/tmo Use code TMO at checkout for $339, a rate available only to The Making Of community and the lowest price anywhere. Call Sally For More Patients. Connect: Dr. Bt Nguyen - @dr.baotran Dr. Nate Jeal - @drnatejealCallSally - @callsally.aiSupport the show Find Out More Thank you for listening to The Making Of podcast. If you enjoyed it, please share with anyone you think will gain value from the show by clicking on one of the sharing tabs above. SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER HERE Also, please consider leaving an honest review on iTunes. It helps other listeners find the show, and I would be forever grateful. Questions or comments? Feel free to contact us at - themakingofadental@gmail.com Follow us on Instagram or Facebook and improve your dental practice every day! Have you subscribed? Don't miss a single episode!
