Stop Buying AI. Most Dental Groups Are Solving the Wrong Problem

Stop Buying AI. Most Dental Groups Are Solving the Wrong Problem

Most dental groups approach AI as a procurement decision. Which tool, which vendor, which price. Dr Sonia Szamocki argues that is the wrong variable entirely. Sonia is founder and CEO of 01Health. Before building clinical AI infrastructure from scratch, she was an A&E doctor, trained in medicine at Oxford, and worked at BCG and BCG Digital Ventures. She has navigated this problem from inside elite strategy through to the messy reality of building a clinical AI platform, and she has a framework for AI adoption that almost nobody in dentistry is articulating. In this episode, Dr Randeep Singh Gill and Sonia get into why AI readiness is an organisational design question, not a technology one. The core argument: the decisive question is not which AI you buy, it is whether your organisation can absorb what AI delivers at all. They cover why you start with the problem and not the tool, the difference between deterministic and probabilistic systems and why it breaks the governance most groups rely on, why between 50 and 90% of real AI work is evaluation rather than building, and how to introduce AI without triggering the change fatigue that kills adoption. Sonia makes the case for building from within rather than doing AI to your organisation, explains how to evaluate vendor claims independently, and argues that the heaviest lifting in adoption belongs to the vendor, not the customer. She walks through the four questions every DSO should ask a vendor before signing, why you should build on imperfect data rather than wait for perfect foundations, and what the UK can learn from the point-solution sprawl that has already burned more mature US markets. Essential listening for DSO operators, dental practice owners, dental AI founders, and healthtech investors trying to separate durable advantage from expensive distraction. In this episode: Why most dental groups are asking the wrong question about AI Why you start with the problem, not the tool The difference between deterministic and probabilistic systems, and why it changes governance Why evaluation, not building, is now 50 to 90% of the real work How to introduce AI without triggering the resistance that kills adoption Why building from within beats doing AI to your organisation How to evaluate AI performance claims independently The proprietary data layer, and who is positioned to extract value from it Why you should build on imperfect data instead of waiting for perfect foundations Why the vendor should carry the heaviest load in adoption, not the customer The four questions every DSO should ask a vendor before signing What the UK can learn from US point-solution sprawl Chapters: 00:00 The wrong variable: why most groups misframe AI 02:02 Start with the problem, not the tool 05:15 Deterministic vs probabilistic systems 06:13 Why evaluation is now 50 to 90% of the work 09:22 Change fatigue and the resistance that kills adoption 11:49 Who restructures care vs who just automates 14:29 Evaluating AI performance claims independently 16:13 The proprietary data layer, and who owns it 24:49 Building a data strategy on imperfect foundations 26:30 The vendor question: solution or problem transfer 29:03 The four questions every DSO should ask a vendor 32:46 Build versus buy, and the cold start problem 34:32 What the UK can learn from the US market 38:17 Lightning round About the guest: Dr Sonia Szamocki, founder and CEO of 01Health. Website: https://01health.ai/uk [https://01health.ai/uk] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sonia-szamocki/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sonia-szamocki/] 01Health LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/01health/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/01health/] Instagram: @01.health / @aerox.health Read the full written analysis: https://www.techdental.com/insights [https://www.techdental.com/insights] Connect with TechDental: Host Dr Randeep Singh Gill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drrandeep/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/drrandeep/] Web: https://www.techdental.com [https://www.techdental.com] Email: info@techdental.com [info@techdental.com] 🎧 Spotify: https://bit.ly/41UsqRO [https://bit.ly/41UsqRO] 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/41pKL9b [https://bit.ly/41pKL9b] 📩 Subscribe to the TechDental newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7320560217455271939 [https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7320560217455271939]

The Graveyard of Brilliant Health Tech Products: Lessons from 22 Years Inside Henry Schein ONE

There is a graveyard of brilliant health tech products. Clinically validated, technically sound, built by people who understood the problem. And completely unused. Ross Drynan and Josh Wren spent a combined 22 years inside Henry Schein ONE, the UK's largest dental software company. They watched product after product fail from the inside, not because the technology was wrong, but because nobody built the operating discipline to make it land. Then they left and founded We Don't Consult to fix it. This is the episode for anyone building, buying, or backing dental AI right now. We get into why the best product rarely wins, and what does. Ross breaks down the narrow set of go-to-market disciplines that actually decide adoption: the story, organisational alignment, making a busy clinician problem-aware, delivering outcomes they attribute to you, and the ability to tell that story afterwards. We cover why most implementations die at the first post-sale interaction, why the kickoff call is a second sale and not a training session, and why "my team doesn't like change" is usually a leadership and change-management failure, not a technology one. Ross explains why AI has not changed the adoption problem, it has magnified it. Weak leadership and culture plus AI equals an amplified mess. We talk about the Alignment Spine, the open-access lead generation model, and why you should market a diagnostic of the buyer's business, never the product itself. We also go somewhere unexpected: Ross's consumer AI venture OurStoryMagic.ai, and the single thread connecting bedtime stories to early disease detection. Technology should close gaps that used to be closed by privilege, but only if the people building it have the discipline to make it land. The episode closes on the ten-year split for UK dental AI. Get adoption right and early detection becomes the default, not a privilege. Get it wrong and the companies with the best models lose to the companies with the best brands, and the access gap widens. In this episode: What 22 years inside the UK's largest dental software company actually teaches you Why the best product does not guarantee success, and the disciplines that do The five go-to-market disciplines that decide whether dental tech wins or dies Where implementation really dies inside a practice or DSO Why the post-sale kickoff is a second sale, not a training call How AI magnifies weak leadership and culture rather than fixing it The open-access lead generation model and why you should never market the product Why face-to-face and human skills get more valuable as AI scales The OurStoryMagic.ai thread: closing gaps once gated by privilege The ten-year outlook for UK dental AI, and the two futures ahead About the guests: Ross Drynan, co-founder of We Don't Consult. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ross-drynan/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ross-drynan/] Josh Wren, co-founder of We Don't Consult. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-wren/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-wren/] We Don't Consult: https://www.linkedin.com/company/we-don-t-consult [https://www.linkedin.com/company/we-don-t-consult] Read the full written analysis: https://www.techdental.com/insights [https://www.techdental.com/insights] Connect with TechDental: Host Dr Randeep Singh Gill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drrandeep/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/drrandeep/] Web: https://www.techdental.com [https://www.techdental.com] Email: info@techdental.com [info@techdental.com] 🎧 Spotify: https://bit.ly/41UsqRO [https://bit.ly/41UsqRO] 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/41pKL9b [https://bit.ly/41pKL9b] ▶️ YouTube: https://bit.ly/3JSfl5c [https://bit.ly/3JSfl5c]

Hell Yes and Get Over It. Coach Chris Barrow on Thirty Years, a Thousand Practices, and Why AI Is Not Another Bit of Kit.

Coach Chris Barrow has been inside over a thousand dental practices since 1997. He has watched digital X-rays, intraoral cameras, cloud practice management systems, and every technology wave sweep through the industry. Most of them promised transformation. Most delivered considerably less. His position on AI is different in structure, not just in scale. In this episode he explains why, and what it means for every practice owner making decisions about their business right now. What you will learn in this episode: Why AI is not another piece of kit but a quantum change in how dental businesses operate, and what that distinction actually requires of practice owners. The Y junction every practice faces: use AI to reduce headcount or use it to give your people the time and space to deliver exceptional patient experiences. Why that decision determines the kind of business you are building. The Golden Goose Practice explained: what it looks like on a Tuesday morning when the owner is not there, how the managing director and clinical director model actually works, and why equity alignment is the piece most operators miss. Why the 30-year corporate acquisition cycle is ending, who is buying practices now, and what that means for anyone still building with a multimillion-pound exit as the primary objective. The stepping stone patient journey, from a Friday night pub conversation to a signed treatment plan, and where AI changes every conversion point along the way. Why the biggest mistake practice owners make with new technology is not whether they buy it. The one question to ask before adding any new system, platform, or tool to your business. About Chris Barrow: Chris Barrow is one of the most recognised names in UK dental business coaching. He has worked with over a thousand dental practices across the UK and internationally since 1997, co-authored the E-Myth Dentist with Michael Gerber, appeared on The Island with Bear Grylls, and recently sold his coaching business to The Campbell Academy, where he has signed an eight-year service contract. He writes a daily blog, a monthly newsletter, and a regular column for Private Dentistry magazine. Connect with Chris: Website: https://www.coachbarrow.com [https://www.coachbarrow.com] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisbarrow/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisbarrow/] The Campbell Academy: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-campbell-academy [https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-campbell-academy] Connect with TechDental: Website: https://www.techdental.com [https://www.techdental.com] Email: info@techdental.com [info@techdental.com] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drrandeep/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/drrandeep/] Subscribe to the TechDental newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7320560217455271939 [https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7320560217455271939] Full written analysis: techdental.com/insights Copyright Dr Randeep Singh Gill and RIG Enterprises Limited (Company No. 11223423) 2026

Not in the Room: Dentistry, AI Policy, and the Cost of Absence

Direct Answer: In this solo episode, Dr. Randeep Singh Gill examines why dentistry is almost entirely absent from the UK's AI health infrastructure conversation, despite NHS dentistry delivering 35 million courses of treatment in 2024/25. With UKRI committing £1.6 billion to AI between 2026 and 2030 and the NHS 10-Year Health Plan targeting world-leading AI capability, the decisions being made right now will shape what is commercially viable in dental AI for the next fifteen years. What is this episode about? The UK is designing its AI health infrastructure now. The data frameworks, clinical pathway co-pilots, and Single Patient Record architecture being built today will determine which verticals get embedded from the start and which ones get retrofitted later at significantly greater cost. Dentistry is not in that design process. This episode makes the case for why that absence matters, and what it would take to change it. In this solo episode of TechDental, Dr. Randeep Singh Gill draws on six months of involvement in the Rising Women Leaders in AI programme, a British Council International Science Partnerships Fund initiative connecting UK and Türkiye researchers, to examine what science diplomacy actually looks like in practice and why dental AI needs a credible voice in the rooms where UK health infrastructure is being designed. What you will learn: Why UKRI's £1.6 billion AI commitment and the NHS 10-Year Health Plan create a narrow window to influence UK health infrastructure design. Why dentistry, despite delivering 35 million courses of NHS treatment in 2024/25, is almost entirely absent from the UK AI policy conversation. What science diplomacy actually means in practice, beyond summits and declarations. Why the UK-Türkiye bilateral research corridor represents a live opportunity for dental AI that is currently untapped. What the cost of late inclusion in infrastructure design looks like for practices, founders, and investors. Why the people shaping dental AI's future are not sitting in dental schools. About the host: Dr. Randeep Singh Gill is a qualified dentist, founder of TechDental and DentaCFO, and a strategy adviser at the intersection of dental AI, capital, and policy. He is a UK Programme Mentor on the Rising Women Leaders in AI programme, a British Council ISPF initiative in partnership with the University of Reading, Thames Valley AI Hub, and Koç University, Türkiye. He flies to Istanbul on 2 June 2026 for the programme's closing ceremony at Is Kuleleri. Website: https://www.techdental.com [https://www.techdental.com] Email: info@techdental.com [info@techdental.com] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drrandeep/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/drrandeep/] Programme partners: Rising Women Leaders in AI (RWLAI): British Council International Science Partnerships Fund Principal Investigator and UK Programme Lead: Dr. Selin Kudret, https://www.linkedin.com/in/drselinkudret/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/drselinkudret/] Türkiye Programme Lead: Professor Cigdem Gunduz Demir, https://www.linkedin.com/in/cigdem-gunduz-demir-0a4552/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/cigdem-gunduz-demir-0a4552/] University of Reading: https://www.linkedin.com/school/university-of-reading [https://www.linkedin.com/school/university-of-reading] Thames Valley AI Hub: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thames-valley-ai-hub [https://www.linkedin.com/company/thames-valley-ai-hub] Koç University: https://www.linkedin.com/school/kocuniversity/ [https://www.linkedin.com/school/kocuniversity/] British Council: https://www.linkedin.com/company/british-council [https://www.linkedin.com/company/british-council] Listen on: Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/41pKL9b Spotify: https://bit.ly/41UsqRO YouTube: https://bit.ly/3JSfl5c Subscribe to the TechDental newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7320560217455271939 [https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7320560217455271939] YOUTUBE DESCRIPTION Not in the Room: Dentistry, AI Policy, and the Cost of Absence | TechDental Solo Episode The UK is committing £1.6 billion to AI between 2026 and 2030. The NHS 10-Year Health Plan has a single ambition: to become the world's most AI-enabled health system. NHS dentistry delivered 35 million courses of treatment in 2024/25. And yet dentistry is almost entirely absent from the conversation that will determine what is commercially viable in this sector for the next fifteen years. In this solo episode, Dr. Randeep Singh Gill draws on six months of involvement in the Rising Women Leaders in AI programme, a British Council ISPF initiative connecting UK and Türkiye researchers, to examine what science diplomacy actually looks like in practice and why dental AI needs a credible voice in the rooms where UK health infrastructure is being designed. Topics covered: Why the UK's AI infrastructure design window is open now and closing Why dentistry is not represented in the UKRI and NHS 10-Year Plan conversation What science diplomacy means beyond summits and declarations Why the UK-Türkiye bilateral research corridor matters for dental AI What late inclusion in infrastructure design costs practices, founders, and investors Dr. Randeep Singh Gill is a qualified dentist, founder of TechDental and DentaCFO, and a UK Programme Mentor on the Rising Women Leaders in AI programme. He flies to Istanbul on 2 June 2026 for the programme's closing ceremony. Subscribe to the TechDental newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7320560217455271939 [https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7320560217455271939] Website: https://www.techdental.com [https://www.techdental.com] Email: info@techdental.com [info@techdental.com] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drrandeep/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/drrandeep/] #techdental #dentalai #aiinhealthcare #nhs #ukri #healthtech #dentalbusiness #futureofdentistry #sciencediplomacy #artificialintelligence #dentalinnovation #dentalpodcast

"The Lights Are Off." A Cambridge AI Scientist on What We Are Actually Building.

Episode Title: "The Lights Are Off." A Cambridge AI Scientist on What We Are Actually Building. Direct Answer: Spencer Kelly, Cambridge computer scientist, BBC Click presenter for 20 years, and AI keynote speaker, argues that the most dangerous assumption in AI is that there is something behind the words it generates. In this episode of The TechDental Podcast, Spencer draws a precise and unsettling distinction between intelligence and consciousness, explains why AI should have been called Applied Statistics, reflects on the Spotify prediction he got spectacularly wrong, and asks whether this technology wave is genuinely different from every one that came before it. Essential listening for anyone building, deploying, or investing in AI in healthcare right now. What is this episode about? Spencer Kelly studied artificial intelligence at Cambridge University in the 1990s, before it entered mainstream academic or public discourse. For two decades he presented BBC Click, the corporation's flagship technology programme, reporting from NASA, the Large Hadron Collider, and communities across Kenya, Korea, and India. He left the BBC in March 2025 when Click ended and now delivers keynotes on AI, works as a media coach, and makes music using AI tools. His central argument is deceptively simple and commercially important. Intelligence and consciousness are not the same thing. AI has extraordinary intelligence by any useful definition of the term. It operates in novel situations, synthesises patterns across vast datasets, and produces outputs that outperform human experts across a growing range of tasks. But there is no awareness behind any of it. No judgement. No experience. Just extraordinarily sophisticated mathematics running in complete darkness. That distinction, between what AI can do and what it understands about what it is doing, is the most commercially important question anyone deploying AI in a healthcare environment can ask right now. And it is the question most AI conversations avoid entirely. What you will learn from this episode: * Why AI should have been called Applied Statistics and what that framing changes about every decision you are about to hand to it * The distinction between intelligence and consciousness that most people building AI products have never properly examined * What Spencer got spectacularly wrong about Spotify and what the logic of VC-funded disruption actually teaches you about how technology transforms industries * Whether this wave of AI is genuinely different from every previous automation cycle and why Spencer holds that question with genuine uncertainty rather than confident prediction * What 20 years of watching every technology cycle teaches you when the biggest one of all finally arrives * Why the country with the healthiest relationship with AI right now is Australia * What AI in general, not just generative AI, will do to healthcare, disease detection, and the patterns no human researcher could ever find alone Key quotes from this episode: "There is nothing behind those words. The lights are off. There is no experience. There is no judgement. There is no critical thinking. There is just nothing." — Spencer Kelly "Half of me thinks surely this is going to be the same. But then the other half thinks, this time it does feel different. Because we have always said the machines can do the dangerous, physical, heavy lifting. But we will still be making the decisions. And AI is creeping into that now." — Spencer Kelly "He looked at me like I was an idiot. Which I clearly was. I hadn't understood the power of disruption. As long as you have enough money to disrupt and end the previous model, you can do what you want." — Spencer Kelly on Daniel Ek and Spotify "AI in general is going to improve our lives, but it needs to be used by the right people for the right reasons and not just for profit." — Spencer Kelly About Spencer Kelly: Spencer Kelly is a Cambridge computer scientist, technology broadcaster, and AI keynote speaker. He presented BBC Click for 20 years, making him one of the most trusted technology communicators in the UK. He holds a degree in computer science from Cambridge University where his final year dissertation used AI genetic algorithms to optimise the London Underground route. He now delivers keynotes on AI for business audiences globally and works as a media and presentation coach. Website: https://www.spencerkelly.com [https://www.spencerkelly.com] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-kelly-400a512/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-kelly-400a512/] Instagram: @spenleykelly Twitter: @spenley YouTube: @spencer0kelly Outro music: The outro music for this episode is by CLAWS, a band featuring Spencer Kelly's daughter. Used with permission. This is a real-world example of human-AI co-creation: a father and daughter making music together, augmented by AI tools. Spencer discusses this in the episode. Listen to CLAWS on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/1BoKFIPMePNHMtvY4CKihF [https://open.spotify.com/track/1BoKFIPMePNHMtvY4CKihF] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7iOo3bWWnQA [https://youtu.be/7iOo3bWWnQA] About TechDental: TechDental is a strategic intelligence platform for founders, executives, operators and investors shaping the future of dentistry. Independent analysis on AI, operating models and capital strategy in UK dentistry. Website: www.techdental.com [http://www.techdental.com] Email: info@techdental.com [info@techdental.com] Host: Dr. Randeep Singh Gill LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drrandeep/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/drrandeep/] Newsletter: Subscribe on LinkedIn, TechDental Analysis Subscribe and follow: Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/41pKL9b Spotify: https://bit.ly/41UsqRO YouTube: https://bit.ly/3JSfl5c TechDental publishes independent analysis on AI, operating models and capital strategy in dentistry. For leaders navigating scale or structural change: www.techdental.com [http://www.techdental.com]. Copyright Dr. Randeep Singh Gill and RIG Enterprises Limited (Company No. 11223423) 2026.