1055: The Hidden Power of AI in Dentistry: How Voice Tech is Revolutionizing Practice Efficiency - Cassie Tallon & Rushi Ganmukhi
The Best Practices Show with Kirk Behrendt · Jun 3, 2026 · 31:59
The Best Practices Show with Kirk Behrendt
The Best Practices Show with Kirk Behrendt · Jun 3, 2026 · 31:59
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Documentation, charting, and insurance narratives are taking time away from patient care, and many teams are already stretched thin. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt sits down with Rushi Ganmukhi, founder of Bola AI and former MIT AI/NLP researcher, and Cassie Tallon, a dental operations leader and author, to explain how voice-enabled AI can reduce clinical documentation burden, improve note quality, and help practices get paid faster.
You’ll learn where voice tech fits best (perio, restorative charting, and clinical notes), what it changes operationally, and how to identify the friction points in your own workflow. Listen to Episode 1055 of The Best Practices Show!
Main Takeaways:
Snippets:
00:00 Voice tech as the “hidden power” of AI for practice efficiency.
01:00 The documentation burden: perio charts, restorative docs, and insurance narratives.
02:10 Rushi’s background in AI/NLP and MIT research, and why he entered dentistry.
04:35 Why voice tech fits clinical environments better than consumer voice assistants.
06:00 Bola AI’s early focus on voice perio charting and expansion to notes and restorative charting.
07:05 Why integrations with practice management systems matter (Dentrix, Open Dental, Curve, Patterson, Henry Schein).
08:00 The time cost of manual charting and its impact on hygiene workflows.
10:00 How delays and backdating notes can hold up insurance submission and revenue.
11:20 The risks of cut-and-paste templates for insurance and legal documentation.
13:00 Insurance requiring more documentation, including perio charting for restorative claims.
14:00 Why “decay” alone is not a sufficient clinical reason in a narrative.
15:00 How dental-specific logic and terminology improve accuracy over general dictation tools.
16:35 What “plug-and-play” adoption should look like in the operatory.
18:10 Handling variation across practices (sleep/airway, medical billing, pediatrics, customization).
19:00 Current curiosity vs. adoption: workforce shortages and the cash-flow case for AI.
22:00 Overview of Bola’s three core products: Voice Perio, Voice Restorative, and AI Scribe.
26:00 A practical challenge: measure how long perio charting takes and identify workflow friction points.
29:00 Final guidance: start small, solve specific problems, and choose tools proven in clinics.
30:10 Where to learn more and request a demo (bola.ai).
Guest Bio/Guest Resources:
Rushi Ganmukhi is the founder of Bola AI and has a professional background in artificial intelligence and natural language processing, including research experience at MIT focused on helping computers understand human speech and language. He leads Bola AI’s work applying voice technology to dental workflows, including perio charting, restorative charting, and AI-assisted clinical documentation.
Cassie Tallon is a dental operations leader with 20 years of experience spanning multi-doctor practices and DSOs, including supporting growth and operational efficiency across multiple locations. She is an author focused on dental operations and has dedicated her current work to helping dentists improve efficiency, navigate growth decisions, and strengthen systems without adding unnecessary overhead.
Resources mentioned in the episode:
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