Mike's Newsletter | AI Is Moving From Tools to Operating Systems.
Welcome Orthoprenuers!
Every week, we bring you the latest in practice management, marketing, profitability, and next-level ortho techniques so you can work smarter, grow faster, and build the practice you want.
In this issue:
🚨 News Update
🦾 Mike’s Prompt
📢 Juan’s Marketing Tip
✨ Astro Outlook
🗓️ Plan Your 2026 CE Calendar
🔥 Trending in the OrthoPreneurs Facebook Group
🎙️ The Orthopreneurs Podcast
✨ Final Thought
📰 News Updates
🍔 McDonald’s Shows What an AI-Enabled Business Can Actually Look Like
McDonald’s gave us a much better look this week at ArchIQ, the AI-powered operating system it is building across its restaurants. It connects ordering, inventory, equipment, computer vision and operational data so AI can continuously help run the restaurant.
The early results are impressive:
AI drive-thru ordering handles English and Spanish at more than 90% accuracy and McDonald’s expects it to free at least 50 employee hours per restaurant each week as it scales.
Automated inventory saves about five hours per week and has reduced food waste by 15%.
Connected equipment and computer vision are producing roughly a 50% improvement in key equipment and menu availability.
Intelligent scales check completed orders and catch problems in roughly 10% of orders before they reach the customer.
McDonald’s is now preparing to deploy these capabilities at scale as part of its broader Restaurant > NEXT program.
You already know why this matters. Every practice wants its phones, PMS, CRM, scheduling, financials, marketing and patient communications working together intelligently. What are you doing this week to improve your team’s AI capabilities and prepare for that future? Read More
👓 AI Glasses Are Becoming a Real Interface for Work
Meta unveiled VR glasses that weigh just 100 grams - roughly the weight of a deck of cards - while still providing a private multi-screen workspace controlled with your eyes and hands.
No controllers, no bulky headset and no physical monitors required. Meta says you can even turn a flat surface into a virtual keyboard and touchpad.
At the same time, Meta is bringing Muse directly into its everyday AI glasses. Muse can work in the background, connect with tools including Notion, GitHub, Box, Expedia, Instacart and PayPal, and interact with you hands-free throughout the day. Meta’s new Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses weigh just 43 grams and are designed for all-day use.
Why it matters: Weight, comfort and awkward interfaces have been some of the biggest barriers to making AR and VR useful for everyday work. Meta is getting much closer to something people could realistically use for hours - on a plane, in a hotel room, working remotely or anywhere a full computer setup isn’t convenient. Combine that with an AI agent that can see, hear and take actions for you, and glasses start looking like a much more practical computing interface. Read More
🤖The AI Buildout Is Still Accelerating Exponentially
Elon Musk said today that Colossus 2 currently has 550,000 of Nvidia’s newest GB200 and GB300 chips operating. He expects another 220,000 GB300s next week, another 220,000 in November and potentially another 220,000 in December. If he hits that schedule, Colossus 2 would grow from 550,000 chips today to roughly 1.21 million by year-end - more than doubling in three months.
At the same time, Google is launching its first Project Suncatcher satellite next week with four of its TPU AI chips aboard. This is an early experiment to test AI compute in orbit, where near-continuous solar power could eventually support much larger AI clusters.
SpaceX is thinking along similar lines. Company filings describe plans for large-scale orbital AI compute, with reporting pointing to initial orbital AI-compute demonstrations as early as late 2027 and potential deployments beginning in 2028.
Why it matters: AI companies aren’t working with a fixed amount of computing power. They are bringing dramatically more online every few months, while simultaneously looking for entirely new ways to scale beyond today’s data centers. Expect exponential improvements in AI and robotics for the foreseeable future.
🔬 AI Continues to Make Breakthrough Discoveries
We’re already seeing what increasingly powerful AI can do with that compute.
Anthropic: About 950 Claude agents searched more than 200,000 proteins and identified a previously unknown enzyme system with CRISPR-like characteristics, which researchers then tested in the lab.
Google DeepMind: AlphaGenome Atlas has predicted the effects of all 9 billion possible single-letter changes in the human genome, giving researchers a new tool for identifying mutations that may contribute to disease.
Stanford: Researchers built a “Virtual Biotech” using as many as 37,000 AI agents. The system analyzed more than 55,000 clinical trials, identified predictors of drug-development success and proposed a potential new lung-cancer treatment strategy.
OpenAI: An experimental model has reportedly generated proposed solutions to more than 100 previously open mathematics problems, with many still awaiting broader independent review.
Why it matters: More compute and better models are translating into more capable research systems. Expect AI to play an increasingly important role in new discoveries across medicine, biology, mathematics, materials science and other fields.
💸 Is Your Team Using the Best AI - or Just the Free Version?
A recent U.S. survey found that 46% of people who use AI at work are still using a free plan. Only about 37% use a paid AI subscription provided by their employer.
That matters more now because the gap between free and paid AI is becoming meaningful. Paid plans increasingly provide access to the strongest models, deeper reasoning, higher usage limits, better research capabilities and more advanced tools.
Why it matters: If you expect your team to use AI for meaningful work, make sure you’re giving them access to the best tools and actually training them to use them. If most of your staff are still relying on free accounts, now is a good time to consider paid access, choose a few workflows where AI should be used regularly, and help the team learn how to get better results.
The models are considerably more capable than they were even a few months ago. Make sure your team’s AI skills - and the tools you’re giving them - are improving just as quickly.
🦾 Mike’s Tip of the Week: Reactivate the People Who Already Know Your Practice
Most practices spend a lot of energy trying to find brand-new leads while sitting on a list of people who already know and trust them. That could include someone who came in for a consultation but never started, a parent whose child has already been treated, or a family who may know someone else thinking about orthodontics.
Instead of sending everyone the same generic “Just checking in!” message, use AI to help you figure out the feeling or motivation your message needs to convey to this particular group to get them to respond - and what you should actually say.
Try this prompt:
You are an orthodontic patient reactivation and referral strategist. I’m going to describe a group of people already connected to my practice - for example, patients who consulted but never started, parents of current or former patients, or another warm audience.
First, identify the feeling, motivation, or reason that is most likely to get this particular group to respond. It might be reassurance, renewed urgency, curiosity, convenience, confidence, appreciation, social connection, fear of missing the right timing, or something else. Explain why you chose it.
Then create a simple 30-day campaign to re-engage them. Write natural, personal outreach for text and email and, when appropriate, a short phone script. Do not default to discounts or generic “checking in” messages. Think about why this group may not have acted - timing, finances, uncertainty, lack of urgency, or simply forgetting - and match the message to both the likely barrier and the motivation that could move them now.
If they are already patients or parents, focus on staying connected and making it easy to refer a friend or family member who may need orthodontic care. Keep the outreach warm, helpful, and low-pressure. Ask me questions if you need more information about the audience, our practice, or the offer before building the campaign.
The important part is that you do not treat every list the same. Someone who had a consultation six months ago may need reassurance or a reason to reconsider timing. A happy parent may respond better to appreciation, connection, or the chance to help someone they know. Give AI the audience first, then let it help you find the right emotional angle before writing the message.
✨ Astro Outlook: Mars in Leo Wants Visible Leadership
Week of September 28: Mars enters ♌Leo♌ this week, which makes the theme simple: visible leadership. You do not need to know astrology for the practical takeaway. This is a good week to stop waiting for the “perfect” moment and lead from the front on one thing your practice needs.
The practical moment: look at the place where your team may be waiting on you. A decision that keeps getting delayed. A marketing idea no one owns. A system that needs a clear rule. A team conversation that everyone can feel but nobody wants to start. Leadership does not always mean making a huge move. Sometimes it means naming the issue clearly enough that everyone can move forward.
Best use of the week: pick one decision and make it visible. Tell the team what is changing, why it matters, and what the next step is. Momentum usually does not come from having every detail figured out. It comes from giving people a direction they can trust.
🗓️ Plan Your 2026 CE Calendar
The Sleep & Airway Meeting
Fri, Dec 04 | Arizona Biltmore, LXR Hotels & Resorts
THE MOST UP-TO-DATE CLINICAL INFORMATION ON
SLEEP-DISORDERED BREATHING & AIRWAY.
CLOSE MORE CASES
April 1–3, 2027 | Fairmont Austin
Close More Cases is here — the fastest money in orthodontics isn't more leads or more ads, it's closing more of the patients already in your chair. In this 1.5-day intensive, Dr. Glenn Krieger sharpens the clinical close while sales expert Victor Antonio unlocks the psychology of yes — and it's training you put to work the Monday you get back, no long rollout.
Bring your TCs, walk out with one shared process, and start closing more cases immediately.
Tickets are live now — secure your spot before it sells out.
LEARN MORE ABOUT CMC
The Orthopreneurs CE Calendar keeps every major workshop, congress, and study club event in one place — searchable by month, so you can plan your travel and your team's coverage well ahead of time instead of scrambling the week before.
Whether you're chasing CE credits, looking for your next study club, or just want to see what's coming up before you lock in your schedule for the quarter, it's worth a five-minute look every month.
Bookmark the calendar, pick your priorities early, and stop letting CE planning become a last-minute scramble.
📢 Juan’s Maktering Tip
Stop Sending Families to a Dead-End Thank You Page
Most practices spend time improving ads, landing pages, and consult forms.
But then, after a parent fills out the form, they land on a basic page that says, “Thank you. We’ll be in touch.”
That is a missed opportunity.
The moment right after someone requests a consultation is one of the highest-intent moments in the entire patient journey. They are interested right now. Do not waste that attention.
Here’s the play:
● Use your thank you page to tell them exactly what happens next: who will contact them, how soon, and what they should expect.
● Add a direct scheduling option if your system allows it. Some families are ready to book immediately.
● Include a short video from the doctor or TC welcoming them and explaining the consult experience.
● Answer the top 3 questions parents usually have before the first visit: cost, insurance, treatment options, and timing.
● Add trust builders: reviews, before-and-after examples, team photos, or a quick “what makes us different” section.
● Track how many people schedule directly from the thank you page or click to call after submitting the form.
The bottom line:
A form submission is not the finish line.
It is the handoff.
Make the next step clear while the parent is still paying attention.
🔥Trending in the Orthopreneurs Facebook Group🔥
💬 Looking for advice.
Small ortho office. High quality work. 3.5 days a week seeing 30-45 patients per day but could probably do it in 3 but it would be stressful/limit after school appts (I realize others could do it in 1-2 days a week). Have 4 clinical and 1 consult chair. I am thinking of bringing on an associate so I can come in 1-2 days per week but worry it will just cause more headaches. Has anyone been in a similar situation and had a pleasant experience having an associate or did you take a long time training them and then they leave and you just paid for their education? How did you find your associate aao? facebook? Thank you.
🗣️Sharing experiences can help make the right choice for you!
🎙️ On the Podcast: The Biggest Financial Decision of Your Orthodontic Career? | 5MF
if I told you one of the biggest financial decisions of your career shouldn’t start with “yes” or “no” — it should start with getting educated?
The OSO and private equity landscape is changing quickly, and I don’t believe orthodontists should make a decision based on fear, hype, or someone else’s agenda. If you’re considering an OSO, this could become one of the largest financial transactions of your life. You owe it to yourself to understand exactly what you’re evaluating.
In this episode of Five Minute Friday, I share my perspective after roughly six years of studying the OSO space and five years inside Smile Doctors. I break down why today’s environment looks different from 2021, how the cost of money and broader economic uncertainty can affect deal flow, and why OSOs and DSOs should not automatically be treated as the same thing.
✨ Final Thoughts
This week gives us a pretty clear picture of where things are going. McDonald’s is already using AI to reshape how tens of thousands of physical locations operate, Meta is changing how we may interact with computers, and the major AI companies are pouring extraordinary amounts of compute into systems that are already beginning to make meaningful scientific discoveries.
The practical question is what you’re doing to keep up. Give your team access to capable AI tools, train them to use those tools well, and keep looking for the workflows where AI can save time, improve performance or eliminate unnecessary work. The technology is going to keep moving quickly. Your goal should be to make sure the capabilities of your practice are moving with it.
– Mike Vidikan
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