In this season-finale episode of The Burleson Box, Dustin Burleson is joined by longtime collaborator and digital marketing pioneer Jimmy Nicholas for a wide-ranging conversation on how artificial intelligence is actively reshaping dentistry and orthodontics.
Their story goes back more than a decade to the Dan Kennedy GKIC days, a marketer-of-the-year competition, and the early experiments that turned Google into one of Dustin’s top sources of new patients. Now, after selling his agency and sitting out a non-compete, Jimmy returns with a new focus on AI, compliance, automation, and what he calls “simple alignment” across marketing, operations, and team communication.
This conversation moves well past surface-level AI hype. Dustin and Jimmy unpack what is actually working right now inside real practices, what most doctors still misunderstand, and where real opportunity exists heading into 2026.
You will hear why Answer Engine Optimization, or AEO, may soon matter more than traditional SEO, how AI is changing follow-up systems, phone automation, and patient communication, and why most medical and dental websites are still invisible to large language models. They also discuss the risks that come with careless AI use, including HIPAA violations, hallucinated data, and unreliable financial calculations.
This episode is essential listening for any practice owner who wants to stay competitive, protect their team’s time, and apply AI with discipline rather than guesswork.
Resources Mentioned: