Ventus AI CEO Peter Qian visits Smilist Co-founder Philip Toh at their Great Neck, Long Island office to discuss how Smilist grew from zero to 115+ dental offices — and how Ventus AI Teammates help them scale operations without losing the human touch.
A Conversation at Great Neck, Long Island
Our CEO Peter Qian recently traveled to Great Neck, Long Island to visit one of The Smilist's dental offices and sit down with Co-founder & President Philip Toh. The conversation covered how Smilist went from an idea to 115+ locations, why technology has been central to that growth, and how Ventus AI fits into the picture as Smilist scales to serve a million patients a year.
Watch the full conversation below.
Peter Qian, Co-founder & CEO of Ventus AI, and Philip Toh, Co-founder & President of The Smilist, at their Great Neck, Long Island office.
From Zero to 115+ Locations: The Smilist Story
Peter kicks off the conversation with a simple question: how did The Smilist go from 0 to 100+?
Philip explains that when he and his co-founder Rob first had the idea, DSOs were popping up across the country — but there was a gap in the New York Metro area. They saw that as an opportunity to build something new, something that was patient-focused and technology-focused from day one.
That dual focus is what eventually led Smilist to Ventus. When you build a DSO around the idea that technology should drive better patient care, you inevitably need partners who share that philosophy.
The Scaling Problem
Peter picks up on Philip's mention of being both patient-focused and technology-focused: "How do you see these two things come together? How does technology help with your operation?"
Philip's answer gets to the core challenge every fast-growing DSO faces:
"One of the things that we think a lot about is just how do we grow at scale? We're not sacrificing all the things that we're accustomed to. It's certainly very different — an office of one location versus 115 locations. Technology allows us to deliver a certain level of service, not only for patients, but also for staff. How do you get the team members to work at the top of their license?"
That phrase — "work at the top of their license" — is exactly the problem Ventus was built to solve. When billing staff spend hours manually checking claim statuses across dozens of payer portals, they're not working at the top of their license. They're doing repetitive, high-volume tasks that drain time and attention from higher-value work.
That's where Ventus AI Teammates come in. Today, Ventus statuses 3,000+ claims per week for Smilist — logging into payer portals, pulling claim statuses, flagging denials, and delivering actionable reports. Work that used to consume staff hours across 115+ offices now runs autonomously.
AI as a Teammate: Philip's Take on What Ventus Gets Right
Peter then brings up the topic that's on every healthcare executive's mind: AI. He notes that people sometimes worry — "Is it dangerous? Is it going to hurt the experience with the human element?"
Philip's response cuts through the noise:
"We don't think about it that way at all. As you just used the term 'teammate' — it's really how can technology enhance all the things that we do? We're in the healthcare services business. The human aspect is something that we don't want to lose."
Then he puts the scale into perspective:
"We're seeing a million patients a year. How do we deliver that at scale and allow the personal touch to be enhanced by the technology that gets the right information, and the right kind of task done, so that we can deliver that vital service?"
A million patients a year. At that scale, the question isn't whether to use AI — it's whether your AI partner can keep up. Ventus's approach resonates with Smilist because it mirrors how they think about technology: not as a replacement for people, but as a teammate that handles the operational load so humans can focus on patient care.
And that teammate concept goes beyond claim automation. Ventus also built and delivered SmileGPT for Smilist — a custom AI-powered Slack bot that lives right where the team already communicates. Staff across any of Smilist's 115+ offices can ask SmileGPT questions about company SOPs, internal processes, and operational guidelines, and get instant, accurate answers. No digging through shared drives, no waiting for a manager to respond. It's the "AI Teammate" idea in its most literal form — a colleague in Slack who always knows the playbook and is available 24/7.
As Philip has said elsewhere:
"Ventus stands out from the noise in the AI and automation market. Their approach allows them to ramp up quickly in the messy middle of RCM, helping us pull timely statuses on open claims so we can act faster. The team moves fast and consistently delivers real results."
Execution at Scale: Why the Partnership Works
Toward the end of the conversation, Philip reflects on what's made Smilist successful:
"One of the things that we love here, and why we've been able to be successful, is we've been able to provide a service that I think is lacking in this market. Maybe it sounds simple, but execution is what's difficult. And it's something that we've been able to do across the entire multi-site."
Peter closes by echoing that: "Not only do you run the process seamlessly, but you really think about how you combine the power of technology and the process to enhance your patient care."
This is what makes the Smilist–Ventus partnership work. Both teams care about execution over promises. Smilist doesn't want flashy AI demos — they want claims processed correctly, every night, across every office. And that's what Ventus delivers:
| What Ventus Delivers for Smilist | Details |
|---|---|
| Offices supported | 115+ |
| Claims statused weekly | 3,000+ |
| SmileGPT | AI Slack bot for instant SOP and process answers |
| Deployment time | 30 days |
| Coverage | 24/7 |
| Integration approach | Works inside existing payer portals and Slack — no API rip-and-replace |
What Other DSOs Can Take from This
1. Start with a technology-first mindset. Smilist didn't bolt on technology after scaling — it was core to their DNA from day one. DSOs planning for growth should think the same way about AI.
2. Let your team work at the top of their license. If your billing staff is spending hours pulling claim statuses from portals, that's work an AI Teammate should be doing. Free your people for the work that requires human judgment.
3. AI should enhance the human touch, not replace it. With a million patients a year, Smilist uses Ventus to handle operational volume so the patient experience stays personal.
4. Execution beats everything. As Philip says — everyone talks about patient service. The hard part is doing it consistently, across every location, every day.
Want to see how Ventus AI Teammates can help your DSO scale the way Smilist has?
Book a free 15-minute demo and find out how we automate the messy middle of dental RCM — so your team can work at the top of their license.
Ready to Transform Your Dental RCM?
See how Ventus AI agents can automate your claim denial management and AR follow-up in under 7 days—no complex integrations required.
Book Your Free Demo
