What if your dental practice could attract more patients without chasing every new marketing tool or running endless ad campaigns?
For Bogomil Stoev, the answer is simple: growth comes from pairing technology with strategy, and building systems where trust is the foundation.
In this episode of The TechDental Podcast, host Dr Randeep Singh Gill explores with Bogomil Stoev, Founder of The Strategic Kreator, Co-Founder & CMO of Commenter AI, and Co-Owner of St Apolonia Dental Clinic why many practices stall, how to use AI as a helper rather than a replacement, and why clarity and focus matter more than scattered efforts across too many tools and channels.
The Real Growth Mistake: Tools Without Strategy
Many practices pour money into CRMs, dashboards, and analytics, only to find that new patient numbers stay flat. Bogomil explains why: tools themselves don’t deliver growth.
A CRM full of old leads that no one follows up on is just storage, not strategy. A dashboard that shows activity doesn’t explain why patients aren’t converting. Too often, practices mistake the appearance of progress for real results.
Bogomil argues that the missing link is a clear patient journey: a step-by-step system that takes someone from awareness to trust, to booked treatment. Technology can make that journey smoother, but it cannot design it for you.
Trust: The Currency That Actually Converts
With over 19 years in marketing and the experience of running his own dental clinic, Bogomil knows first-hand that patients don’t choose based on tools; they choose based on trust.
Advertising costs are rising, and conversion rates from ads are falling. That means credibility has never mattered more. Reviews, professional profiles, and authentic engagement now carry more weight than polished campaigns.
Bogomil’s advice is simply to adopt a “give before you ask” mindset. Share insights, provide value, and engage genuinely, whether on LinkedIn, in community groups, or directly with patients. Over time, this builds the kind of trust that ads can’t buy, the trust that makes someone confident enough to book.
Why “Likes Don’t Buy Food”
Social media is often the biggest trap. High engagement numbers feel good, but Bogomil warns that they can be misleading.
He recalls a client who posted on LinkedIn for nine months without closing a single patient. The posts were well-liked, but they weren’t built to start conversations. Once the client shifted to content that invited dialogue, he booked his first new patient within two weeks.
As Bogomil puts it: “Likes don’t buy food. Sales buy the food.” The goal of content is not to collect reactions but to spark conversations, because conversations are the bridge to real growth.
A Simple System for Busy Dental Leaders
Most practice owners don’t have hours each day to spend on marketing. That’s why Bogomil recommends a streamlined approach that still creates consistent visibility:
Rework your LinkedIn profile. Make it clear who you help and why patients should choose you.
Engage before you post. Spend time commenting thoughtfully on posts from potential patients or partners.
Post once a week. Quality, valuable content beats high frequency that doesn’t convert.
Move conversations off the feed. Direct messages are where trust deepens and appointments are made.
This method avoids overwhelm and keeps effort focused where it matters most, on building relationships that turn into treatments.
AI as Copilot: The Role of Commenter AI
Bogomil doesn’t see AI as a replacement for dentists or staff. Instead, he frames it as a copilot: a tool that saves time and opens doors, but leaves final decisions to humans.
With Commenter AI, his team built a platform that helps dentists and consultants engage strategically. The tool surfaces relevant posts from potential patients or referral sources and generates draft comments in seconds. These comments can then be tailored by the dentist to reflect their own voice and expertise.
The result: consistent visibility at scale, without losing the authenticity that builds trust. As Bogomil reminds us, “AI can handle 70% of the backend, but it will never build the trust part.”
Protecting Your Name: Why Speed Isn’t Always an Advantage
“Move fast and break things” might work in tech startups, but Bogomil warns it can be disastrous in dentistry.
When practice owners rush to automate or scale without care, they risk damaging the very thing that growth depends on, which is their reputation. “By breaking things, you are actually killing your opportunities because you are killing the trust in the process of trying to achieve something pretty fast.”
In a field where your name is tied directly to patient care, trust lost is hard to recover. Growth needs to be steady, deliberate, and centred on credibility.
Key Takeaways for Dental Leaders
Bogomil’s message is not about doing more, but about doing the right things:
Don’t scatter your efforts across ten tools or channels. Focus on the one that brings your best patients.
Use AI to save time and extend visibility, but keep trust-building firmly in human hands.
Treat content as a conversation starter, not a popularity contest.
Protect your reputation because credibility is your greatest growth asset.
For dentists, DSOs, and industry leaders, the lesson is clear: growth comes from systems that combine strategy, simplicity, and trust. AI will help along the way, but the human touch remains irreplaceable.
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FAQs
Is AI going to replace dentists or staff?
No. As Bogomil emphasises, AI can handle backend tasks like reminders, scheduling, and visibility, but it cannot build trust. Your team remains central to patient care and communication; AI simply frees up time so you can focus more on patients.
Should I try every marketing channel?
No. One of the biggest mistakes is spreading yourself too thin across ten different platforms. Instead, audit where your best patients are already coming from, double down on that channel, and scale once the system is working.
Can AI tools run my marketing for me?
Not entirely. AI should be seen as a copilot as it can suggest actions, surface opportunities, and save time, but the final judgment and trust-building must come from you. Patients choose dentists based on credibility, not automations.
How much time do I need to spend on LinkedIn?
Even a few hours a month can make a difference. Optimise your profile, engage with the right people, and post once a week. Quality interactions and conversations matter far more than posting daily without a strategy.
Can dentists really get patients from LinkedIn?
Yes. Bogomil explains that LinkedIn can become a powerful patient acquisition tool if used strategically. It’s not about chasing likes, it’s about building trust, engaging in meaningful conversations, and moving those conversations into direct messages where real relationships form.
If you’re a dental owner, associate, or industry entrepreneur wondering how to grow without burning out your team or wasting money on scattered tools, this episode is your signal. AI and visibility systems aren’t about doing more for the sake of activity; they’re about focusing on trust, simplicity, and systems that scale.
Start small. Rework your profile. Engage with one patient channel. Use AI as your helper, not your replacement. Then watch how the right foundation transforms growth.
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