Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. We are a marketing agency for multi-location dental groups, and we start with your data. We offer landing page design, conversion rate optimization, geofencing, digital advertising, messaging, and ad creative, alongside the analysis and dashboards that tell us where to point them. What differs is the starting point: we diagnose what each location actually needs before we recommend a tactic. OcclusionOS is the diagnostic and advisory arm of Ambient Array, based in Austin, Texas. You can engage us for the diagnostic alone, or for the diagnostic and the execution together.

No. Strategy is where we start, not what we sell. We install a cross-functional framework that integrates marketing, operations, and management decision-making into a unified system, then execute the marketing work that follows from it. We surface constraints wherever they exist, whether they are in demand, intake, scheduling, case acceptance, or care continuity.

Our starting point is how each location turns demand into booked visits, accepted treatment, and purchased procedures. We connect that analysis to market conditions and available capacity before recommending marketing investment. One office may need stronger intake; another may need a better landing page or more advertising. Most agencies start with the tactic. We start with the diagnosis, then execute, so before you cut another check you know which constraint deserves the next dollar.

The OS in OcclusionOS stands for operating system: a clear set of desired outputs, a common language across marketing, operations, and clinical teams, and a repeatable set of decision rules. Everything we deliver, from diagnostics to dashboards to prioritized actions, is designed to update that operating system, not just add another report you have to interpret on your own.

We work with what you have: PMS exports, intake data, digital performance, geographic coverage, staffing, and scheduling. We supplement with patient surveys, third-party census data, and proprietary frameworks.

We use a secure, read-only connection to your OpenDental MySQL or MariaDB backend, or a set of exported CSVs if you prefer. Because we read directly from the database, we can run queries across every location at once and see treatment plan density, scheduling, collections, and patient geography in one place. The connection is read-only, so there is zero ability to alter clinical notes or change your live database.

No. The framework automates the SQL work, so provider production, collections, unscheduled treatment, and recall gaps become visible without anyone on your team becoming a database analyst. OpenDental ships with hundreds of prebuilt queries, but most owners hit a SQL expertise barrier long before they get answers. We remove that barrier and hand you the answers, not the query editor.

Native reports often rely on definitions that drift from one location to the next, so the same word can mean different things at different offices. They also reward vanity signals like a full schedule, which can hide an under-monetized location. Reading the underlying data lets us apply consistent definitions across every office and separate a busy schedule from a profitable one.

Our read-only database method is proven on OpenDental, which runs on a MySQL or MariaDB backend. If your group runs a different practice-management system, talk to us about your setup, because much of the diagnostic work can still be done from structured exports. We will be straight with you about what is and is not possible with your specific system before you commit.

Yes. A signed Business Associate Agreement comes before anyone touches your data. No third party should access practice data without a BAA in place, and it is the first and least negotiable step in our process. From there we work under HIPAA-aware practices designed for clinical-grade data.

Three ways. First, a signed BAA before any access. Second, a read-only connection, so we can see the data but cannot alter clinical notes or your live database. Third, least-privilege access and encryption: we take only the access the analysis requires, and anything patient-identifiable is strongly encrypted. Patient data is precisely what HIPAA restricts most, so the architecture is built for security first.

No. The connection is strictly read-only. We can query and analyze your data, but we have zero ability to write to, alter, or corrupt the live database or any clinical note. Your system keeps running exactly as it does today while we work.

The Focused Growth Diagnostic starts at $16,500. The Location Growth Plan plus Executive Dashboards starts at $22,500. Both are fixed-scope projects. Your proposal specifies the locations, data sources, deliverables, and timeline covered by the fee. Marketing implementation, ongoing dashboard support, and advertising spend are identified separately so you can see the full commitment before approving work.

No. The two diagnostics are fixed-scope engagements, not subscriptions, and any ongoing relationship runs month-to-month with no lock-in. A vendor confident in its results does not need a contractual trap to keep you. If you ever want to stop you can, and you keep everything we built with you.

Yes. We offer landing page design, conversion rate optimization, geofencing, digital advertising, messaging, and ad creative. We agree the execution scope around your priorities, locations, and internal capabilities. Implementation is optional: some clients execute in-house, others use their existing agency, and others hand the work to us. The diagnosis stands on its own either way.

Light and structured. The Location Growth Plan plus Executive Dashboards involves a two-hour kickoff, off-site research and modeling by us, a ninety-minute interim alignment, and a three-hour results and strategy session. The Focused Growth Diagnostic is a ninety-minute kickoff, our off-site work, and a two-hour results session. Most of the heavy lifting happens on our side, not yours.

Yes. Your diagnostic has agreed deliverables, not an open-ended promise. If we cannot deliver the diagnostic outputs specified in your agreement, we refund your diagnostic fee. The guarantee covers delivery of the agreed work, not a particular revenue or treatment outcome.

The Location Growth Plan plus Executive Dashboards includes an Audience Array persona-based economic model, a geographic and trade-area audit, location and lifecycle diagnostics, a digital and intake systems review, a care continuity and monetization analysis, patient surveys where appropriate, economic sizing with realistic growth bands, a strategic prioritization framework, and a KPI architecture with executive dashboards. The Focused Growth Diagnostic delivers a lighter, system-level version of the same core analysis. Landing pages, advertising, conversion rate optimization, messaging, and creative are separate implementation services unless expressly included.

It is built to be acted on. Data that stays on a dashboard is a liability, so the diagnosis converts into concrete steps: which patients with unscheduled treatment to call first, which lapsed recall to reactivate in which neighborhoods, and where collections are slipping against benchmark. You leave with role-specific dashboards and a prioritized action list, not just a slide deck.

Diagnostic clarity is delivered in two to three weeks. Strategic clarity, meaning what to do, in what order, and with what resources, follows shortly after. Execution timelines vary by initiative, but you leave with a prioritized roadmap from day one.

Both. The framework scales across many locations, but it is equally valuable for a high-performing single-site practice that wants structured growth discipline. It becomes especially useful once a group passes its third or fourth location, where managing by gut feel starts to break down.

You do not need to replace your existing agency. We can provide the analysis, measurement definitions, and priorities your team uses to guide its work, and leave execution where it is. If you would rather we executed part of the plan, we agree responsibilities before starting so every deliverable has a clear owner.

Before accepting an engagement, we review potential competitive overlap in the relevant markets. We explain any restrictions in writing and do not share your confidential data or strategy with another client. Geographic exclusivity is included only when it is expressly agreed. If overlap is a concern for your market, raise it early and we will talk through how we handle it.

Human-led. The work is led by Jed Jones, principal of OcclusionOS. Automation supports the analysis, and we use AI extensively to process large amounts of practice and market data, but human judgment determines what the findings mean, which limitations matter, and what your team should do next. Your proposal identifies who leads the work and reviews the recommendations.