Your Worst Nightmare About Dental Office Design Come to Life

For many, (around ten percent of the population) the thought of going to any dental office is a terrifying one. Indeed, dental phobia is real, and medical professionals in the dentistry field need to recognize this if they’re going to overcome stereotypes and negative connotations. The good news is, the way your practice is laid out and organized can have an alleviating effect on nervous patients. Conversely though, a poor dental office design could compound your patients’ fears, and irritate your other visitors as well. On that note, today we’re going to examine the worst case scenario in dental office design. Here’s a few nightmarish design elements to avoid like the plague at your office:

A Sparse Waiting Room

Modern consumers have more needs than their predecessors. Indeed, any sort  of waiting room –– whether in a medical facility or otherwise –– has to boast a wide variety of modern accommodations. WiFi, TVs, outlets, phone chargers, and other technological creature comforts are more-or-less mandatory for dental waiting rooms these days. Even if you don’t cater specifically to business professionals, virtually everyone requires seamless internet access these days.

Incongruous Design 

Who are your patients? Some dentists specialize in offering services for families; others work almost exclusively with adults and businesspeople. As such, the nature of your clientele should dictate the way you decorate your office. Cold, sleek design choices might suit the executive crowd, but will make young children feel uneasy and out of place. In short, make certain that your decor choices jibe with the demographic at your practice.

Senses Beyond Sight 

How a dental office looks is obviously going to have a big effect on how visitors, patients, and employees perceive it. Still, it’s patently unwise to ignore the other senses when building or renovating a medical practice. Work to control the smells and sounds that pervade your practice. In fact, dentists in particular will want to invest in walls that are thick enough to mask the sound certain drills make –– since that noise has been linked with dental phobia. 

Confusing Layout Choices

Ideally, your patients should be able to speak with one of your staff members at any point during their visit to your location. Dental offices that separate employees from patients invite confusion and irritation. Furthermore, do everything that you can to make your hallways connect intuitively with the rest of your practice. You don’t want patients –– or team members –– getting lost!

Miscellaneous

A good office renovation should provide solutions to a myriad of problems. If any of the following aspects of poor design sounds familiar, then you may want to have a re-think about your dental workspace layout:

• Harsh, unwelcoming lighting.
• Lack of snack or drink choices.
• Uncomfortable, old, or broken furniture.
• Easily overlooked facade.

Watch out for all of these less-than-stellar design features. They could be upsetting your clientele –– and costing your business.

Contact the Pros

Need help getting a dental office renovation off the ground? Then make sure to contact the Key Interiors team today. We’ve worked with dentists for years and know how to address the unique issues medical professionals face every day. What’s more, to learn how we can ensure that your next design project gets done on time –– and on budget –– download our free eBook here:

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