How to Transform Your Practice with Modern Dental Office Design
Overview
Let’s face it, your dental office is unlikely to rank high on a patient’s list of favourite destinations. But did you know that your dental office design could be making each trip to the dentist even more unpleasant than it needs to be? That’s because the interior design of your dental practice – from the reception area through to the procedure room – can have a big impact on the patient experience: affecting mood, increasing anxiety, and even potentially driving new patients away.
It’s essential that you gear your interior design efforts towards creating a pleasant, welcoming, and relaxing environment in which patients can feel more at ease during their trip to the dentist.
Today, let’s explore some dental office design ideas that are sure to put a smile on your patients’ dial.
Modern Dental Office Design Tips
Designing a modern dental office can be a tricky process. Weighing the needs of your patients against the needs of your staff, the interior design of your dental practice needs to strike the balance between functionality, practicality, comfort, and style.
Unfortunately, there’s no single best dental office design, so setting up your space is going to involve a lot of careful consideration about what you aim to achieve, and the kind of environment you wish to create for your patients.
Use our modern dental office interior design tips to inspire you.
Best Dental Office Interior Design
Dental office interior design factors such as your colour scheme, lighting, and even your choice of decorations can all heavily impact your patient’s perception of your practice the moment they step into the waiting room. The good news is, that gives you a lot of opportunities to manage how patients feel as they enter your dental office.
Here are some ways you can use modern office design to influence and improve the patient experience.
Lighting
A well-lit practice can feel more open, comfortable, and inviting than a poorly lit room. Strategic placement of lights can also help guide patients towards specific areas such as the reception desk, waiting room, or bathroom.
Make sure your dental office is adequately lit, and avoid stark and harsh lighting such as daylight bulbs. Also, where possible, try to let natural light into your dental office to brighten up the space.
Utilise Natural and Artificial Light
Acoustics
When patients are feeling nervous or frightened, the last thing they want is to feel as though they’re being watched by others. The sound of dental tools can also be quite unsettling for patients in other rooms or awaiting their appointment.
Improving the acoustics in your building can help patients feel more at ease during their procedure, while also creating a more pleasant environment for staff and clients in the reception area.
There are a number of ways of improving acoustics in your dental office design:
Adequate insulation between rooms
Enclosed procedure rooms
Seals on the doors
Mobile partitions or operable walls – these offer greater privacy while retaining flexibility in your dental office design
Acoustic wall panels in the waiting room
Acoustic ceiling panels in the procedure room where they’re less likely to get splashed and dirty.
Colour
Beyond simply brightening up the space and making it look trendy, a carefully considered colour palette can help influence patient mood and even promote a sense of calm. This is particularly important in dental offices where patients may be feeling anxious or frightened about their upcoming appointment.
Soothing colours to use in dental office interior design include:
Soft Colours Create a More Soothing Environment
Entertainment
To help patients remain calm in the lead up to their appointment – as well as during the appointment itself – it’s best to offer entertainment and sources of distraction.
Magazines, TVs, artwork, and toys for kids can all be welcome sources of distraction. You may even wish to set up a beautiful fish tank to add a little life to the room which also serves as a stunning visual display for your patients.
Smell
It may not be the first thing you think about when it comes to modern dental office design, but our sense of smell can have a big impact on our mood and state of mind. Dental offices that Incorporate gentle and soothing scents can help promote a sense of calm.
Soothing scents include:
Lavender
Chamomile
Vanilla
Cedarwood
Lemongrass
Jasmine
Place Diffusers in the Reception Area
Layout
Your dental practice should be easy to navigate without having to search too hard for rooms or facilities. A sprawling layout can be confusing and may even increase a patient’s unease.
In general, modern medical office design guidelines recommend to try to set up your dental office design in a way that’s easy to follow, and avoid placing too many obstacles in key walkways. Including a sign over important rooms and facilities can also help people get around more easily.
Dental Clinic: Space Requirements
People tend to be more comfortable when they don’t feel cramped or claustrophobic. Offering adequate space is vital for patients visiting your practice, as well as for dentists and nurses who need enough room to safely perform procedures without dropping or knocking over all the tools.
In the waiting room, modern office waiting area design guidelines would suggest you try to avoid clutter and ensure adequate space around the reception desk, as well as chairs. You can help free up some space by removing unnecessary items, or even mounting them to the wall. In the procedure room, all staff should be able to move around freely without bumping into each other or getting in each other’s way.
How much space your dental office needs to safely cater to staff and patients will depend on a variety of factors, including how many chairs are running at any one time, and your target demographic. For example, dentists that work mostly with families will likely need to provide bigger procedure rooms for parents and children.
Check out this helpful resource to learn more about floor space considerations for dental offices.
Enhance the Sense of Spaciousness
Dental Office: Ceiling Design
Dental offices are one of the few places where your clients will likely spend most of their time staring at the ceiling, so don’t forget this in your dental office design!
Decorating your ceiling can help distract your patients during procedures, while also assisting in preventing boredom, particularly if you specialise in children’s dentistry. Here are some interior design ideas for making your ceiling more exciting.
Place an image, mural, or painting on the roof to inspire and delight
Utilise modern technology such as a television screen
Post written notes, jokes, or funny statements to lighten the mood
Put up activities such as a giant word search or crossword
Create a theme in every room to spark the imagination
Calm vs Stressful Environment
Small Dental Office Design Ideas
Interior design can become particularly challenging for a dental office operating out of a small space. Thankfully, you can still create a comfortable, functional, and efficient facility without having to move to a larger premises.
Here are some modern dental office design ideas for maximising space efficiency.
Create a minimalist design to maximise space efficiency in your dental office
Use natural lighting to make the room seem larger and more open
Install glass instead of solid walls in the waiting room. This not only looks trendy, it also maximises the sense of space
Strategically place mirrors throughout your dental office to make the room seem larger and brighter
Utilise flexible elements in your dental office to better cater to your patients’ needs. For example, portable partitions can be used to create a temporary treatment room for a family with kids
Utilise sound absorbing partitions, insulation, and acoustic wall panels to contain sound, reduce reverberation, and give a better sense of privacy for patients
Decorate walls and ceilings rather than sacrificing floor space to decor
Purchase a smaller reception desk to open up more space in the waiting room
Within the procedure room, position all the tools in such a way that they’re always within reach without hampering movement
Modern, Stylish, and Practical
