You’ve done it! You’ve finally taken the plunge, and you are about to open your very own dental practice: congratulations. Now, we know that this probably hasn’t come that easy, and you absolutely want to make the very best of this exciting opportunity, and that means a whole lot of extra work has to go into things before you throw open your doors to the public. As well as the more traditional side, like marketing, getting a website, handing out some flyers, and talking with your previous or current patients about your move, you should definitely start to think about the overall design of your dental practice. This is where your interior design skills need to come to the fore.
But what if you don’t really have any? Not everyone is a natural with a paintbrush, and not everyone enjoys doing DIY on the weekends. What then? Well, all you need to do is follow these five easy steps, and you’ll find yourself in a dental practice that not only your patients, but your staff as well enjoy being in. You want to make your dental practice a welcoming place, after all, a place where people can relax and feel comfortable, ready for their consultation with you. We chatted to Dr Paige Woods about just that, as she runs her own dental clinic in San Diego, and she agreed with us that there are five clear things that you absolutely must do to ensure that the design of your place is a success:
Think about colors
Having warm and bright colors is always going to be preferable to having cold colors – or worse, colors that remind people of a hospital! Think warm terracotta with cream, think gold, think some bright yellows, and make sure that people have a smile on their faces as soon as they walk through your door.
Think about light
There’s nothing worse than feeling as though you are underground when you’re not, and if your dental practice does not have a large number of windows, then it’s time that you thought about sitting down and planning new ones! Just one or two well placed windows can really open up a place with light.
Think about softness
No one wants to be waiting to see their dentist on a hard plastic chair with their feet on harsh plastic lino. Instead, think about having soft comfy chairs on a hardwood floor, with plenty of cushions and rugs for people to snuggle up in. This softness will greatly help people to relax when they come to see you.
Think about space
Claustrophobia is one of the key symptoms of someone who has dental anxiety, and this is made ten times worse when there is a huge amount going on in a room. Keep picture on the walls to a minimum, and make sure that patients can’t see all of the filing and craziness of the office to give the place a sense of peace.
Think about journey
This is something that dentists rarely think of, but it is vital for you to understand just how your patients will travel through your dental practice if you are to make sure that the interior design is perfect. Is there a strange step when you move from one corridor to another? Does the change in lighting when they moving from a corridor to your consultation room blind them? It’s these little things that you can change that your patients will never be able to thank you for – because hopefully they never saw the alternative.
