A Guide to Designing a Dental Office
Not everyone loves to go to the dentist. For some, it’s a very anxiety-ridden experience and can even prevent them from taking proper care of their dental health. Empty, cold, and bright white dental office designs can further people’s distaste for medical environments and make them reluctant to see a dentist.
Our Guide to Designing a Dental Office
A physical space can have a huge effect on a person’s emotional and mental wellbeing, which we explored in a recent article, How Interior Design Affects Our Mental Health. But not only can it affect a person’s mood, but the interior design of your dental office acts as a physical representation of the quality of your business. This means that patients in the waiting room will evaluate your business based on the atmosphere you create.
Janks Design Group has put together a guide to designing a dental office so that you know how to create ambient space for your patients to relax in prior to their appointment. Now let’s dive into some dental office design tips that are sure to make your business stand out from the rest, create a positive atmosphere and help you acquire new patients.
1. A PATIENT-FRIENDLY LAYOUT
Ideally, you want your patients to arrive in a well-lit open space where they are directed towards the reception for a warm welcome. The layout of your practice will play a large part in the patient’s experience as well as the flow of the daily office tasks. But you will also need to consider the functionality of the office for your staff and ensure their needs are being met.
Here are some spaces you need to consider during the interior design of your dental office:
- A friendly waiting room
- One or more service rooms
- Areas for administrative activities
- Separate toilets for patients and staff
- A sterilization room
- Room or cabinets for equipment storage
- Communal area or lunchroom for staff
- Kid-friendly play areas
To better manage the flow of the office, you need to design walkways and spaces that allow staff, doctors and patients to coexist. If you don’t do this you risk having unorganized spaces, a decrease in productivity and a lack of privacy.
A professional interior designer can help with the planning and designing of your dental office so that you can optimize your space and utilize it to its fullest potential.
2. LIGHTING
When it comes to your dental office’s interior lighting, you want to make sure you get this right. Lighting is a great tool to help create an inviting environment, especially for those patients who may be afraid of treatment and/or nervous.
Lighting in dental offices can be divided into two main categories; general lighting and task lighting. Operation light would fall under the category of task lighting. General lighting should be balanced, meaning that no areas should be alarmingly bright, nor should any areas be very dark.
Researchers have found that a 500 lux light level is recommended for the general lighting in the dental office, 1000 lux for the treatment rooms and 10,000 lux for the light positioned above the operation chair.
The easiest way to find the ideal lighting for all the areas in your dental office is to work with an experienced interior designer. The team at Janks Design Group has years of experience designing commercial spaces including dental offices. JDG’s designers can efficiently execute the planning, development and implementation of your new dental office design that will add functionality and style.
3. BRING IN SOME GREENERY
Most people don’t enjoy sitting in waiting rooms, especially if the atmosphere is stuffy and uncomfortable. Bringing in greenery, whether that’s plants, flowers or decorative dried leaves, for example, can help breathe some life into the space.
If your dental office lacks natural light, you can opt for plants that don’t require sun. Here is a list of plants that do well in low-light conditions;
- Areca Palm
- Lady Palm
- Dragon Tree
- Rubber Plant
- Neanthe Bella Palm
- Janet Craig Dracaena
- Corn Plant
- Kentia Palm
HOW CAN JANKS DESIGN GROUP HELP BRING YOUR VISION TO LIFE?
The interior design experts at Janks Design Group can help bring your dental office to life. The team will provide their services, from concept development, design, to planning, all the way through to construction. If you would like to see how Janks Design Group can transform your dental office, click here to visit our contact page.
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