How you can acquire anxious patients by creating a pleasant atmosphere in your dental practice
It is no secret that many people are afraid of going to the dentist. This may be expressed as nervousness before treatment. In extreme cases, the patient may even avoid visiting the dental altogether! The interior design of your practice has a powerful impact on your patients’ sense of wellbeing. Our tips will ensure that you create a comfortable atmosphere in your dental practice right from the start, allowing you to effectively soothe your patient’s fears even before you see each other in the treatment room.
Treatment room
The treatment room is the heart of your dental practice. We have already given you a lot to think about, but here are a few more points that you should note when you design your dental practice.
The dental chair should be the focal point of the treatment room design, since this is the place where the patient will spend most of their time during an appointment. This is why a comfortable treatment chair is essential.
Treatment units, like the KaVo ESTETICA E70/E80 Vision, have a broad back support and comfortable head cushion. Integrated height adjustment also allows you to individually adjust the treatment chair to any body height.
You can distract your patients during treatment to make it more pleasant with a digital music player or television. If you want to put a television in your treatment room, ensure that your patients have a good view of it when they are lying down. Always ask your patients what they would like to watch before treatment.
There are other minor details that make a visit to the dentist more pleasant for your patients:
- An area for parents or companions to sit
- Hooks to hang up jackets or handbags
- A small sink fitted with a mirror, so that your patients can marvel at your good work, rinse their mouth, or freshen up their make-up before they leave the practice. The diligent among them may even want to brush their teeth.
Simply ask your family, friends and employees for their stories of positive and negative experiences at the dentist. You will gain a wealth of information and receive individual tips for you to consider when you design your dental practice.
Reception and waiting room.
You will need to take certain steps to make your patients feel good from the moment they enter your practice. Wall colour, interior design and light sources all play a significant role in ensuring the wellbeing of your patients.
We know that wall colour affects the atmosphere in a room. The reception and waiting area should therefore be painted in a soothing colour, such as beige or light brown tones. This can be easily combined with green, orange or purple to place colour accents.
A room that appears bright and friendly has a positive effect on patient wellbeing. Avoid making your waiting room dark and gloomy – make sure that there are adequate sources of light to illuminate the room in different directions.
Furniture is another way for you to ensure patient comfort. Make sure that you have comfortable chairs or sofas in the waiting room, and that there are enough places to sit.
You should always have a comprehensive offer of magazines available, even if you assume that your patients will probably spend most of their time on their smartphones.
Think about how old your patients are when you make these choices: If you treat children, you should also provide both toys and children's books to help to shorten the waiting time. Elderly patients will be delighted to see magazines with large print.
You do not only have to include popular magazines and books – you can also keep your patients informed of new services, products or specials!
Little details like the right background music and fragrances will affect patient wellbeing. Some cleansers or anaesthetic agents have a strong smell and may intensify patient anxiety. Keep these liquids in a completely different room. A subtle fragrance to neutralise odours, on the other hand, will do wonders for patient wellbeing.
Fragrances that have notes of lavender, jasmine or valerian, are an excellent choice, since they have a calming effect. Ensure that you also have appropriate pictures, photographs or posters on the walls and that everything is neat and tidy.
