help help... any1?

[yummysorju]

hi guys.... i am a graphic design student... doing a project to re-design the oral experience people feelings while in the dentist?

not considering about money or anything etc... it could be anything you could change in the practice so that it can make you feeling better inside the practice, what would it be?

ie the interior design? if there are interaction things to do? different chairs? colour of the dentist, the way receptionists reacts, or the way docter should behave? etc... and i mean change anything.....

any ideas.. will be brilliant.

many thanks


Helena

 

[mikey]

Hi yummy,

    There are a few things i wouldent mind changing...first would be that all doctors would be alot more gental with their procedures. Another thing is if they could expound apon differant flavours with the stuff they use, it would make it a better expireance if everything they used tasted great. One finnal thing i would like to add is if the dentists would be blue,"[highlight]colour of the dentist,[/highlight]" I would sit the whole time laughing at him making the expireance better!

whoow...felt like im writing an essays inroduction paragraph! where you state your points without going into details!

 

[brit]

The answer in my view is to make the environment and atmosphere as little like a traditional dentist's office set up as possible. Without the environmental triggers, patients naturally feel more relaxed..especially those with dental anxiety in the normal range....a more relaxed patient is easier/less stressful for a dentist to work on..it's a win..win situation....so how come dentists don't take this on board? Are they really so stingey (mean) when it comes to practice design?

Waiting rooms are the worst for inducing nerves...you have to get away from the cheapo image with lots of plastic/tatty chairs arranged around the wall...and dog-eared mags no-one can concentrate on...and please no fishtank. Think homely and comfy instead. Soothing music is a must. Up to date glossy mags and newspapers to flick through. Go to a sole practitioner who usually runs on time and you will never hear the drill sound being used on someone else even if they don't have soundproofed walls! No white walls. Cream is much better. Artwork please on the walls and in the surgery/operatory too. Smiley pleasant receptionist always helps too.

The most important factor is always the dentist's manner and personality (especially for a nervous patient) but if this is a given then a non-fear triggering environment can make the difference between 'just ok, glad that's over with for another 6 months' and positively pleasant experiences.

In your design, why not build in an area with comfy chairs/sofa where dentist and patient can touch base about what the treatment plan is that day before patient sits in the dental chair? Very useful for new patients - have a non-dental chat so they don't just feel like a set of teeth, whilst discussing the forms they have filled in. Good for accompanying relatives too.

Whilst most of us would arguably want the most hightech painfree dentistry available, this does not mean we want it to be delivered in a starkly clinical white environment, so please:
DO NOT WEAR WHITE!
No disinfectant smell - seems to have gone thesedays.
DO have dvd/tv available for long treatments but ensure you interact otherwise
Have as little equipment in view as possible and do not arrange the handpiece holder thing so it is 'in the patient's face'
Do have soft soothing background music.
Never have a black leather dental chair (reminiscent of barbers surgeons).
Most patients like privacy - if you are in the US, please try to steer away from the open multi-chair operatories and the production line approach to dentistry. For me to like and trust my dentist, they have to spend some time with me and share a little personal info..not just be someone who flits in and out from patient to patient to carry out procedures leaving others to do the other stuff....I would not want support staff doing my LA for instance.
Do have nitrous and other sedation options available.
Do train in advanced anaesthesia techniques for those 'hard to get numb' cases.

Moving to a 'dental spa' approach would be one stage further.....this 'distraction/pleasant environment stage' is probably sufficient for me as I am not into massages, manicures etc anyway but it sort of fits well with cosmetic dentistry. Seeing dentistry/orthodontistry as 'beauty treament' may work for some who would otherwise avoid treatment.

 

[brit]

One finnal thing i would like to add is if the dentists would be blue,"[highlight]colour of the dentist,[/highlight]" I would sit the whole time laughing at him making the expireance better!

What do you mean Mikey? A blue face (scary ) or wearing blue instead of white?
I've had very nice dentists who wear white and very nice dentists who wear blue...no prizes for guessing which ones I feel most comfortable around? Amazing what a difference such a small thing can make. Does away with 'white coat syndrome'.

 

[Issy]

Have soundproof Walls & Doors. When i was waiting for my appointment,i could hear the Drill & other noises coming from a Room (it wasn't my Dentists Room)
This caused me to get very upset & have a mini panic attack (was before the Valium kicked in)!

Luckily this Dentist doesn't have a proper Waiting Room, just a nice bright corridor with comfy Chairs  

Also [highlight]NEVER WEAR WHITE.[/highlight] Again luckily my Dentist & Assistant wear Blue  

 

[mikey]

Oh, ermmm.... i mean the color of the dentist him/her self... it would be rediculously funny to have a blue dentist but i was interpreting the frase litrally like what color is your dentist lols

 

[brit]

Oh, ermmm....   i mean the color of the dentist him/her self... it would be rediculously funny to have a blue dentist but i was interpreting the frase litrally like what color is your dentist lols

Maybe this only seems ridiculously funny if you are on nitrous???!!! You were weren't you ?

 

[mikey]

Not at the time of writing i wasent but i guess being on nitrous would make it even more funny...

 

[brit]

Not at the time of writing i wasent but i guess being on nitrous would make it even more funny...

Now if you could only take your laptop with you to the dentist's that would be a good distraction..especially if you could read DFC while there.....how relaxing...not!

 

[mikey]

I agree with Brit, I would attempt to play pac-man while having my teeth cleaned

 

[Kajikit]

All dentists' offices should have big windows with a lovely peaceful garden outside so that you can sit in the chair and look at the garden instead of just staring at four walls and a tacky old poster! Either that or nice bright artwork with lots of interesting shapes and patterns to give you something to focus on besides the dentist! And lose the white walls! The dentists office I liked best was in a new purpose-built building with a nice big window in the waiting area looking out on their garden, and a big comfortable waiting area that didn't feel like a doctor's office - and that more importantly had a soundproof door between it and the work area so that you couldn't hear the drill while you were waiting!

 

[scaredstiff]

All dentists' offices should have big windows with a lovely peaceful garden outside so that you can sit in the chair and look at the garden instead of just staring at four walls and a tacky old poster! Either that or nice bright artwork with lots of interesting shapes and patterns to give you something to focus on besides the dentist! And lose the white walls! The dentists office I liked best was in a new purpose-built building with a nice big window in the waiting area looking out on their garden, and a big comfortable waiting area that didn't feel like a doctor's office - and that more importantly had a soundproof door between it and the work area so that you couldn't hear the drill while you were waiting!

All very nice in theory, but the dentist might him/herself then get distracted. Can you imagine, in the middle of a filling and then stopping suddenly to say, "Look at that cute little squirrel scampering up the tree!" My dentist is situated in the heart of the city, a 7 storey office block with her actual surgery in the basement. Despite my being somewhat claustrophic, that doesn't bother me at all because the waiting area and the room itself are light and airey and somehow the waiting area is a very calming place to sit, peaceful and quiet and with all the individual surgery rooms I have never heard a single sound emanating as the soundproofing,the accoustics or whatever you call them must have been perfectly designed.