Nobody likes medical appointments, and waiting to be seen makes the day even more annoying.
Setting up a great waiting room is essential to giving your patients a great experience. So how can you create the perfect dental office waiting room? Check out these five tips!
Keep Your Target Audience in Mind
Every dental office has a unique patient demographic. A big part of crafting a dental office waiting room is to consider your specific audience.
If your practice appeals to children, your waiting room should be more colorful and have toys, play areas, and video games.
In case you offer premium services to wealthier patients, your waiting room should reflect the luxury they would expect.
There’s no one-size-fits-all dentist waiting room design. Find out who your unique patient persona is and tailor your room accordingly.
Create a Stress-Reducing Environment
For many people, going to the dentist is a stressful experience. It’s estimated that about 15 percent of Americans are afraid of the dentist. That’s around 40 million people.
The poking tools and drilling noises of a dental office can be enough to make someone anxious to the point of getting sick.
Creating a relaxing, stress-reducing dental waiting room can go a long way toward making your patients more comfortable.
Some room plants are known to have anti-anxiety effects. Room fragrances, such as vanilla or lavender, can also create a relaxing environment. For decor color, a soft shade of blue is among the top choices for stress reduction.
Offer a Variety of Seating
Stiff chairs laid out in rows might be the most efficient seating arrangement. But for your dental office, you should have a bit more creativity than the DMV.
Offer a variety of seating options to make all your guests feel comfortable. Communal seating is great for families, while individual adults might prefer to have privacy.
If you cater to both adults and children, it might be a good idea to create a separate sound-proof play area to save the adults some sanity. Also, consider offering workstations with privacy barricades so busy professionals can work while they wait.
Provide Medical Relief Options
All too often it seems like we run into medical issues at the most inconvenient times. Getting a migraine or a woozy stomach before an appointment makes an already stressful time even worse.
For your patients’ comfort, have some medical relief options on hand to offer ill patients.
Ibuprofen and ice or heat packs can take the edge off a headache. Tissues and hand sanitizer can help people with the sniffles while also preventing others from getting sick. Having an easily accessible bathroom is a must.
If you live in a dry area, a humidifier can be a welcoming relief for patients. Click here to read more about its benefits.
Entertainment Is More Than Magazines
Magazines are a waiting room classic. But in this digital age, there are many other ways to give your patients some pre-appointment entertainment.
Most people will have their own smartphones, so be sure to provide plenty of electrical outlets and a charging station. Free WiFi is also a necessity.
For those who don’t want to use their own phones, you can provide tablets for browsing the web or playing games to pass the time. Those tablets can double as document devices to allow patients to update their medical history or fill out forms.
Create a Great Dental Office Waiting Room
Your dental office waiting room is a big part of your patients’ experience with your practice. Creating the perfect space can contribute to forming long-term relationships with your customers.
For more tips for dentists, check out our blog!