4 Key Tips for Effective Dental Office Design

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Redesigning a dental office can be a complicated task. Generally, a dental office redesign requires a significant amount of planning and thought to pull it off successfully. And if you’re looking to sell in the near future, an upgrade is a great way to increase the value of your practice.

What follows are some tips that can help you design a practice that attracts and retains more clients, and creates a more comfortable and productive environment for your team.

1. Define project objectives

Before beginning an office redesign project, consider the goals you’d like to achieve. What exactly are you looking to get out of this project?

In other words, what is the vision? Maybe you want a friendlier, more calming atmosphere for your customers, or maybe you want to bring newer and more advanced technologies to your office?

Before you start any project determine the size of the changes you want to make. Is this just a small change, or are you looking for a complete overhaul?

2. Determine a budget

One problem a lot of practices run into is that they have trouble with costs because they haven’t defined a budget. When redesigning an office, consider the overhead costs before embarking on any kind of renovation. Builders’ risk insurance, for example, protects against fire and theft and is one often-overlooked expense.

3. Think about colors

A dental office needs to be clean and well-organized, from the waiting room to the dental chair. Soothing colors can be a great way to help establish your practice as modern, relaxing and technologically up-to-date. Consider your demographic, is it mostly children and parents? Are a lot of your patients young professionals? Keep in mind that warm colors and shades of blue are often effective in medical environments, contributing to a calm and relaxing space.

4. Don’t rely too heavily on any one criteria

There are a few things you’ll want to consider when embarking on a redesign or upgrade. Here are three important criteria to think about:

Architectural design. You want an office that looks modern, inviting and has good natural light.

Function. The layout of the office needs to be practical. Consider creating a space that enables direct communication and flow between you, your office administration and your patients.

Ergonomics. Back issues are a very common problem plaguing dentists. Make sure that the practice is set up in a way that allows staff to move around frequently and maintain good posture.

Updating or redesigning your dental office can help to calm nervous patients and add value to your practice.