6 Dental Offices That Show How Design Impacts Patients

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Clinical and procedural innovations aren’t the only changes impacting the dental patient experience. Browsing dental office images shows us that design and ergonomic innovation is also enhancing how patients respond to dentistry.

Design standards can begin to blend into the “woodwork” – so to speak. What was once an innovative or stylish tweak to an otherwise sterile, clinical environment might now go unnoticed. Familiarity creates a need for freshness.

Dental office design has taken on a more “high-touch,” “human” feel. Available dental office images or a relevant search will verify that decor and design are a strong influence on the overall patient experie n ce.

SIX DENTAL OFFICE IMAGES THAT HIGHLIGHT THE POWER OF DESIGN ON PATIENT EXPERIENCE

1. Bright, Colorful, and Illuminating Dental Offices

Paint is a default fix for transforming a space. That said, it’s essential to go with colors that not only “pop” but also create a mood general feel.

Brightness with bold accents remains a trend leader. Seek colors that invigorate and match your practice theme.

Lighting and the fixtures that frame it are also an essential mood-setter. Natural lighting that brings the outdoors inside your reception and clinical areas can lift an otherwise sterile feeling environment.

2. Entertaining, Engaging, and Themed Dental Offices

A themed dental office design helps relax patients. There’s an appeal for children, families, and adults when they are drawn into your space via entertaining elements.

Entertainment can be framed in a variety of ways.

A themed movie area/room.
Television monitors above treatment room chairs.
Interactive decor and gaming areas.

Engagement and theming also personalizes your dental office environment.

Highlight local artists and their artwork (e.g. paintings, ceramic designs, etc).
Feature artwork from local or area students.
Build out your design around common or popular themes that are fun, child/family-centric, and inviting.

3. Open and Minimalist Dental Offices

An open treatment area helps create psychological “air” for patients. This stands in contrast to the traditional, closed-off, isolated layout.

Minimal design features allow for lighting enhancements and help prevent the space from feeling closed in. Openness allows for breathing room so patients feel more in common with the environment.

4. Comfortable, Relaxed, and Homey Dental Offices

Rows of chairs and stacks of magazines on reception area tables have been a design standard for years. Contrast that with carefully spaced comfortable chairs, a warm fireplace, flat screen tv monitors, a pub-table workspace, and self-serve amenities.

Patients who feel at home are more likely to stay loyal and refer others.

5. Posh, Unique, and Trendy Dental Offices

Glam or posh design doesn’t have to feel stuffy or uncomfortable. It’s more about creating an appeal that perhaps is more suited to your upscale patient base.

Urban or trendy suburban dental offices can attract and retain patients with a design that represents the demographic you serve.

A unique design footprint helps distinguish your dental office from the templated, every-practice look and feel. Again, theming, colors, and decor that is appropriate to your specific demographic will help enhance the patient experience for your unique practice culture.

6. Kid and Family-friendly Dental Offices

Anxiety in children is a common reason for designing around a theme. Kid-friendly theming helps pediatric patients relax before, during, and after their appointment(s).

A child-centric environment also helps parents/adults feel supported in their child’s dental care. Themed amenities create positive anticipation ahead of each dental visit.

These dental office images are a cross-section of intentional design strategies. The essence of each is that they appeal to your particular dental niche and demographic – creating an engaging, long-term patient experience.

Upgrade your dental office design and improve your patient experience.

Take your patient care and engagement to new levels. You’ll stand out from other service providers when you provide a unique dental experience that’s influenced by your design choices.

Reduce patient anxiety and enhance their relaxation
Prime patients and families for their appointments
Create positive dental care experiences

Maintain your edge in the crowded dental service space. Attention to design details can transform your environment and the overall patient experience.

Create “buzz” in the community you serve
Accelerate patient referrals
Generate positive online reviews

Check out these design-themed resources to upgrade or renew your patient experience:

How to Create a Unique Dental Experience in 2021 (and Beyond)

A Practical Guide to Creating an Exceptional Patient Experience

Case Study – Adding Theming to Increase Profitability and Patient Satisfaction

Contact Imagination Design Studios (IDS) to get started transforming your office from a mundane to magical patient experience.

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How to Help Your Pediatric Patients Overcome Their Fear of the Dentist

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Kids have big imaginations. Unfortunately, this big imagination can imagine scenarios that create fear and anxiety. That reality should mean creating a priority to help your pediatric patients overcome their fear of the dentist. But why?

For the Sake of Their Health

It’s common to avoid those things that create stress and fear. In some instances, this is a healthy reaction. Even so, in the case of dental anxiety or fear of the dentist, avoidance can produce unhealthy outcomes. The results can lead to a short- and long -term impact on a child’s oral health.

Delayed or cancelled dental appointments or treatment produce a downward spiral. Dental pain, general health problems, increased anxiety, and more costly or complex dental treatment can be traced to dental fear that’s not confronted and overcome.

Why Kids Fear the Dentist

First of all, dental fear is a common experience. In fact, it’s estimated that 20% of school age children fear visiting the dentist.

The general issue of dental phobia is categorized among other diagnosed phobias. But the big question is why?

Dental anxiety can be triggered by a number of experiences including:

A previous traumatic experience
A fear of needles
A conditional response promoted by other family members

It’s essential to a child’s oral and general health that their fear of the dentist be sourced and solved. There are promising and practical steps to help kids feel at ease, comfortable, and confident during a visit to the dentist.

HOW TO HELP KIDS OVERCOME THEIR FEAR OF THE DENTIST

Encourage Parents to Model a Healthy Relationship with Dentistry

Parents and the significant adults in a child’s life set the tone for how a child interacts with others. Role modeling can and should include health related encounters like dentistry.

Any talk or response of fear will naturally be picked up by a child. Likewise, positive language and experiences will be associated as well.

Parents can lead the way by:

Allowing their child/children to accompany them to a dental appointment (e.g. a routine teeth cleaning).
Encouraging them to ask questions about what the dentist is doing during an appointment
Sharing how their teeth feel after a cleaning, procedure, etc.
Modeling daily oral hygiene and asking their child/children to join them while brushing and flossing.

Educate Them Early and Often About Dentistry

Early adopters of dentistry will be less likely to experience extended bouts of dental anxiety. Keep in mind that they might not be completely fearless, but they will be more comfortable in the dental environment.

Also consider adding some age-level educational resources to help acquaint kids with what to expect when visiting the dentist. Coloring books, associative games, and youth-oriented books will help educate them about dental appointments, routine procedures, and generally how to care for their developing teeth.

Engage Their Curiosity with a Preliminary Office Visit

Their first visit to the dentist doesn’t have to involve an examination. Why not allow them to experience a somewhat “hands-on,” get-acquainted tour of the dental office?

The environment will be less intimidating if they can walk around, smell the aromas, see the instruments, sit in a chair, etc. A child will begin to make a positive association with dentistry the more they’re exposed to the environment prior to an actual dental appointment.

Equip Them with Positive Vibes, Proactive Habits, and Rewarding Outcomes

Words matter. And when speaking about dentistry it’s vital to choose a positive, inviting tone.

Equally so, good habits are formed when actions are positive instead of negative. Saying, “you have to brush your teeth…” carries the tone that it’s a burden to do so. Instead, make a positive association with dental care by referring to brushing and flossing as a natural part of the daily health routine.

And it can help matters to provide some incentive for being courageous about a dental visit. Find some reasonable motivation and offer it as a “reward” for a child’s positive embrace of a dental appointment.

Create a Calming Environment and You’ll See a Decrease in Fear of the Dentist and an Increase in a Positive Perception of Dentistry

An outstanding patient experience for children and families begins with a kid-centric mindset and environment. Check out these related resources for upgrading, renewing, and providing anxiety-free dental visits:

6 Calming Strategies for Kids Nervous About Healthcare Appointments

Download Our White Paper: Alleviating Patient Anxiety Through Office Theming

A Practical Guide to Creating an Exceptional Patient Experience

Valuing your patients and their families sets them up for a lifetime of positive health outcomes. And the environment you create can help you achieve a better patient experience.

Reduce patient anxiety and enhance their relaxation
Prime patients and families for their appointments
Create positive dental care experiences

Contact Imagination Design Studios (IDS) to get started transforming your office into an anxiety-free patient experience.

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How to Create a Unique Dental Experience in 2021 (and Beyond)

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Uniqueness gets attention. When that uniqueness is intentionally designed to suit your goals, it produces the right kind of attention. That’s why it’s important to consider how to use design to create a one-of-a-kind dental experience for your patients and families.

Your dental practice faces competition so distinguishing yourself from other dental professionals is important. Doing that can and should involve a unique dental experience – including certain features:

Your facility’s physical environment
Your services
Your patient experience around your services.

Innovation at each of those levels helps you create and sustain the brand of atmosphere you desire for your patients. Uniqueness at every level will help you stand out from the competition. Create a memorable patient experience through dental office interior design and decor.

HOW TO USE KEY DESIGN FEATURES TO CREATE A UNIQUE DENTAL EXPERIENCE AND STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPETITION

Go for a “Feeling”

Create a vibe with design.

You know that sense (feeling) you get when you walk into a particular business, restaurant, event, etc.? There’s a certain “vibe” that arises – starting with how the space is designed.

Design engages your patient’s emotions. And as a dental professional you want to tap into the right emotional response from the moment they arrive on your property.

Put patients at ease throughout each zone of your practice – including the clinical area.
Inspire confidence in your services with the technology you select and how you showcase it and inform patients about it.
Use sensory and emotional connect-points to create the atmosphere conducive to the specific services you provide to patients/families.

Add Some Color

Calming greens and warm browns.

Certain color schemes have a recognized impact on emotions. When selecting a color palette, begin with the emotional appeal you want to elicit.

For example, blues and greens are often confirmed by therapists as the easiest colors to focus on. Each color is also noted to have a calming effect on those exposed to them.

Even so, you aren’t limited to greens and blues. In fact, other color schemes can create a unique dental experience for your patients as well.

Natural colors (e.g. browns), wood tones, and stone masonry can create a cozy feeling throughout your practice or in certain areas.
Modern, trendy colors as you would experience in a coffee shop might be the brand of atmosphere you want to create.

Bottom line: like with other unique design elements color creates a comfortable, familiar feel that helps put patients/families at ease.

Use Natural Appeal

Big windows let in natural light and look out on a calming view.

Natural lighting and exposure to appealing outdoor views help create a unique dental experience. The ambiance created by natural lighting produces an energizing response much like being in direct sunlight.

Exposure to natural features gives your patients and your staff a welcome emotional boost.
Where possible consider facing your dental chairs toward outdoor areas that are visibly appealing.
Use lighting solutions that mimic natural light.

Learn more about how colour and natural features can positively affect patients through our free white paper on Alleviating Anxiety in Pediatrics through Kid-Friendly Themed Environments.

Keep it Light, Creative, and Entertaining

Video game entertainment for multiple ages

.

Think creativity with a purpose. The use of entertaining and creative design can produce a unique dental experience for kids and adults.

Entertainment can be informative as well as visually stimulating. Keep this in mind especially as you design around your patient base.

Use entertainment features appropriate to your dental practice’s age demographic(s).
Inspire trust and comfort with creative design that appeals to your patients/families.

Gain Some “Wait”

Provide chairs that accommodate patients/families of all ages and body types.

Your patient waiting area is more than a room. It’s a space that can be maximized for to create a unique and comforting experience.

The waiting or reception area of your practice is where patients/families relax and calm their “nerves” prior to their appointment. A unique waiting area requires intentional design.

Position your chairs for patient comfort rather than traditional space maximization.
Provide chairs that accommodate patients/families of all ages and body types.
Give patients/families mental-space through free wifi, informative and entertaining video content, family-friendly video streams, relaxing (low-volume) music suitable for all ages, etc.

Get Personal

A family photo hangs in the waiting room of this dental office.

The more attention to personalization-detail the more your patients will get acquainted with you and your team. Personal touches help build trust and eliminate the overly clinical feel of your practice and facilities in general.

Post professionally framed personal photos and memorabilia throughout your facility.
Theme your practice decor using local artwork, photos, and more that showcases your community connection.

Patients and families “feel” something the moment they arrive on-site. Managing that “feeling” starts with how intentionally you’re designing a positive patient experience.

IT’S A GOOD TIME TO IMPROVE YOUR PATIENT EXPERIENCE

Take your patient care and engagement to new levels. You’ll stand-out from other service providers when you provide a unique dental experience.

Invest in Your Patients

Valuing your patients and their families sets them up for a lifetime of positive health outcomes. And the environment you set can help you achieve a better patient experience.

Reduce patient anxiety and enhance their relaxation
Prime patients and families for their appointments
Create positive dental care experiences

Invest in Your Business

Maintain your edge in the crowded dental service space. Attention to details in your space can transform your environment and the overall patient experience.

Create “buzz” in the community you serve
Accelerate patient referrals
Generate positive online reviews

Check out these helpful, related resources to upgrade or renew your patient experience:

5 Tips for Creating the Experience Parents Really Want While in the Waiting Room (But Won’t Tell You!)

Case Study – Adding Theming to Increase Profitability and Patient Satisfaction

A Practical Guide to Creating an Exceptional Patient Experience

Contact Imagination Design Studios (IDS) to get started transforming your office from a mundane to magical patient experience.

READ PREVIOUSREAD NEXT

6 Calming Strategies for Kids Nervous About Healthcare Appointments

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1. Help Them Make-Friends with Their Feelings and Emotions
2. Lift (Rather than Lower) Their Expectations with Advanced Preparation
3. Maintain Consistency with a Trusted Physician/Dentist
4. Use At-Home Role Play
5. Help Your Physician/Dentist Find Common Ground with Your Child
6. Model Calm and Patience
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Does anyone blame a child for their anxiety about health-related appointments? It’s understandable if you recall your own childhood fears. And it’s all the more reason to find and implement calming strategies for kids to help them cope with their visit to a physician or dentist.

Seeing the world through a child’s eyes perhaps prompts some childhood memories of your own. Remembering your own experiences helps you get on their level about the potential for anxiety.

Children worry about separation from their parent(s) and being in the presence of a relative stranger.
Children fear procedures (e.g. shots, etc.).
Children can experience confusion about necessary physical contact required from a healthcare provider on occasion.
Children’s anxiety can be heightened by a well-intentioned adult or parental conversation about medical or dental appointments.

These and more create a “perfect-storm” of sorts regarding a child’s nervousness and anxiety about a medical or dental visit. Setting them up for a lifetime of confidence about their healthcare starts early, by giving them the calming strategies to use when they feel anxious.

SIX CALMING STRATEGIES FOR KIDS EXPERIENCING ANXIETY ABOUT MEDICAL AND DENTAL APPOINTMENTS

1. Help Them Make-Friends with Their Feelings and Emotions

It’s natural to want to keep fear at arm’s length. What’s perceived as a threat or potentially painful is best avoided – in a child’s mind.

Kids aren’t wired to handle fear, anxiety, or whatever they believe to be harmful to them. So it’s best to help them accept fear as a normal reaction rather than giving the impression that it’s not real.

Allow them to express their feelings about the approaching appointment or present situation.
Avoid rescuing them and instead stand alongside them and together process their emotional response(s).
Affirm your confidence in them but don’t “sugar-coat” their upcoming experience.
Ask questions without fueling anxiety. Asking, ”How are you feeling about visiting the doctor/dentist?” is a better question than, ”Are you nervous about visiting the doctor/dentist?”

2. Lift (Rather than Lower) Their Expectations with Advanced Preparation

A brief explanation about what it’s like to visit the doctor or dentist helps frame a satisfying experience for a child and their family. It’s important that you avoid creating unrealistic scenarios that lowers their expectations to a negative level.

For example, promising that a doctor visit is “no-big-deal…” or that it won’t be painful is a promise that might be easily broken – and with it their trust.

Frame possible scenarios. A useful phrase could be, “I’m not sure if you’ll get a shot this time…but if you do, it will be over quickly and feel like a ‘pinch.’”
Reward their bravery after an appointment in a way that’s meaningful to the child.

3. Maintain Consistency with a Trusted Physician/Dentist

Overtime a child who sees the same professional will begin to trust them. And make sure your trust in your chosen physician/dentist is evident to your child.

Announcing an upcoming medical/dental visit will be less discouraging when a child can put-a-face with who they’ll see. The more personal your doctor/dentist relationship the better – for you and your child.

4. Use At-Home Role Play

Many kids play “doctor” on occasion. Role-play scenarios can help take the edge off of upcoming medical/dental appointments.

Use play instruments to listen to your child’s heart, look into their ears, check their teeth, etc.
Encourage your child to give a doll or toy an “exam.”

Playful routines can normalize what might be an anxiety producing experience.

5. Help Your Physician/Dentist Find Common Ground with Your Child

Provide your care provider as much information about your child as possible. What they enjoy doing, playing with, watching on TV, the sports they’re involved in, their hobbies, favorite foods/snacks, etc.

This information provides an opportunity to lighten the mood and establish a friendly relationship during an appointment.

6. Model Calm and Patience

Remember that anxiety or fear can be contagious. The opposite is true as well – if you’re calm, cool, and collected it’s more likely your child will be.

Set a positive mood for their approaching medical/dental appointment. Again, be realistic rather than reactionary.
Help your child relax with breathing techniques and the reassurance that helps take their mind off of their fear or anxiety.
Know that some emotion is normal (e.g. crying, etc) and that time and trust are on your side as your child matures and grows.

Calming strategies for kids are supported by an equally calming environment that helps them overcome anxiety and have a positive experience with their care providers.

Outstanding patient experience for children and families begins with a kid-centric mindset and environment. Check out the following resources for providing anxiety-free medical/dental visits:

How (and Why) to Help Kids with Anxiety About the Dentist

A Practical Guide to Creating an Exceptional Patient Experience

Our Top 5 Hands-Free Waiting Room Ideas to Engage and Entertain Patients

And…

Download Our White Paper: Alleviating Patient Anxiety Through Office Theming

Valuing your patients and their families sets them up for a lifetime of positive health outcomes. And the environment you create can help you achieve a better patient experience.

Reduce patient anxiety and enhance their relaxation
Prime patients and families for their appointments
Create positive medical and/or dental care experiences

Contact Imagination Design Studios (IDS) to get started transforming your office into an anxiety-free patient experience.

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How (and Why) to Help Kids with Anxiety About the Dentist

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Why Helping Kids With Anxiety About Dentistry is a Top Priority
Helping Kids With Anxiety About Dentistry Starts With The Potential Causes
Helping Kids With Anxiety About Dentistry Creates Lifetime Patient Relationships
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Good experiences are worth repeating. That truth applies to your strategies for helping kids with anxiety in your dental office – a result that can improve your patient retention too.

Children can sometimes experience fear about their next dental appointment. A positive patient experience can increase the likelihood that they won’t dread it.

WHY HELPING KIDS WITH ANXIETY ABOUT DENTISTRY IS A TOP PRIORITY

Aversion to dental care often begins early. Helping a child face their fears now will help assure their positive, lifetime relationship with dentistry.

Dental anxiety is simply the fear felt about seeking or receiving dental care. It’s also helpful to understand that it goes deeper than merely not wanting to go to a dental appointment.

The fear is real. And here’s why.

Anxiety is the body’s response to a perceived threat or danger. The physical changes that occur inside a person feeling fear attaches to their memory and the particular social situation.

Human beings have a unique relationship with anxiety. For example, a child feeling anxious will engage their memory and imagination to rehearse the experience.

Essentially, a child’s memory of an anxious experience can enlarge it into a potential outcome that produces fear. Whether it occurs or not isn’t the issue – the anxiety is there!

All this to say: dental anxiety is a credible issue for children especially. It could present as…

“Acting out”
Crying
Tantrums
Lack of cooperation
And more…

HELPING KIDS WITH ANXIETY ABOUT DENTISTRY STARTS WITH THE POTENTIAL CAUSES

You can’t control the past experiences of your young dental patients. But you can control the current and future ones as you understand what could have contributed to their dental anxiety.

Embarrassment

Children can feel self-conscious about their oral health as adults do. Tooth decay, bad breath, misaligned or crooked teeth, and more can create embarrassing moments for them.

Needles and “Shots” (Injections)

Kids like adults have a perception about needles. Remember, the anticipated pain associated with a shot or injection can create strong feelings of anxiety prior to a dental appointment.

Anesthesia

The general feeling of being out-of-control is often associated with sedation. For some, wearing a mask or having their nose covered will lead to anxious reactions.

Pain

Who likes pain? Even the thought of a perceived painful experience can lead to anxiety about dental treatment.

Powerlessness

Feeling as if a circumstance is beyond one’s control can cause panic and anxiety. Any pain that’s felt can lead a child to experience a sense that nothing will provide relief.

Time

A long period of time since the previous dental visit can contribute to anxiety in children. It’s common to assume that more problems (e.g. cavities, etc) will be the result of not consistently visiting your office. And in their mind, that’s more potential discomfort and thus more anxiety.

The “Unknown”

Children imagine what a visit to the dentist is like. This especially follows stories they’ve heard or what they’ve gleaned from another’s negative experience.

HELPING KIDS WITH ANXIETY ABOUT DENTISTRY RESTORES CONFIDENCE IN YOUR EXPERTISE AND CREATES LIFETIME PATIENT RELATIONSHIPS

Be The “Right Dentist”

Parents will seek a dentist based on the collective experiences of others. Keep in mind that many search on the assumption that all dentists are alike.

The difference for you could be based on your “reputation” relative to care quality and sensitivity to patient perception – including dental anxiety.

Create a themed environment that’s visibly attentive to children.
Ease anxiety through clear communication about procedures, appointment protocols, and preliminary conversations.
(If applicable) talk about and promote your own family to give the impression that you understand a child’s perspective.

Communicate and Clarify

Provide families as much appointment information as possible. This helps create predictability for their child ahead of their visit.

Give parents/families the resources to answer questions with care and confidence prior to a dental visit.
Chat with the parent/family about the questions their child/children have about dentistry.
Clarify appointment details and eliminate any “surprises” prior to their arrival.
Put kids at-ease about dental care by reminding them of the benefits of good oral health habits.

Provide a “Calming” Experience

Your dental practice environment sets the tone for a child’s dental appointment. From the moment they arrive assure them that your office is a “kid-friendly” place to receive dental care.

Manage each transition during their visit. When appropriate allow a parent/family member to accompany their child as necessary during the appointment.
Enhance their feeling of security by letting them bring personal items from home (e.g. stuffed animal, blanket, etc).
Lighten the mood by asking about their interests, hobbies, accomplishments, etc.

CREATING A CALMING ENVIRONMENT FOR HELPING KIDS WITH ANXIETY CAN PRODUCE A POSITIVE PERCEPTION OF DENTISTRY AND ENHANCE PATIENT RETENTION

Outstanding patient experience for children and families begins with a kid-centric mindset and environment. Check out these related resources for upgrading, renewing, and providing anxiety-free dental visits:

5 Goals for Improving Patient Experience in Your Pediatric Dental Practice

Our Top 5 Hands-Free Waiting Room Ideas to Engage and Entertain Patients

5 Tips for Creating the Experience Parents Really Want While in the Waiting Room (But Won’t Tell You!)

Valuing your patients and their families sets them up for a lifetime of positive health outcomes. And the environment you create can help you achieve a better patient experience.

Reduce patient anxiety and enhance their relaxation
Prime patients and families for their appointments
Create positive dental care experiences

Contact Imagination Design Studios (IDS) to get started transforming your office into an anxiety-free patient experience.

READ PREVIOUSREAD NEXT

What Makes a Dental Practice Successful

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If you’ve ever talked-up a business to a friend you probably said something like – “…there’s just something about that place…” That “something” involves a lot of factors. And the same applies to what makes a dental practice successful.

Success isn’t random. In fact, it requires consistent, intentional energy.

Brand First

The term, “DNA,” might be a useful analogy. A successful dental practice has a certain “DNA” or perhaps you’re more inclined to call it brand “identity.”

From patient care to patient satisfaction to patient experience there are success-drivers at the “cellular” level of every successful practice.

Your practice has a brand identity whether you give attention to it or not. It’s that unique brand identity your patients and families will reference when returning, reviewing, and referring your services.

”Being unique is all about giving your potential patients a reason to choose you over other local dentists. It doesn’t matter whether you focus on a particular speciality or you offer different dental services. Creating a unique perspective on quality dental care services has the power to net and retain many clients.” ^[1]

But what other qualities are needed to create a successful practice?

WHAT MAKES A DENTAL PRACTICE SUCCESSFUL

A Unique Environment (and Culture)

The uniqueness of your practice environment and culture help to preserve your competitive advantage. You’re likely aware that your services don’t solely determine success. But how you deliver those services in alignment with your practice culture will impact your successful outcomes.

Culture is reflected in your…

Personality
Style of leadership
Practice vision and values
Workflows and systems
Team management, communication, and expectations

Generally speaking, culture is how you “run” your practice.

And then there’s your environment. A unique environment is designed on the foundation of your practice culture.

Environment involves a variety of factors.

Design and theme
Amenities
Emotional appeal from curb-to-chair

A unique culture and environment require intentionality. Allow your team to evaluate and contribute to ongoing improvements. And listen to patient feedback and reviews for insight into improvement factors.

Efficient Systems and Workflows

System efficiency is a key to dental practice success. According to the ADA,

”The top 10 percent of dental practices understand that their internal systems are essential to their success. Using outdated systems can easily impact the quality of service you offer to your patient.” ^[2]

Efficient systems and workflows that drive practice success include:

Up-to-date technology that improves your patient care standards from scheduling to treatment protocols.
Balancing production increases with outstanding patient experience.
A culture of ongoing improvement within your practice management strategy.

Training enhanced communication across all practice departments that flows into patient interactions.

Expanded Services

Earlier we noted that your services do not (solely) determine your practice success. But certain services driven by public and/or patient need WILL contribute to the ongoing success of your dental practice.

Again, it’s the uniqueness of what you provide and the culture that supports it that will set your practice apart. Expanding your services provides you an opportunity to grow your patient base.

Adding services…

Gives you a slight edge on your competitors based on what you provide.
Catches the attention of prospective and new patients who are searching for a specific oral health solution.

Expanding your services requires that you listen to what your current patients are asking about.

Listen for trends relative to their oral health goals, problems, and pain points.
Leverage your patient demographic knowledge to improve schedule and specialty options (e.g. early and late appointments, services that appeal to a specific age group, etc).

Patient Engagement

Knowing that you should consistently engage your patients and then how you engage them is vital to dental practice success. Think of patient engagement as the overall patient experience you provide.

Next to your practice environment, an online presence is key to making a first (engaging) impression.

Design (or redesign) your dental practice website as an informative, easily-accessible platform. Highlight your services, your team, and provide a clear call-to-action (CTA) for contacting, scheduling, and/or requesting information.
Provide a secure patient portal on your website. Give patients access to pre-treatment forms (e.g. health history, necessary appointment information, etc)
Deliver useful content via a blog page on your website. Answer questions and provide solutions using conversational (non-technical) language in your posts.
Maintain a consistent presence on social media. Highlight your practice culture and environment (events, milestones, etc) alongside links to helpful oral health content your create and/or curate from other sources.
Ask for reviews and referrals. And use the information in your reviews (positive and negative) to refine and improve your patient engagement strategies.

BEING INTENTIONAL IS KEY TO WHAT MAKES YOUR DENTAL PRACTICE SUCCESSFUL

Check out these related resources on culture, environment, and patient-facing strategies that lead to dental practice success:

The Best Dental Marketing Tactics and Strategy

What is Patient Experience and Why Does It Matter?

Jump-Start Your Dental Marketing with These Key Strategies

And make an investment that helps assure your successful outcomes.

Invest in Your Patients

Valuing your patients and their families sets them up for a lifetime of positive health outcomes. And the environment you create can help you achieve a better patient experience.

Reduce patient anxiety and enhance their relaxation
Prime patients and families for their appointments
Create positive dental care experiences

Invest in Your Business

Maintain your edge in the crowded dental service space. Attention to details in your niche can transform your environment and overall patient satisfaction…whatever your dental niche.

Create “buzz” in the community you serve
Accelerate patient referrals
Generate positive online reviews

A Practical Guide to Creating an Exceptional Patient Experience

Download Our White Paper: Alleviating Patient Anxiety Through Office Theming

Contact Imagination Design Studios (IDS) to get started transforming your office from a mundane to magical patient experience.

Want more tips for marketing your office? Download the free guide to learn more tips to make your dental practice successful.

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The Best Dental Marketing Tactics and Strategy

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What’s the most strategic thing you do in your dental practice (besides patient treatment)? Dental marketing! But what is the best dental marketing tactic and approach?

Before you answer and take the next step, your success could rely on a shift in thinking about your overall approach to dental marketing.

Is It Really About “Tactics?”

That’s an even more important question to this discussion. Thinking tactically about your marketing is an advantage with one caveat:

Assuring that your marketing tactics still create a connection with your audience rather than a feeling of being “conquered.”

Perhaps that’s the deeper issue with a marketing narrative that borrows from battle-worn language (e.g tactics, strategy, etc).

But not to overthink the language you use (another common misstep in marketing). You could probably use a kick-start however you approach finding the best dental marketing strategy to acquire (and keep) dental patients.

Lifetime Patient Value

The best start to any marketing effort is understanding what Phil Bressler discovered. Bressler was a top Domino’s Pizza franchisee in Baltimore, Maryland.

He calculated that a loyal pizza customer was worth approximately $4,000 to his franchise. Those figures were based on the math that the average pizza customer would purchase 50 $8 pizzas on average annually.

That’s $4,000 over a ten-year span!

Consider how that insight could transform your patient experience – beginning with your dental marketing. Thinking in terms of lifetime patient value (LPV) could change much about how you approach not just marketing but every aspect of your practice.

Front-desk conversations
Treatment planning, scheduling, and clinical conversations
Your marketing initiatives

An LPV (Lifetime Patient Value) perspective sees your dental marketing strategies not as an isolated, one-time encounter…but as a series of encounters that creates ongoing engagement for “life!”

Compel more inquiries
Build your patient list
Solve problems with informative, useful content

USE CONTENT AS THE BEST DENTAL MARKETING TACTIC FOR CREATING LOYAL, LIFETIME PATIENTS

Solve Problems with Solution-focused Content

Patients value services that ultimately solve their problems. The path to a specific solution often involves creating awareness of a problem or highlighting a desired result.

Pain is a common problem-solution motivator. Another could be perceptions about being healthy or achieving a certain appearance.

Your dental services provide solutions to those and more. And the best dental marketing helps highlight the core motivation for your services as solutions.

Answer Questions with Informative, Useful Content

Marketing often defaults to a “selling” narrative. And that understanding is what sets content apart as a best dental marketing strategy.

Ultimately, the value of content is that it answers the questions the public and your patients are asking. Dental content marketing creates a bond that leads to trust between you and your “audience.”

In essence, their questions allow you to educate/inform them via intentional content with answers to their questions about a particular issue or service.

Use your blog content to answer specific questions being asked by your patients/families.
Create and deliver email content containing links to your informative blog content or other on-topic content.
Curate and share content on your social media “channels” that answers patient/family questions.

Listen to Patient Interactions and Reviews to Create Patient-centric Content

Every patient conversation – face-to-face or online – contains something of value. The more intuitively you and your team listen the more patient-focused your content will become.

Listen beneath the surface and between-the-lines of what a patient/family is saying or asking.
Mine patient reviews (positive and negative) for nuggets of insight that can improve your dental marketing via a content-based strategy.
Get to know your patient’s/families’ emotional connections to dentistry.

Content that connects will ultimately be the result of leveraging your patient conversations and communication.

And remember, it’s not about a one-and-done tactical approach. The best dental marketing strategy is a commitment to creating lifetime patient value: loyal patients who trust you for solutions to problems and answers to questions.

Maximize the best dental marketing strategy and create lifetime patient loyalty.

An effective dental marketing strategy starts with the patient-persona. And getting acquainted with each patient’s persona can improve your marketing success.

Check out these related resources to generate ideas and create a best dental marketing strategy for your practice:

How to Get More Patients in Your Dental Office (And Create Long-Term Loyalty)

5 Dental Marketing Ideas (and Strategies) for Increased Patient Recall

Key Strategies to Jump-Start Your Dental Marketing

Contact Imagination Design Studios (IDS) to get started transforming your office from a mundane to magical patient experience.

Want more tips for marketing your office? Download the free guide to learn about branding basics, social media tips, ways to improve your online efforts, plus event and promotional ideas.

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5 Dental Marketing Strategies for Increased Patient Recall

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Marketing is more than a one-and-done activity. In fact, as it relates to dental marketing ideas for increased patient recall it requires a more strategic, ongoing approach.

Why specifically recall?

Mastering the recall process keeps dentistry front-of-mind for your patients. That’s important because it creates a lifetime care focus in their mind rather than a reactive, problem-centric approach.

It’s Time to Move Beyond “Problem-centric” Dentistry.

Perhaps you’re not consistently guilty. But on occasion you might be tempted to say something to a patient such as,

“Well, everything looks good today…didn’t see any problems…”

While well intentioned, that narrative communicates something that could be harming your recall success.

Hearing “no problems” (although a good result) takes away from the lifetime value of dental care. And the lifetime perspective can make a huge difference in your recall success and overall dental marketing strategy.

WHAT PATIENT RECALL SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE AS DENTAL MARKETING STRATEGY

Recall Success Maintains an “Audience” (Patient) Connection

Much of your dental marketing and recall effectiveness comes down to communication. But keep in mind that how your patients communicate is ever evolving. It helps to “think” like they do. One recall strategy might not be effective for every demographic of your patient base.

Mailing a postcard to a patient in their 20’s or 30’s will likely be ignored. In the same way a text or email might be overlooked by a senior aged patient.

There are exceptions as technology and mail strategies are concerned. But a more patient-sensitive recall strategy will allow you to tailor it to each segment of your database.

It’s particularly useful to ask your patients what mode of communication they prefer.

Recall Success is a Well-timed Process

Timing can vary from patient to patient. Yet generally speaking there are better days and times to assure you’re getting their attention.

For example, a Monday phone call, voice message, email, or text message is likely to be a wasted effort. Most return from a weekend of less related interaction to a full inbox or media stream.

The following are recommended communication “sweet-spots.”

Phone calls: studies reveal greater success on Wednesday or Thursday afternoons.
Emails: send midweek around 10 a.m. according to email marketing strategists.
Text (SMS) messages: send daily between morning and evening “rush” hours.

Recall Success is a “Rinse-and-Repeat” Process

Repetition, repetition, repetition! Repeating your message is key to compelling your patients to reschedule.

It’s important that you vary your message and take a scatter approach to how you communicate with your patient base.

And speaking of “how” you communicate…innovate around these five dental marketing ideas for recalls.

FIVE DENTAL MARKETING IDEAS FOR INCREASED PATIENT RECALL SUCCESS

1. Revive Direct Mail

Again, a specific demographic within your patient base will respond to a compelling direct mail strategy. But the key to reviving its effectiveness is assuring it’s compelling – whomever the recipient is!

Send useful content via newsletters, postcard appointment reminders, and engaging (on-topic) brochures.
Build relational momentum on a well-timed delivery schedule. Recall mailers work best on an every three months timeline and postcard reminders three weeks before an appointment.

2. Revolutionize Email

You can keep your dental marketing costs lower by utilizing email. But that’s not the only reason to use it as a recall strategy.

Email is perceived as less invasive. Even so, it’s vital that you respect your patient’s time and inbox by making sure your email strategy delivers value.

Deliver routine (monthly or quarterly) e-newsletters, personalized promotions, and ongoing appointment reminders.
Stay connected with your patients via useful newsletter content and timely recall reminders (every six months).
Follow delivery frequencies that align with appointment follow-up and scheduling timelines.

3. Reconnect with Text (SMS) Messages

SMS (text) messaging can be used as an effective dental marketing tool. The reason has a lot to do with how we’ve come to use texting as a fluid communication channel.

That said, it’s essential that you respect the medium as you use it for recalls and other marketing strategies.

Text appointment reminders, available/last-minute schedule openings, and limited time promotions.
Compel a response by using a clear call-to-action that provides useful and/or immediate value.
Keep promotional content to a minimum via SMS. You don’t want to be, or sound, “spammy”.

4. Re-engage with Social Media Content

Social media channels enable you to stay connected to your patients via a wide variety of content. And you can engage them without direct communication by appearing in their newsfeed(s).

Curate and share useful dental themed content to stay front-of-mind and prompt a scheduling reminder.
Share your own blog content (linked to your practice website) to provide oral health tips.
Post patient testimonials (with permission), reminders about essential dental care (e.g. teeth cleanings, etc), promotions, team and practice photos, and targeted (paid) ads with a clear CTA (call-to-action)..
Share content on an appropriate schedule and maintain a balance of useful (themed) content to promotional (reminder) based content.

5. Restore Face-to-Face Connections

It’s fundamental to your dental marketing strategy that you relate personally to your patients. Access to technology and content delivery channels should align with and support good old-fashioned face-to-face communication.

Maintain a “marketing-mindset” that maximizes every patient conversation as an opportunity to encourage consistent oral health care.
Remind patients personally (as they depart each appointment) to engage with you on social media, to refer your practice to family, friends, and co-workers, and to leave a review about their experience.
Get out into your community. Be a recognized authority for general and oral health through community events and promotional opportunities.

Maximize your dental marketing ideas and increase your patient recall success!

Effective systems start at the idea level. And turning those ideas into a system for increasing your recall success can lead to healthier patients and more production.

Check out these related resources to generate dental marketing ideas and create a more sustainable recall system:

How to Get More Patients in Your Dental Office (And Create Long-Term Loyalty)

Key Strategies to Jump-Start Your Dental Marketing

The 3 Social Media Sites You Should Be Promoting Your Business On and Why

Download Our White Paper: Alleviating Patient Anxiety Through Office Theming

Contact Imagination Design Studios (IDS) to get started transforming your office from a mundane to magical patient experience.

Want more tips for marketing your office? Download the free guide.

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How to Get More Patients in Your Dental Office (And Create Long-Term Loyalty)

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Prioritize and Refine Your Communication
Manage Your First Impression
Seek Feedback and Strategize Around It
Use Social Media the Right Way
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There’s no doubt that dentistry is a health essential and that you’re committed to helping people prioritize their oral health. This priority is probably one of the factors that drives you to strategize about how to get more patients in your dental office.

It’s a win-win, really!

Patients improve their dental health.
Your practice increases its patient base.

Keep Your Competitive Edge

More and more dental practices are launching. The irony is that at the same time less and less people are seeking dental care.

That reality creates a competitive market.

Carving out your place in a seemingly saturated and lower-demand niche requires strategic planning and competitive execution of those strategies.

HOW TO GET (AND KEEP) MORE PATIENTS IN YOUR DENTAL OFFICE

Prioritize and Refine Your Communication

Everything about your dental practice communicates something. It’s vital that what’s being seen and heard by your new and current patients leads to long-term relationships.

Remember that communication is a two-way street. What you say and what your patients hear, see, and experience are two distinct realities.

Patients will often decide if they’re being heard during the first interaction they have with you and your team.

Are you listening to their fear, pain, and goals?
Are you “talking-over” them when discussing their treatment relative to finances or timing?

Make communication a top priority for patient acquisition (and patient retention).

Use engaging language on phone calls, in face-to-face interactions, and online.
Honor their responses to appointment scheduling, treatment presentations, and financial conversations.
Give them the opportunity for feedback via reviews and referrals (more on that in a moment…)

Manage Your First Impression

The first encounter a prospective patient has with your dental practice will likely determine their next steps. And these days that encounter will be online a majority of the time.

First impressions are typically formed through your website and/or an online search. This reality drives how to get more patients in your dental practice through digital strategies.

Start with your website. Think of it as a 24/7 salesforce investment.

Is it current? Make sure your images, staff information, open hours, services, contact information, etc. are up to date.
Does it look appealing? Relevance includes design and ease of use (navigation).
Is it responsive? Screen layout and mobile capability are key responsiveness factors.
Are you being found online? This is a question of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and your capability of being located through organic (fresh, original) content and local keywords.

And…

Routinely train “friendliness” into your team across every department. From the front desk to your clinical team to those responsible for insurance and financials – keep the impression friendly and engaging.

Emphasize “etiquette” (greeting, etc.).
Exemplify kindness and courtesy.

Seek Feedback and Strategize Around It

It makes sense that you might not truly know how you’re doing as a dental practice unless you ask. It’s been said that, “feedback is the breakfast of champions…”

That means every patient interaction is ripe for review. You’re perhaps aware that many patients are quick to provide positive or negative feedback.

It’s better for your practice that you welcome their feedback – however it’s served. People (your patients included) like to know their voice and opinion matters.

Create a feedback loop that’s easily accessible. Use an online form or a timely follow-up text, email, or phone call post appointment.
Ask them specific questions relative to their experience with their treatment, your team, and your practice overall.
Give them an opportunity to share insights about how you could improve. This helps them get on the solution-side of their experience (rather than the problem-side of it).

And when you receive feedback/reviews (positive or negative):

Create a processing loop. Have a default response throughout your practice that consistently listens to any and all feedback and patient reviews.

Share patient responses with specific team members (when applicable) and your entire team as a training opportunity.
Mine your online reviews for improvement “nuggets.” Use all feedback (positive or negative) to make changes where necessary.

It makes sense to have a presence on social media these days. But being on social media and using your chosen channels effectively requires being intentional.

Lack of activity can be almost as detrimental as too much of the wrong kind of activity on social media. For example, sharing content but not engaging those who read or comment is equally as ineffective as randomly sharing content without any strategic goals.

Post content according to what creates the most engagement. Research daily frequencies (two times per day is a common sweet spot) and the optimum time of day to post your content.
Curate and share content that will be of interest to the dental-seeking public and your patients.
Balance curated (of-interest) content with personal (in-house) content (e.g. team, services, promotions, etc).
Respect privacy and HIPAA compliance on all posts that reference a patient or treatment. And avoid distasteful images or overly technical or clinical themed content (does anyone really want to see that?).

OPEN THE DOOR TO NEW STRATEGIES ON HOW TO GET MORE PATIENTS IN YOUR DENTAL OFFICE

Your environment sets the tone for how effectively you attract (and keep) patients. Set your environment up for success from the very first impression.

Invest in Your Patients

Valuing your patients and their families sets them up for a lifetime of positive health outcomes. And the environment you create can help you achieve a better patient experience.

Reduce patient anxiety and enhance their relaxation
Prime patients and families for their appointments
Create positive dental care experiences

Invest in Your Business

Maintain your edge in the crowded dental service space. Attention to details in your niche can transform your environment and overall patient satisfaction…whatever your dental niche.

Create “buzz” in the community you serve
Accelerate patient referrals
Generate positive online reviews

Check out these related resources for how to attract and keep more dental patients:

The Importance of a Website for Promoting Your Dental Practice

How to Get Online Reviews for Your Dental Office (and Respond to Negative Ones)

The 3 Social Media Sites You Should Be Promoting Your Business On and Why

A Practical Guide to Creating an Exceptional Patient Experience

Contact Imagination Design Studios (IDS) to get started transforming your office from a mundane to magical patient experience.

Want more tips for marketing your office? Download the free guide to learn more tips to help you get more patients in your dental office.

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How to Improve Patient Satisfaction in 7 Steps

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Every practitioner wants their patients to leave happy, but what exactly does that mean and why does it matter? Well, when “happiness” is measured by how to improve patient satisfaction it’s worth investing your energy.

Patient satisfaction also presents something of a paradox. What makes a patient happy may or may not ultimately be in the best interest of their health.

Overall, the goal of patient satisfaction has to do with creating an experience where decisions can be made that benefit the patient and their ongoing health.

Why Even Think About How to Improve Patient Satisfaction?

Like it or not, your patient and their family are “customers.” A consumer mindset drives most “buying” decisions today – your services are no exception.

Expectations are high and opinions matter.

Social media gives patients/families an opportunity to post their satisfaction…or their dissatisfaction
Online reviews provide patients/families a positive or negative forum to express their opinions about your service

The result of improving patient satisfaction is long-term patient loyalty. A satisfied patient and family become immune (in many ways) to a competitor’s marketing efforts.

The loyalty earned from patient satisfaction can naturally lead to an increase in revenue. And satisfied patients/families create positive reviews that generate vital word-of-mouth marketing.

HOW TO IMPROVE PATIENT SATISFACTION IN 7 STEPS

1. Make an Engaging First Impression Online

An initial phone call or a facility drive-by was once the first perspective someone formed of your practice.

Times have changed.

These days your online presence is often the first impression a patient/family has of your practice. Realize that your front-door is now your digital platform.

Evaluate your current website. Confirm that it’s easy to navigate, has a conversational tone, is clear, and compels action.
Digitize your patient’s interaction with your practice. Provide digital options for your patients/families to contact you, schedule an appointment, and securely access and complete all necessary forms ahead of their appointment.

2. Communicate Comfort with Reassuring Tone

Every conversation carries a tone. That tone – positive or otherwise – creates an environment that helps put your patients at ease.

Many patient interactions begin with a question or two. How you answer can help determine the next step a patient takes with treatment.

Maintain eye-contact. Make the patient/family member in front of you the center of that moment’s attention.
Speak in a reassuring tone throughout each patient interaction. This helps restless patients and/or family members feel more comfortable.

3. Be Accommodating with Your Appointment Schedule Availability

Your patients/families have time and schedule challenges. School, work, and recreation can impact how and when they schedule their oral health care.

How to improve patient satisfaction is often a matter of adapting to their schedule and time constraints.

Update your appointment options. Consider early morning, early evening, or weekend availability so patients have more opportunity to schedule.
Provide virtual solutions such as teledentistry. Remote consultations help maximize time.

4. Shorten the Perception of Wait Times with Positive Experiences

You might not be able to completely eliminate appointment “wait-times.” But you can creatively help your patients/families by decreasing those perceived wait-time moments. Free WIFI, books, activities for kids, photo ops, and refreshments all help create a positive experience.

A relevant study found…

”…satisfaction to more than double when the waiting room was viewed as ‘comfortable and pleasant’ by patients with the same perceived length of wait.” ^[1]

And speaking of “comfortable and pleasant” wait-times…

5. Upgrade Your Practice Atmosphere with Welcoming Decor

What you see and experience daily can differ from what your patients experience and see. Familiarity can lead to complacency especially when you’re onsite every day.

Though your patients/families will perhaps form a first impression online (as earlier mentioned) that impression will be further validated when they arrive at your practice.

Update your waiting room with simple improvements. New, modern, themed furniture or a redesigned layout can set a fresh tone throughout your practice.
Upgrade your practice on-theme. A themed environment – especially for pediatric practices – will help put kids and their families at ease prior to and during an appointment.

6. Empower Your Patients Through Educational Resources

Your patients/families value their oral health. But they might not be aware of what produces it. Their satisfaction will increase when they leave your practice feeling empowered rather than overwhelmed about their health and related choices.

Follow a knowledge-is-empowerment mindset. Set patients up for success outside of your practice by giving them useful information online and in-person.
Retain more patients by providing them ongoing and consistent resources via a blog or e-newsletter – answering their specific questions.

7. Cultivate Patient Engagement and Create Long-term Relationships

Think long-term relationships. The key is engaging each patient/family individually.

Daily production goals can easily take precedence over the patient/family that’s right in front of you. More detrimental to a positive patient experience is that they can sense the somewhat impersonal connection.

Know your patients/families personally. Recognition of birthdays, personal milestones, loss, or challenges, and more help build long-term relationships.
Follow-up calls or messages help patients/families feel like their recent treatment is a priority.

Take Strategic Steps to Improve Your Patient Satisfaction Level

Set your environment up for success from the very first impression. Patient satisfaction for children and families begins with a kid-centric mindset and environment. In essence, it’s an investment decision.

Invest in Your Patients

Valuing your patients and their families sets them up for a lifetime of positive health outcomes. And the environment you create can help you achieve a better patient experience.

Reduce patient anxiety and enhance their relaxation
Prime patients and families for their appointments
Create positive dental care experiences

Invest in Your Business

Maintain your edge in the crowded dental service space. Attention to details in your niche can transform your environment and overall patient satisfaction…especially in a pediatric practice.