What Should Your Dental Practice's Waiting Room Look Like?

While excellent patient care, innovative dental technology, a great online presence and well-appointed patient treatment areas may be attributes of a successful dental practice, a well-designed waiting area may also be an important factor. Consider the following tips on how to make your waiting area as comfortable as possible:

What Your Dental Practice’s Waiting Room Should Look Like

Modern Furniture

Instead of sticking to the standard antimicrobial chairs with scarce padding paired with bulky end tables piled with outdated magazines, choose appealing, comfortable furniture that will invite patients to sit and relax. It’s also important to arrange furniture differently. Avoid the typical rows of chairs that place strangers uncomfortably close to each other and sitting straight up. Consider a layout that creates semi-private areas for patients to sit and wait, if possible.

A Liaison

A liaison is a person whose job is greeting patients as they arrive in the waiting room. They should be well versed in the patients’ profiles and know if they have any particular fears regarding dental visits. They should be kind and address each patient by name. The idea is to put patients at ease the moment they enter the waiting area. You can select someone already on staff to fill this role, perhaps someone who is especially good with patient care, or you can hire a new team member for this role alone.

Small Luxuries

Small luxuries can go a long way in a doctor’s office in terms of improving the overall patient experience. This can include a wide variety of services from massage chairs or a minifridge full of waters to a coffee bar and everything in between. Just make sure that there is plenty of product to go around if you do feature complimentary items.

Be Mindful of Volume

A dental practice is a bustling environment that can get loud. That’s understandable. However, be mindful of the volume within the waiting area. For example, it’s fine to have a show playing on a mounted TV set or music piped through the speakers, but ensure the volume of neither becomes overwhelming. You want any piped-in music to be soothing in nature and to be at a low enough volume that it basically disappears into the background. 

In the case of a waiting room television, keep the volume loud enough for the program to be heard, but not so loud that it can’t be ignored. It may also be wise to ensure your waiting room has free wifi so patients have the option to bring a laptop and work or simply use their own devices without using data. You may want to review with an IT consultant about the appropriate setup for making wifi available to patients.

Mood Lighting

Natural sunlight is a known mood enhancer, so use that to help create a more welcoming waiting room. After all, no one enjoys being stuck in a room with harsh fluorescent lighting. If you are fortunate enough to have windows available within the waiting area, use them and open them up to the sunshine. You can add shutters to ensure privacy while still letting the light shine into the room. If you don’t have access to natural light, try to mimic the feel by adding chandeliers and lamps to the room.

Just try not to go overboard. Overly bright lights aren’t ideal and can make patients feel energetic or nervous. What you want is to create calmness in the room that puts patients at ease without allowing the room to be so dark that patients and their companions are unable to read or work during their wait.

Growing Your Dental Practice

Creating a welcoming waiting area is just one of several strategies to grow your dental patient list. Patients who feel at ease and valued when visiting your office are more apt to come back and make referrals. And that positive experience begins in the waiting area. 

To learn more about other steps you can take to try to build your patient list, such as creating an active website presence or developing and targeting your ideal patient type, download our free ebook, Strategies to Grow Your Dental Practice Patient List.

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This content is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as advice. Treloar & Heisel, LLC. and its divisions do not offer marketing or IT advice. Please consult a professional concerning these topics.

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