Elizabeth Eilertsen explains how she opened a practice that aims to put patients at ease.
My associate life was being tarnished by the need to patch over patients’ disquiet after previous experiences of dental care. I felt compelled to design, build and open a practice that stood apart from the ‘normal’
I was inspired to give back to the local community, offering patients an alternative dental experience and staff a dynamic job opportunity. My aim: to create a brand founded on prevention, putting the patient first.
I drew upon my own architectural and photographic background for the design, with the patient journey as
the starting point. Using my knowledge of space and psychology, choosing a disused commercial office space allowed me to create a bespoke environment for our service.
The entire practice was thoroughly planned in terms of colour and ambience. During study for an arts degree, I had researched the effects of space, colour and setting on the experience of the building user.
During dental school, I was interested in minimising patient anxiety, which I wrote a submission about for the SAAD researched essay competition. These aspects of my past career both laid the foundation for the design of this project.
Patient experience
The brand puts patient-centred care front and centre. The experiences of anxious patients have been significant to me during my career, so it was important to create a relaxing environment to provide dental care.
There is a clear distinction between public and working spaces in the practice. The patient is guided throughout their visit, starting from their arrival in the car park. Our aim for the reception is to make it feel more like a hotel concierge service, where patients are greeted and invited to wait privately in the lounge.
The public lounge area supports a relaxing colour scheme (we used Farrow & Ball’s Cromarty, which is a muted olive-green). The furnishing and low-level lighting are designed to emulate something more like a living room than a dental waiting room, further reducing patient anxiety.
Moving into the treatment areas, the patient is collected by the staff and guided to the appropriate colour-themed surgery. The clinical spaces are defined with a clean white, and surgeries in the circulation area have glazed walls, creating a light and airy feel to the spaces but with a privacy panel of branded frosting.
It is known that anxious patients often remember the colour of a room rather than a specific dentist. So, the base colour scheme for the surgeries was a tasteful mushroom with white cabinetry. We then use the upholstery for the chairs as the feature colour. Our chairs, from A-dec, are Diplomat Blue, Green, Sorbet, Cyan, and Orange. One of the reasons why we chose A-dec was because of its wide range of upholstery colours and finishes.
Location
When searching for the right property, location and accessibility were key. One of the most common complaints patients have is a lack of parking spaces. I took this into consideration, looking for something other than a simple high street fix.
The location I settled on was an ‘empty box’ of disused office space. Fortuitously, the building was near a new transport link road, which would increase the traffic on the doorstep. I had decided long before finding the building that I wanted to use A-dec chairs, and that cemented my pathway. The local A-dec suppliers, Decadent, helped from the initial concept phase right through to the installation of the whole project.
Alex from Decadent proved to be an extremely useful contact as he not only put me in touch with its trusted building team, I-con and UV-design, but also took the time at the start of the project to take me to A-dec’s Bracknell’s showroom (one of three) for an in-depth consultation.
Alex and I were introduced to John Dargue, A-dec’s territory manager for the south west of England and south Wales. John listened to my journey and vision of what I wanted to achieve with the practice.
I was then able to try out different dental packages, which enabled me to choose equipment that was best suited to my requirements. John answered all my questions fully and explained the functionalities of each feature.
Form and fuction
When considering the practice set-up and, specifically, the chair, I wanted form, function and reliability. Studying at Peninsula Dental School, I was aware of the use of different chairs brands. I knew the sheer volume of use that the school chairs were subjected to through years of students, and their patients would give them a good reference.
This, as well as the showroom appointment where John had discussed not just a dental chair’s function and reliability, but also its important role in the patient’s overall experience, had solidified my decision to use A-dec chairs.
I chose Decadent as the supplier, and the team organised the fit out. It was fantastic throughout the planning stage and right through to the build stage. The team at Decadent, alongside A-dec’s customer service team, has continued to be supportive and helpful since opening and is always on hand to answer questions or help with issues.
After my visit to A-dec’s showroom and seeing the quality and finish, we ended up fitting four A-dec 500 chairs. Alongside many benefits, these chairs have a soft start and stop function, which helps reduce the anxiety of the patient. We plan to finish the final surgery soon.
Working closely with the builders from the outset, I was able to make on-the-spot changes. Some alterations were made to maximise the space available. However, the essence of the space remained. A testament to the I-con, A-dec equipment and Decadent team, the build process was generally straightforward, apart from needing to install a powered drainage system, a drawback of changing an office into a five-surgery practice.
My biggest hurdle in the whole process was achieving the financial backing. High street banks were hesitant to lend, but Vector Finance was able to help secure funding to support my own input.
This article first appeared in Private Dentistry magazine. To receive a copy, sign up to Dentistry Club.
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