Family Friendly Design Ideas To Improve Your Dental Office Waiting Room
Posted on: 7 February 2017
If you run a family dental clinic, then you know how important it is to make the place comfortable for children. Many kids hate going to the dentist, and a cold and sterile office setting won't do anything to assuage their fears. To this end, it's very important that you create a warm and welcoming decor. Below are some design ideas that you can implement to help make the office more family friendly.
A Flat Screen On Mute
Kids are not likely to sit calmly and read Newsweek or some other magazine while they are waiting to see the dentist. They are going to be nervous, and that can cause them to want to run around and cause a scene. A great way to get their attention is to have a big flat screen mounted on the wall and have cartoons running. You can hook up a Blu-Ray and set up film to play on loop. Choose something animated with lots of action so the volume can be turned off. You don't want to have a loud movie running in the room.
Speakers With Classical Music
Choose something that is soothing; you don't want to have the energetic sounds of Beethoven's 5th getting the kids nervous. So, you could subscribe to a service such as Spotify and choose a soothing playlist to use.
Soft Pastel Colors With Wall Murals
You also want to make sure the office walls are painted a soothing color. Bright whites are a bit too clinical as are muted greys and browns. You also want to stay away from intense colors such as dark reds and blues. Instead, choose a muted pastel such as soft blues, pinks, and creamy yellows. These are calming colors, but are not too dull.
Instead of hanging up fancy paintings, you can get fun wall murals with things such as balloons, a tree, or little birds. They are visually interesting and provide something for the kids to look at and get distracted by while they are waiting.
Sound Absorbent Wall Panels
One thing you must take into consideration is the noise issue. You don't want kids who are in the office to hear kids outside yelling or making other loud noise because it will get them tense and even more nervous than they already are. Likewise, you don't want the kids in the waiting room to hear the sound of drills since it will freak them out. So, you should get sound absorbing panels and install them both in the individual rooms, as well as on the walls of the waiting room. These panels can be decorative, but more importantly they help absorb noise.
For more information, contact local professionals like C. James Goodwin, DDS, PLLC.
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