If we are honest, very few of us relish a trip to the dentist. It doesn’t matter if it’s for a checkup or some major work. Just the word dentist and their ability to inflict the pain of the highest sort is enough to make your stomach flip.

So when it comes to the seating design of a dental waiting room, it is essential to choose one that mimics an entirely different type of space. The aim here is to make your patients forget about the dentist by focusing on the aesthetics. Gone are the days of plastic chairs reminiscent of a school assembly hall.

We have put together a guide to the best seating solutions that will help make a trip the dentist a much more pleasant experience, even for the most nervous of patients.

Table and Chair Sets
A good distraction for patients is to focus on their phones and tablets. Like it or not, we live in a world where our lives are run from these mobile units. Offering a small tabled seating area will allow your patients to spread themselves out a little and catch up on emails or last-minute work requests. Sitting in a good comfortable position that mimics being seated at an office desk serves as an excellent distraction from the real reason a patient is visiting your practice. Adding some marketing merchandise such as branded pens and mini notepads is a great way to encourage your patients to grab a ‘takeaway’ and further promote your brand.
Adding a miniature table and chair set to your children’s play corner is also a nice touch for children to play ‘grown-up’ and enjoy a play area of semi-private space to read or use Mum or Dads Ipad.

Sofas vs. Chairs
Both of these furniture pieces have a place and space in a dental waiting room. Sofas are an ideal seating solution for patients to spread out and slump, particularly if the reception area is quiet. A lovely comfy plush sofa is perfect to kick back and relax over a cup of coffee while flicking through the reception magazines. Sofas are also an attractive seating choice for families, who often make a trip to the dentist together. Everybody can sit close to one another and explore the environment and reassure any nervous family members.

Individual Seats are the perfect choice for patients who perhaps require a little more privacy and seclusion from being seated right next to another patient. The worst fear of a nervous patient will be to have to engage in conversation with people that they do not know. Individual seats that contour the body are an ideal place for patients to sit and gather their thoughts in their own little cocoon of comfort.

Bean Bags
These fun and quirky seats are an alternative to traditional chairs. Light and highly portable means that you can move them around your reception area to create a different vibe. They are also an ideal choice to add to your space on days where there are lots of families visiting. Bean bags are enjoyed by both adults and children alike, offering a comfy casual seating solution while waiting for an appointment.

If you are considering a refurbishment of your dental practice, please call us on 01462 732 991, and we can discuss what we feel would work for your type of environment.