2022 Dental Clinic Design Trends 

And just like that, we are well into 2022. It’s been a rollercoaster start to the year as face-to-face business returns – a welcome change on the previous few years!  

What else has changed in our industry? We strive to stay at the forefront of dental clinic design trends – both aesthetically and functionally – and use these to direct and adapt our approach to dental clinic design and construction. 

Here are a few of our favourite design features that we have been implementing into more and more projects in 2022. 

Separate payment area 

While this is something we’ve been recommending, designing, and building for many years, we believe it will become a more common element in dental clinic design for 2022 and beyond.  

Having a separate payment area is a small but powerful addition to any dental clinic design. It serves a few purposes that provides benefits to both the staff and patient experience. 

Firstly, and most importantly, it eliminates unnecessary stress on patients who have just completed dental treatments. Rather than utilising the same busy reception desk/waiting room area to take payments and schedule further appointments, patients are provided a space to conduct private, stress-free conversations, out of earshot of other patients in the waiting room or entering the clinic. 

For staff, it streamlines processes and congestion in the waiting area, helping staff clearly identify who is entering or exiting an appointment. A dedicated payment area also reduces overall noise and leads to a more comfortable space for everyone.  

It shows your customer that you understand and care, and are doing all you can to make their trip to the dentist as smooth and stress free as possible.  

Departure lounge 

We are seeing a trend of offering an elevated level of care to dental patients after the dental work has been completed. One method is incorporating a “departure lounge” into your dental clinic – a purpose built, dedicated space for patients to go post-treatment. Often, dental treatments leave people feeling puffed up and numb, and heading back into a busy waiting room is a cause for anxiety. Providing a space for them to depart comfortably and privately solves this. 

The double-sided benefit of a dental clinic departure lounge is that your patients in the waiting area don’t see other patients in a less than 100% state and get anxious to going in for their own treatment. 

A departure lounge demonstrates your genuine care for their wellbeing and not just treating each patient as a number. 

You can make the space an aesthetic design feature within the dental clinic and co-locate with a payments area for a seamless patient experience. There aren’t many dental clinics that have incorporated a departure lounge, ensuring it’s a positive memorable element for your returning patients. 

Larger dental practices 

Space is king in 2022. Following years of isolating and social distancing, maintaining personal space is more important than ever. People are critically aware of their surroundings and other people, so increasing the usable space wherever your patients will be moving throughout your dental clinic will reduce causes for concern and anxiety. 

Larger surgeries, waiting area size, front entrance/exit wide enough for two-way traffic, spacing between chairs, all considerations to be had at the design phase of a new or renovated dental clinic.  

Bigger spaces not only lead to more comfortable patients, but increases your ability to create beautiful, impactful environments.   

Dedicated photo room 

Dental photography rooms are a great way to get an accurate perspective of a patient’s smile, to inspire your patients of what is possible with digital dentistry, and to document your success. 

Before and after images are proven to be an incredibly powerful tool in dental marketing. Selling your services as a dentist can be difficult, but showcasing positive patient results is a great way to help attract new patients to your clinic. It also serves as great content for your website and social media channels of course. 

Consider the lighting used in this area – it must be consistent at all times of the day so before/after shots aren’t compromised. E.g. a skylight may let beautiful natural light in, but if conditions are overcast one day, image results may vary drastically. 

Design in action 

What does 2022 and beyond look like for you and your dental clinic design vision? Why not check out our recent projects and get inspired for the year ahead. 

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