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InPractice: The Goetze Dental Blog

Dental office floor plans.

The dental office floor plan is one of the most entangled parts of a dental office design project. It impacts every other aspect of the project– aesthetics, equipment, location, budget– but is also determined by these aspects. This relationship results in a circular planning process that can be difficult to navigate.

However, spending the time to develop a good floor plan is vital to the health of your practice. A well-designed office improves the well-being and effectiveness of your team while making patients feel comfortable and secure.

Some parts of a dental office floor plan are relatively standard, while others are entirely unique. Whether you’re building, renovating, or expanding your existing office, keep in mind the following advice and best practices from our design team.

Want to jump straight into designs? See Our Dental Office Floor Plan Gallery

Dental Office Floor Plan Best Practices

At Goetze Dental, we’ve developed a number of best practices for dental office design; check out these  9 tips for designing your dental office design here!  Below are best practices that relate specifically to developing your floor plan:

• Design operatory-out. The operatory is the heart of the practice for both you and your patients. Operatories should be the first rooms positioned on the floor plan, with everything else being built out to support them.
• Include your team in the planning. The layout of the office will also impact your team. Make sure you listen to their feedback and consider their ideas. Your team can help you design an office that sets them up for success.
• Work with dental office designs pros. Creating a dental office floor plan is more than just placing operatories and a reception area. Critical components like electrical and plumbing must also be included. When you work with a professional dental office design team like the one from Goetze Dental, you can be sure all your bases are covered.
• Choose the right-size office space. Most doctors underestimate how much space they will need in their new office. As a rule of thumb, you should plan for 500 square feet per operatory. For example, a 2,000-square-foot office can easily accommodate four operatories and all critical clinical spaces.

Creating Your Dental Office Floor Plan

Dental offices have a lot of rooms, including team lounges, private offices, and of course, restrooms. In this chapter, however, we’re going to focus on a few of the most important spaces for a dental office: Operatories, reception area, and critical clinical areas.

You want to design an office that is uniquely you , but that doesn’t mean you have to start from scratch. Flip through our dental office floor plan gallery for inspiration.

Operatory Floor Plan

Operatories are the core of your practice. More time will be spent here than anywhere else in the office. As such, we’ve spent a lot of time learning how to create the ideal operatory:

• Ideal size is 10x12 feet. Patients and doctors prefer more spacious operatories than they used to. Older offices might have 6x7 foot operatories, but we recommend almost twice that size today. This isn’t just about preference, either. Operatories today need space for more equipment, like computers and digital imaging, along with handicap accessibility considerations.
• Position along the perimeter. Patients today also prefer operatories to be open, not enclosed in the center of the office. Position operatories along the perimeter of the office with windows looking out. This gives patients and team members more natural light and a nice view during appointments.
• Minimize twisting. Operatories should be set up for the comfort and health of you and your team. Equipment and supplies should be within arm’s reach of the doctor without twisting or getting up out of their seat. This can be achieved regardless of your preferred delivery position.
• Customize for each doctor. Operatories are not one-size-fits-all. When designing a new office, operatories should be set up to fit the specific needs of those using them. Whether a particular doctor is tall, left-handed, or has chronic back problems, the operatories should be comfortable for everyone to use.
• Open concept with central cabinets. A common space-saving solution is an open concept operatory design, where cabinetry is used to separate operatories as opposed to walls. Offices with open concept operatories can also have private operatories for speciality procedures.

Reception Area Floor Plan

The reception area is a patient’s first impression of your office. It will set the tone for the rest of the appointment. Keep these things in mind as you design the floor plan for this area:

• Two reception area  chairs per operatory. If you’re trying to decide how much space to have in your reception area, keep this rule of thumb in mind. Usually, two reception area  chairs per operatory will give all your guests enough room. If you do a lot of pediatric work, then you might want three chairs per room as space for waiting parents and siblings. For example, Parkcrest Dental in Springfield, Missouri has a 92-seat reception area for 38 operatories. They have an entire wing dedicated to pediatric work, so they used the ratio of 2.5 reception area chairs per operatory to accommodate those accompanying their young patients.
• Children’s area. If you work with a lot of families, then including a children’s area might be a smart idea. It will make parents feel more comfortable bringing their children to the office when they know they will have things to do.
• Vestibule. Vestibules provide a barrier between the reception room and the elements outside. Whether it’s rain, cold or blazing heat, the vestibule will help keep the reception area comfortable.
• Unique design. The reception area is the perfect place to show off your personality and brand. Whether you cover the walls with fish and scuba divers (like Dentistry for Children ) or display art from the local high school (like Kanning Dental ), here is your chance to make your office truly unique and special.

See more reception area design ideas

Critical Clinical Areas

After planning out the operatories and reception area, doctors should turn their attention to sterilization, lab, and digital imaging centers. Unlike reception and operatories, some of these spaces are optional, so it’s important to consider your individual practice’s needs. Here are a few design points to remember when planning your d ental office floor plan:

• Central sterilization. Every operatory needs easy access to sterilization. Many offices place sterilization in the center of the practice and create at least two points of access to facilitate efficiency.
• Lab. The needs of your practice determine if you need a lab and if so, the size of your lab will determine the space allocated. Consider whether your practice will incorporate in-office milling or printing, and the space required for those devices.
• Digital Imaging. Like a lab, the need for digital imaging solutions changes from practice to practice. Each brand and model of 3D CBCT and traditional digital pans have unique space requirements that may inform your space allocation.
• Mechanical Room. The size and location of this space is largely determined by the structure of your building. Considerations include whether or not you have a free-standing building with a basement, if your office building has multiple floors, or if the building has special ventilation requirements. Your Goetze dental office design team will help you navigate those specifics.
• Dental Supply Storage. Most offices choose a centrally located, easily accessible space for their supply closet. This is another space to consider planning for eventual growth. As the practice serves more patients, you will need the space to keep more supplies on hand.

Equipment: Finalizing the Floor Plan

After positioning each room on your floor plan, the last step is to finalize the equipment. Depending on your equipment choices, the floor plan may need to be adjusted to fit. Once the floor plan and equipment are determined, utilities are ready to be called out for construction.

Equipment is a critical part of the dental office design plan. Read more about choosing the right equipment for your new dental office in another one of our blog posts.

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Dental Office Planning

You've got a clear picture of your ideal dental office. We'll help realize your dream. We specialize in partnering with you on  dental office design . A key element of this is the floor plan. On top of creating an atmosphere that makes patients comfortable, we work to make sure key workflows are mapping out for optimal efficiency. Digital, instruments/materials, and clinical team/patient workflows are of utmost importance to helping you deliver oral health to your patients.

The right floor plan allows you to achieve the potential of your practice and embrace  digital dentistry . Dentsply Sirona designs and builds dental offices across the nation backed by global resources and support. With a legacy of 100+ years, Dentsply Sirona is a worldwide leader in dental technology, ergonomic design, and innovative product development.

Find out more about Treatment Centers from Dentsply Sirona.

Dental office floor plans for maximum efficiency and flow

More value in less space

Our founder, Dr. David Ahearn, is a nationally recognized efficiency expert and a practicing dentist. Driven by his unique insights, our design team carefully considers the needs and goals of each dental office client to create a plan that will maximize dental productivity, staff comfort, and the patient experience. No other dental office design firm creates more value in less space.

Your satisfaction is guaranteed

We design your office according to your needs..

Avoid the pitfalls of "one size fits all" template designs. Read Blog Post 9

Floor plan review

Dr. David Ahearn and his design team work closely together to review iterations of blocking diagrams and floor plans to create practices that are perfectly optimized to match the needs and goals of their clients. We know dentistry because we do dentistry.

Designed in 2/3 the space, equipped at 2/3 the cost, and producing at 2-3X the industry average

Use less space.

Our streamlined operatories are significantly more efficient and productive than industry norms. They require less space — allowing you to have more of them — yet they feel larger to both the patient and practitioner.

Similar attention is paid to all aspects of your practice — reducing bottlenecks to create better functionality and smoother flow, while being ever-mindful of the patient experience.

Reduce costs

Our high-flow, ergonomic design principles bring a secondary benefit to your project: the elimination of wasteful and expensive side cabinetry.

By centralizing inventory and deploying supplies via tubs and mobile carts, we substantially reduce operatory equipment costs. As a result, our offices may be equipped at prices far below the competition. With that said, there's no requirement to use equipment that we manufacture. The choice is yours.

Be more productive

We ensure optimal productivity of your dental practice by addressing all of the systems which make it flow efficiently. From meticulously-planned operatories, resupply, sterilization, patient intake, and check-out, our designs provide unparalleled productivity and comfort.

Our clients typically perform at 2-3X the industry average and have built practices that they, and their teams, love to work in.

Common questions

How long will it take you to design my new office.

Our team understands that responsiveness throughout the design process is crucial to your success. We treat our client communication the same way we treat communication with a friend. We will communicate in whatever way is most convenient for you (email, text, chat, phone call, Zoom, FaceTime) and make our team available as much as possible. If you think that you have found a great piece of land or existing space for your new practice, you need answers quickly to determine if the location fits your needs. And you need that fast.

Our initial concept designs will be completed in 5 to 7 days , regardless of how many people are required to put on your design assignment. That means that you will know what you will be able to do with that space and will have a good idea about how you can do it.   Fast .

After that, the length of the design process largely depends on your schedule, and the size of the project. We have had offices designed and renovated in 10 weeks. Of course, we have many more completed in 10 months. Again, much of this will depend on you, your needs, and your schedule. Just know that, if you choose to work with us, we have been doing this work for over 20 years and our team is very experienced and will be responsive to your needs.

If you are building from the ground up, administrative constraints will commonly require more time and management. But they often result in a much more dramatic, flexible, and scalable office that is free from the constraints of adjacent tenants.

Do you design for dental specialty practices?

Yes. While our focus had been on GP practices, we have felt that the specialty market has been underserved. We have only recently provided specific dental office design services to the dental specialties. Our emphasis has been GP practices, because we wanted to make sure that we had completed our mission to supply all of the needs for high-performance GP practice before committing to doing the same for specialists. Having said that, we have designed specialty sections within GP offices for years and now, having developed new advanced technology designed for the future of specialty practice (where there has been very little in the way of advances in core components for decades), we are now making our design services available to all.   Take a look , I think that you’ll be excited at what you see.

Take a look at some our beautiful, efficient, and high-flow   dental office design examples   from our client portfolio and   reach out to our team   if you have any questions.

How do you measure dental office production?

There are many metrics for office productivity but the two that we would consider most useful are production per patient chair and production per provider hour.

Production per treatment chair (sometimes referenced as production per op) is a useful measure of facility utilization. It is based upon a more industrial measurement that is used by factory managers. It is a very helpful way to look at productivity when facility costs are extremely high as, for example, in high rent locations like Manhattan or San Francisco.

What will increase the apparent production score is primarily hours of operation. Want a big number? Be open seven days a week. Steel mills want to measure this way because you don’t want to ever shut the blast furnaces down! For most dental practices this is simply not the primary problem. Staffing is.

Which leads us to our second method of measurement: Production per Hour, or “PPH”. To determine PPH, simply divide the monthly production of a provider by the number of hours they spent in treatment. This can be done by individual doctors – a helpful metric when bringing on new staff – or aggregated for teams. (Doctors/associates only - keep a separate measurement for Hygiene teams.) We are sad to say that the average PPH of doctors in the US is currently not much above $400. The result of this is lower doctor incomes, longer wait-times for patients, inadequate access to care and a lot of unnecessary waste.

Increasing the PPH of our clients is one of our primary goals. From clinical support to chairside, our systems are engineered to allow you do more dentistry in less time (and with less stress!). PPH numbers of 3 and even 4 times the national average are common for our clients.

Why shouldn't I just have a local dental supply company draw up my new office plan?

Working with your local dental supply company may seem like your simplest and cheapest design alternative – especially when they throw out an offer for a free design. However, it is said that, there is no such thing as a free lunch and, when it comes to design plans, someone has to pay for that meal – that someone is you. You'll often pay in lost productivity, poor space utilization, increased cabinet and equipment costs, inadequate design documentation, and a lack of esthetic plan – just to name a few.

You can't really blame the supply company. First, they make their big money on supplies – hence the name. Equipment is a headache for them, but they've got to sell it, if not – they might lose your account to a catalog. (Hmmm... If you don't need them for equipment. If you can use anyone for service...) Second, chances are that they didn't charge you up front for your "design", which means they have to make money somewhere.

a)   They design for what is easiest and more importantly, safest and most profitable, for them. They don't really know how to increase your productivity through careful layout and they probably couldn't care less about meeting your personal goals and expectations. The person drawing the plan has never even spoken to you! The faster and simpler the job is for them, the better, because doing the job right just costs them more... much more. Remember, they don't do dentistry for a living. Why should we expect an equipment salesman to understand peak performance when most dentists don't?

b)   They make sure to use a bunch of cabinets and accessories you don't need in order to get paid back for the design. You'll never hear a supply company telling you to simplify your supply cabinets or to streamline on the variety of products you need – that's where they make money! In fact, they probably hope your cabinets are a mess-then you'll buy more supplies when you can't find the ones you already own. (No, that's probably not true. It just seems like it, doesn't it?)

Save yourself a bunch of money and pay for your office design. You could hire our firm or someone else – just make sure they truly understand dentistry! You'll save your money in the long run. Don't worry, when it is time to purchase supplies, your supplier will still be there.

How do I even get started with my dental office design?

The short answer is to start with a conceptual drawing called a Blocking Diagram before you create a Floor Plan. The more detailed answer is covered in this YouTube video.

After watching the video, please don't hesitate to contact our team with any questions. We love to make dentistry better, and easier, for dentists and the patients they serve.

Have more questions? Check out our FAQ or feel free to contact us .

The sooner you start the process, the faster your dream becomes a reality.

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Determining the ideal size and space of your practice

Opening a dental office is a significant step in a dentist’s career. It is also quite taxing. Taking it one organized step at a time can help alleviate some of the stress.

One of the first major things you need to decide is the size and location of your ideal space.

The size and location are based on your ten year plan. This plan is how you envision your business to be functioning in ten years, in terms of maximum production. Having a ten year plan will enable you to determine the number of operatories required to achieve your goals. Some dentists simply want to be sole proprietors, with a full-time hygienist and possibly another part-time hygienist. Others may want to hire an associate down the road or even run a multi-provider clinic.

Download Supporting Materials (Free for ADA members) How To Open a New Dental Office or Relocate Your Current One

Once you have determined the number of operatories necessary to support your ten-year plan, you can determine the square footage you will need for your new office. 

Building or Refreshing Your Dental Practice: A Guide to Dental Office Design , published by the American Dental Association, offers a formula that can be an excellent starting point to determine required square footage:

Number of Operatories Multiplied by Square Footage of Operatories Divided by .275

A full chapter excerpt from How to Open a New Dental Office or Relocate Your Current One on deciding how many operatories an office will need, how much square footage an office will require, and other preliminary decisions when choosing and constructing a dental space can be found in the ADA Store.

This excerpt is provided courtesy of Gordon F. Osterhaus Jr., D.D.S. Dr. Osterhaus is the author of How to Open a New Dental Office or Relocate Your Current One .

Optimizing Dental Clinic Design: A Guide to Enhancing Functionality and Patient Comfort

In the realm of dental clinic design, the layout plays a pivotal role in defining the functionality, efficiency, and comfort of the space. A well-thought-out dental clinic layout not only enhances patient experience but also streamlines workflow, ensuring that both staff and patients navigate the space with ease. This comprehensive guide delves into the essentials of effective layout planning for dental clinics, offering insights into creating a space that marries functionality with comfort.

Introduction to Dental Clinic Layout Planning

The layout planning of a dental clinic involves more than just aesthetic appeal. It’s about creating a harmonious environment that promotes well-being, reduces patient anxiety, and maximizes operational efficiency. From the reception area to the treatment rooms, every aspect of the clinic’s design must be carefully considered to achieve these goals.

Understanding the Importance of a Well-Designed Layout

A well-designed dental clinic layout significantly impacts patient satisfaction and staff productivity. It can:

• Reduce Patient Anxiety: A welcoming and comfortable environment eases patient nerves, especially important in a dental setting where anxiety is common.
• Improve Workflow Efficiency: An optimal layout facilitates a smooth workflow, allowing staff to move freely and efficiently between spaces.
• Enhance Privacy and Comfort: Properly designed spaces ensure patient privacy during treatments, contributing to a more comfortable and reassuring experience.

Key Components of Dental Clinic Layout

Reception and waiting area.

The reception and waiting area serve as the first point of contact for patients. This space should be welcoming and comfortable, with a layout that offers clear pathways and easy access to the reception desk. Considerations include:

• Seating Arrangement: Provide ample and comfortable seating that accommodates all patients, including those with special needs.
• Entertainment and Amenities: Incorporate elements such as reading materials, a children’s play area, or a beverage station to enhance the waiting experience.
• Privacy: Design the reception area to offer privacy when patients are discussing treatments or payments.

Treatment Rooms

Treatment rooms are the heart of any dental clinic, where the majority of patient interactions occur. Key layout considerations include:

• Space Efficiency: Ensure enough room for dental equipment, patient chairs, and free movement for staff.
• Ergonomics: Arrange equipment and furniture to minimize strain on dentists and hygienists, promoting a healthier work environment.
• Privacy: Use soundproofing materials and thoughtful placement of rooms to maintain patient privacy.

Sterilization Area

A well-designed sterilization area is crucial for infection control and efficiency. It should be:

• Centrally Located: Position the sterilization area for easy access from all treatment rooms.
• Well-Organized: Include clearly labeled storage for sterilized and non-sterilized items, with a logical flow from dirty to clean.

Staff Areas

Staff areas, including break rooms and administrative offices, should be designed to offer comfort and functionality for the team. Consider:

• Separation from Patient Areas: Keep staff areas private and separate from patient spaces to provide a retreat for breaks and administrative work.
• Efficiency: Design administrative areas to streamline tasks such as scheduling, billing, and patient records management.

Incorporating Technology into the Layout

Modern dental practices are increasingly integrating technology into their operations. Effective layout planning should accommodate these technological needs, including:

• Digital Imaging Equipment: Allocate space for digital X-rays and other imaging technology, considering both operational and storage needs.
• Patient Education Systems: Include screens or tablets in treatment rooms for patient education on dental health and treatment options.

Enhancing Comfort Through Design

Creating a comfortable environment goes beyond the physical layout. Consider these elements to enhance comfort and reduce anxiety:

• Color Scheme: Use calming colors that evoke a sense of tranquility and cleanliness.
• Lighting: Incorporate natural light where possible and choose artificial lighting that mimics natural light to create a warm and inviting atmosphere.
• Acoustics: Use sound-absorbing materials to minimize noise from dental equipment and conversations, contributing to a more relaxed environment.

Navigating Regulatory Compliance and Accessibility

When planning your dental clinic layout, it’s essential to adhere to regulatory compliance and accessibility standards, including:

• ADA Compliance: Ensure your clinic meets the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, providing access for all patients.
• Local Health and Safety Regulations: Familiarize yourself with and adhere to local health and safety codes to ensure a safe environment for both patients and staff.

Effective layout planning for dental clinics is a multifaceted process that requires careful consideration of functionality, comfort, and regulatory compliance. By focusing on the key components of the clinic layout and incorporating elements that enhance patient experience and workflow efficiency, dental practices can create spaces that not only meet but exceed the expectations of their patients and staff. Remember, the goal is to design a dental clinic that feels less like a medical facility and more like a welcoming space for healing and care.

In the ever-evolving landscape of dental care, where patient expectations and technological advancements continue to rise, investing time and resources into effective layout planning is not just beneficial—it’s essential for the success and growth of your practice.

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Dental Office Floor Plans: A Guide to Choosing the Right Plan

Creating an inviting, functional, and efficient dental practice begins with exceptional dental office design, specifically with a well-thought-out dental office floor plan. The layout of a dental office plays a pivotal role in the day-to-day operations, impacting everything from patient satisfaction to the workflow of dental professionals. We understand that the foundation of a successful practice lies not only in the quality of dental services provided but also in how effectively patients and staff can navigate and utilize the space. Hence, optimizing the design of a dental office is a crucial step in building or renovating a dental practice that aims to be welcoming and efficient.

In crafting the perfect floor plan for a dental office, we will delve into the importance of a well-designed dental office floor plan, highlight the key elements to consider during the planning stage, outline the steps to create the ideal layout, and share best practices and tips for a dental office layout. Our goal is to equip you with the knowledge and insights needed to make informed decisions about your dental office design. By the end of this blog, you will have a comprehensive understanding of how to approach the design process, ensuring your dental office is not just aesthetically pleasing but also functionally sound and efficient.

Importance of a Well-Designed Dental Office Floor Plan

Enhancing workflow efficiency.

A well-designed dental office floor plan significantly boosts productivity and profitability by optimizing functionality and workflow. By focusing on the core function of the space, we ensure it is efficient for patient traffic and staff flow, which is crucial for the daily operations of a dental practice. An efficient team can reduce the turnover time between patients, potentially allowing for additional appointments and increasing revenue. Moreover, a strategically centralized design minimizes the distance for retrieving instruments and consumables, making these trips quicker and more efficient. Adopting a workflow-first approach rather than conforming to the available space can further enhance operational efficiency.

Improving Patient Experience

The layout of a dental office should facilitate a smooth and natural patient flow from entry to exit, which can prevent bottlenecks and enhance the overall patient experience. Designing identical treatment rooms ensures that staff can efficiently perform dental services without delays, reducing wait times for patients. Additionally, integrating advanced technology like digital Patient Portals and Virtual Check-Ins can significantly expedite administrative processes and improve patient satisfaction. A thoughtful design that includes comfortable seating and a welcoming atmosphere in waiting areas also plays a crucial role in patient comfort and can influence their perception of the quality of care provided.

Key Elements to Consider When Designing a Dental Office Floor Plan

Reception area.

When designing your dental office, the reception area sets the initial tone for patient experience. It should be welcoming and designed to ease dental anxiety. Comfortable seating and a layout that supports a quick transition to clinical areas are crucial. Ensure the space is aesthetically pleasing and can accommodate the expected patient volume comfortably.

Operatory Rooms

Operatory rooms are critical components where dental procedures are performed. These should be designed considering the size to accommodate necessary equipment and ensure privacy. Modern operatories are ideally 10×12 feet to allow for efficient movement and essential equipment. Positioning these rooms along the perimeter of the office can enhance natural light and views, improving patient and staff comfort.

Clinical Areas

The clinical areas, including the lab and digital imaging rooms, are vital for supporting dental operations. These areas should be designed for accessibility and efficiency. Adequate space for current and future equipment needs is essential to accommodate growth and technological advancements in dental care.

Storage and Sterilization Areas

Properly designed storage and sterilization areas are essential for maintaining hygiene and operational efficiency. These areas should support a logical flow from dirty to clean zones, with sufficient space for the sterilization process and storage of clean instruments. Consider future needs and compliance with health safety standards to ensure these areas can adapt to evolving guidelines and practice requirements.

Steps to Create the Perfect Dental Office Layout

Consulting a professional designer.

When planning your dental office layout, engaging a professional designer or architect is crucial. A dental office designer can provide insights into the most efficient layouts and help integrate essential utilities and technology connections. This expertise ensures that your office not only looks appealing but also functions efficiently, supporting both current needs and future expansions.

Measuring Space and Equipment

Determining the ideal size and layout of your dental operatory is a foundational step. The size should accommodate necessary equipment and allow for easy movement of both staff and patients. Consider future growth and ensure that the space can adapt to increasing demands without significant disruptions. This approach will help maintain a balance between present requirements and future expansions.

Planning for Future Growth

It is essential to envision your dental practice’s growth over the years. Planning for future growth involves considering additional operatories and ensuring that your current layout can accommodate this expansion with minimal disruption. This might include having pre-plumbed operatories ready to be equipped as your practice grows. Such foresight in design allows for continuous operation even during expansions.

Best Practices and Tips for Dental Office Layout

Optimizing space utilization.

To maximize the efficiency of dental office space, it’s crucial to adopt intelligent floor planning that eliminates unnecessary hallways and optimizes patient flow. Incorporating multi-functional furniture and equipment that serve dual purposes can also save space while maintaining functionality. Strategic use of vertical space with tall shelving units and overhead cabinets ensures supplies are neatly stored and easily accessible, enhancing operational efficiency.

Ensuring Accessibility and Comfort

Designing a dental office with accessibility in mind is essential. This includes adhering to ADA standards to accommodate all patients comfortably. Providing ample and comfortable seating in waiting areas and ensuring easy navigation through clear pathways enhances patient comfort and reduces anxiety. Additionally, ergonomic furniture and equipment placement can minimize physical strain on staff, promoting a healthier work environment.

Incorporating Aesthetic Elements

The aesthetic appeal of a dental office significantly impacts patient satisfaction. Choosing calming colors and incorporating natural light can create a welcoming atmosphere. Artwork and decorative elements should be thoughtfully selected to evoke tranquility and comfort, making the dental office a more pleasant place for patients and staff. Utilizing sound-absorbing materials also helps in creating a quieter and more relaxing environment.

This blog post has been your guide on the essential steps to designing a dental office floor plan that prioritizes both efficiency and a welcoming atmosphere. We’ve covered how to improve workflow, enhance the patient experience, and plan for future growth, all with the goal of empowering dental professionals to create spaces that reflect the quality of care they provide. We emphasized the importance of professional design and incorporating aesthetics, highlighting how a well-planned dental office layout is fundamental to a successful practice. 

The ideal layout seamlessly blends functionality with comfort, ensuring a positive environment for both dental professionals and patients to deliver and receive optimal care. Recognizing this balance can significantly impact the dental field, potentially transforming how practices are designed and run. As you move forward, consider this guide a valuable resource in designing a dental office that meets not only current needs but also anticipates future ones, ensuring the longevity and success of your practice.

A: To improve your dental office and increase productivity, consider the following strategies: – Pay attention to the first impressions you create, as visiting a dentist can cause anxiety for many. – Simplify the patient intake process to make it more efficient. – Actively seek out and encourage feedback from your patients. – Move your scheduling process online to make it more accessible and efficient. – Reevaluate and possibly redesign your office layout for better functionality. – Explore the use of technology, such as Device Magic, to streamline operations.

A: Designing a floor plan involves several key steps: – Select the specific area you wish to draw. – If the building already exists, accurately measure the walls, doors, and any significant furniture to ensure the plan’s accuracy. – Begin by drawing the walls to outline the space. – Incorporate architectural features into your design. – Finally, place furniture within the space to complete the plan.

A: Yes, Planner 5D offers a free floor plan creator that is a robust tool for home interior design. It allows users to create accurate and professional-grade layouts without the need for specialized technical skills.

A: The design of your dental office plays a crucial role in setting your practice apart from others. A well-designed space can create a safe, welcoming, and inviting atmosphere for patients, making a lasting positive impression. It’s an opportunity to reassure patients that dental visits can be a positive experience, helping to alleviate any associated anxiety and encourage regular appointments.

• Glove Solutions
• Sterling Lasers
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• Digital Dentistry
• Service, Parts & Repair
• Software & Technology
• Practice Lifecycle
• Practice Coaching
• Practice Design
• Financial Solutions
• Strategic Markets
• Managed Support
• Benco Dental U
• Publications

The Practice Design Team at Benco Dental uses their creative thinking and expertise to design America’s most productive dental offices. We have been trusted to provide functionality and variety to thousands of dental practices since 1978.

Partner With Benco’s Experienced Dental Practice Designers

At Benco, we understand the importance of a dental office’s design in improving productivity and overall patient care. We help you build practices that increase productivity, and staff efficiency, cater to your patient’s needs, and allow your vision and professional branding to shine through.

From conceptualization to completion, our team of dental practice designers will guide you through every step of the design process.

Conceptualization

Our design experts will develop innovative plans for your specific space and needs. We’ll even create 3D renderings of your dental office floor plans, so you’ll know what to expect!

Throughout the process, we document the details for success with dental equipment plans, carpentry, electricity, and plumbing details.

Our interior and graphic designers guide you in selecting interior finishes and developing branding assets. We aim to bring your vision to fruition and help market your practice effectively through interior design and branding.

Our Curated Design Work

Interior design.

Collaborate with our interior and graphic designers to set the tone of your practice. Curate a user experience tailored to your mission, vision, and values.

Service includes vision board creation, top-to-bottom finish selection, and a document package for your construction team.

VIEW INTERIOR DESIGN PORTFOLIO

Build Your Brand

Branding makes your practice stand out and fosters trust and loyalty among your patients. Our branding specialists help you develop and nurture a strong brand identity that best represents your strengths and values. Convey the essence of your practice through font, shape, and color.

Service includes logo design, branded stationery, and everything you need to carry your brand across social media, website, traditional marketing, and more.

VIEW BRANDING PORTFOLIO

Our Practice Designers are industry thought leaders. Learn more about the newest concepts and developments in dental office design from these featured articles.

Designing Dental Practices of the Future

Office Design

A Guide to Optimizing Your Dental Office Design to Improve the Patient Experience for Your Practice

Everything about your dental office design, from the seats in your reception area to the cleanliness of your sterilization room, sends a message. Through your dental clinic design, you can show your patients that you care about their health, safety, and well-being, thus improving your practice’s overall patient ...

Smaller is Smarter

It’s counterintuitive but true: Smaller operatories give a dentist more flexibility and opportunities to boost revenue. That’s because the number of operatories is a dental practice’s most important revenue driver. Space-saving designs and thoughtful cabinetry choices let dentists fit more operatories in the same space…

Allow us to bring our expertise to your next office design project!

Our team brings diverse experiences, expertise, and insights to help you build America’s most productive dental office.

DIRECTOR OF DESIGN Sucharita Ray

DESIGN MANAGER Kara Mann

DESIGN SUPERVISOR, STRATEGIC MARKETS Rick Bolcavage

MARKETING & DESIGN OPERATIONS PROJECT MANAGER Daina Griffiths

INTERIOR DESIGNER II Amanda Griffith

DENTAL DESIGNER III Mark Costigan

DENTAL DESIGNER II Megan Chuzas

DENTAL DESIGNER II Ron Lalunio

INTERIOR DESIGNER II Angele Hashoul

INTERIOR DESIGNER II Taylor Haight

INTERIOR DESIGNER II Emily Pieshefski

JUNIOR DESIGNER Nicholas Cicci

INTERIOR DESIGNER Amy Hnat

BRAND DESIGN SPECIALIST Allison Simenkiewicz

DRAFTER Patrick Nolan

INTERIOR DESIGNER Michael Warden

JUNIOR DESIGNER Eunice Lee

Sucharita ray director of design.

• Over 10 years of experience in the architecture and design field
• Joined CenterPoint Design/Benco Dental in 2016
• Earned first place award as part of AGA team for Commercial Design from IIA
• Bachelor of Architecture, BMS Engineering College
• Associate of Art in Interior Design – Art Institute of Seattle
• NCIDQ Certified Interior Designer
• Where do you find your design inspiration? Urban life, travel and historical novels, autobiographies, biographies.
• Mentor in design or the world at large? Why? The first architect I worked with out of school. He had travelled the world, lived and practiced in different countries. His experiences inspired me to move out of the comfort of my homeland and pursue architecture and design abroad.
• Favorite part of life/what makes you happy? Travelling; showing the world to my son and seeing the world from his perspective.
• What’s in your iTunes/Spotify/CD player? Bollywood
• Side pursuits / hobbies you enjoy that relate to your craft (or not!) Writing and Punch Needle
• You’re all creative and offer a unique perspective on what makes a space work and flow . What would you share as your best tip — or general words of wisdom? The Girl Guides motto, “Be prepared,” applies almost always to design.
• Favorite field trip that feeds into your sense of design? Chicago

Kara Mann DESIGN MANAGER

• Registered Architect, PA
• Over 19 years in the architecture and design field
• Master of Architecture, Catholic University of America 
• Bachelor of Architecture, Catholic University of America
• American Institute of Architects Board Member (2008 – 2020)
• American Institute of Architects Board President (2014 – 2016)
• Favorite part of life / what makes you happy:  Spending time with my family, friends, and pets.
• Side pursuits / hobbies you enjoy that relate to your craft (or not): I enjoy watching my kids play sports, getting together with family and friends to watch professional sports, getting outside when it is warm and sunny, attending live music shows, reading, and drawing. 
• Where do you find your design inspiration? I find inspiration everywhere, ever since I was a kid I have always been extremely interested in my surroundings, wondering what people’s homes looked like or even just exploring the woods. I have always been perceptive, and I think that has been a driver in exploration and wanting to know more. 
• What’s your favorite room in the house? My favorite room is the kitchen, we recently renovated, and that space is open and bright and serves as the hub of the home.
• What’s in your iTunes / Spotify / CD player? I like all kinds of music, I love live concerts, especially outdoors. I have really enjoyed seeing Dead and Company, The Lumineers, Mumford and Sons, and the Avett Brothers live over the last few years.
• You’re all creative and offer a unique perspective on what makes a space work and flow. What would you share as your best tip – or general word of wisdom? I think good design is felt, a successful space in my opinion makes you feel good when you enter it and spend time in it. I try and think through that when I am designing and who I am designing for.
• Favorite field trip that feeds into your sense of design? When I was in graduate school, I spent a semester abroad and we spent a large portion of the trip in Slovenia, that was one of the most memorable places I have ever visited. Our TA was from there, so we got to spend down time like locals and it was such an incredible place.

Rick Bolcavage DESIGN SUPERVISOR, STRATEGIC MARKETS

• Joined Benco Dental in 2022
• Over 23 years of experience in the design / architecture field
• Associate of Science, Architectural Design & Drafting, Johnson College
• Favorite field trip that feeds into your sense of design: Family & friends
• Side pursuits / hobbies you enjoy that relate to your craft (or not): I like to hit the gym 5 days a week, golf, and watch my son enjoy life.
• Where do you find your design inspiration? Everywhere I go, I find inspiration in the design of the different buildings or structures I see. Scranton is home to many unique designs, especially gothic designed churches, and old stately manors.
• What’s your favorite room in the house? Great room – that’s where my family spends most of our time.
• What’s in your iTunes / Spotify / CD player? Breaking Benjamin, Blind Melon, 90s rap.
• What would you share as your best creative tip – or general words of wisdom? Even though we are the professionals of design, you always need to listen to the client and incorporate their sense of style and requests for the design first, even though it may clash with your own direction. A successful project leads to a happy client, and happy clients are repeat customers.
• Favorite field trip that feeds into your sense of design: Any big city.
• Who inspires you? My son. He inspires me to be a better person.

Daina Griffiths MARKETING & DESIGN OPERATIONS PROJECT MANAGER

• Joined Benco Dental in 2019
• Over 13 years of experience in operations
• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Hospitality and Tourism; Columbia Southern University
• Associate of Science in Business Administration; McCann School of Business & Technology
• Who inspires you? Pioneers, out-of-the-box thinkers, underdogs and folks who have found their true passions in life.
• Side pursuits / hobbies you enjoy that relate to your craft (or not): Watching live-theater, thrifting: shopping for deals and giving old things new life, dancing, renovating my house, making lists, crafting, learning French and planning events / parties to enjoy with my family and friends.
• Where do you find your design inspiration? Travel is my greatest source of inspiration. I love seeing first-hand how others live and how their culture shines through their art, food, fashion, hospitality, and design. Every experience I share, no matter how different from my everyday life (sleeping in a treehouse in the jungle vs sleeping in a historic castle) helps to broaden my mind and my style.
• What’s in your iTunes / Spotify / CD player? Broadway showtunes, Queen, Spice Girls, Abba, Alanis Morissette, Harry Styles, and pretty much anything from the 90s (especially ska/punk, grunge, alternative rock)
• Favorite field trip that feeds into your sense of design? Walt Disney World – Inspiration flows at a place who’s artfully managed to marry “grown-up” concepts such as structure, organization and planning with imagination, color and magic, all seemingly “child-like” points-of-view. And this corporate machine manages to do it, all while staying true to their brand and holding the title of “happiest place on Earth”. Mimicking their style by balancing both hemispheres of my mind, while always adding that “little bit of pixie dust” is something I aspire to follow every day.
• What’s your favorite room in the house? Living room. Redesigning the living room was the first project my husband and I took on after our wedding, making sure that every element represents our tastes and us as a couple. There’s also a lot of windows in this room, making it a favorite of not only us, but our cats as well!

Amanda Griffith INTERIOR DESIGNER II

• Over 16 years of experience in the architecture and design field
• Joined CenterPoint Design/Benco Dental in 2007
• Bachelor of Fine Arts, Marywood University
• Where do you find your design inspiration? There is a wealth of inspiration around us everyday. Finding interest in a small detail of a whole can be a way to bring a design together. Some of my favorite places to look can be the ever amazing beauty of nature and the magnificence of architecture throughout the centuries and world.
• Favorite part of life/what makes you happy? Watching my son learn and grow brings me such pure joy each and every day.
• What’s in your iTunes/Spotify/CD player? Anything 80s!!!
• Side pursuits / hobbies you enjoy that relate to your craft (or not!) These are a few of my favorite things…design, outdoors, travel, music, and humor.
• Favorite field trip that feeds into your sense of design? Historic landmarks showcasing unique architecture such as Charleston, SC. The story of the architecture adds to the experience.
• What’s your favorite room in the house? The foyer is one of my favorite rooms in the house. It is the welcoming center and showcases the staircase and my favorite pendant light fixture : )

Mark Costigan DENTAL DESIGNER III

• Over 36 years of experience in the architecture and design field with Benco Dental
• Associate of Applied Science; Architectural Engineering, Luzerne County Community College
• Designer of the Year Award, 2010 (Benco)
• Mentor in design or the world at large? Why? Frank Lloyd Wright, because his designs are different and creative.
• Favorite part of life/what makes you happy? Sports (watching, and playing). Working around the house. Landscaping. Golfing. Being outdoors.
• What’s in your iTunes/Spotify/CD player? 70s and 80s music, Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars, Billy Joel, Phil Collins, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith
• Side pursuits / hobbies you enjoy that relate to your craft (or not!) PIAA Basketball Official, wood working, working out.
• You’re all creative and offer a unique perspective on what makes a space work and flow. What would you share as your best tip – or general words of wisdom? Don’t make squares. I like to design things that are different, like angled or rounded walls.
• Favorite field trip that feeds into your sense of design? Philadelphia Museum of Art
• What’s your favorite room in the house? Family room or workshop

Megan Chuzas DENTAL DESIGNER II

• Bachelor of Fine Arts; Interior Architecture and Design from Marywood University
• Favorite part of life / what makes you happy? I love walking into my house after a long, busy day. Nothing makes me feel more at peace than being in an environment that I created, surrounded by the things, people and pets I love most.
• Side pursuits / hobbies you enjoy that relate to your craft (or not!) I love to shop vintage and estate sales on the weekends. It’s something I’ve done since I was a kid. I call it “treasure hunting”.
• Where do you find your design inspiration? My husband and I love to travel. Getting to see the architecture and design trends from different parts of the country and the world is always very inspiring to me.
• What’s your favorite room in the house? It’s hard to choose. I love my living room because I feel it reflects my design style most. But my bedroom is the place I go to when I want to relax, turn off all technology and take some time for myself.
• What’s in your iTunes / Spotify / CD player? Cold War Kids, The Killers, David Bowie, Jimmy Eat World
• Mentor in design or the world at large? Why? I love Iris Apfel. She is a 97- year-old designer/fashion icon. She has this “More is More” approach when it comes to design and life in general. I admire her care-free outlook and commitment to her distinct personal style.

Ron Lalunio DENTAL DESIGNER II

• Over 13 years of experience in design
• Joined CenterPoint Design/Benco Dental in 2015
• 2019 Office Sportfest Champion in Badminton and Air Hockey
• Recipient of the 2021 Award for Outstanding Designer
• Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship (AOTS) and Technical Training Course in field of Reinforcement Foundation
• Advanced Autocad 2012 (Autocad Drafting Training)
• Revit Architecture (Revit Drafting of Architectural Drawings)
• Where do you find your design inspiration? I find design inspiration in everything, when I take a walk, chat up with family, friends and coworkers.
• Favorite part of life/what makes you happy? Family and friends and waking up in the morning and realizing I am still alive.
• What’s in your iTunes/Spotify/CD player? Top hits Philippines, LANY and my love song playlist
• Favorite field trip that feeds into your sense of design? When I visited the United States, specifically a trip to New York City.

Angele Hashoul INTERIOR DESIGNER II

• Over 24 years of experience in the architecture and design field
• Joined CenterPoint Design/Benco Dental in 2017
• Bachelor of Arts; Interior Design, Sydney Institute of Technology, Australia
• Where do you find your design inspiration? I find inspiration in fashion trends, accessories, and simply personal treasures that hold a special connection to me, but I also find inspiration in amazing architecture around the globe
• Mentor in design or the world at large? Why? The world at large. I find inspiration in places or people where I least expect it.
• Favorite part of life/what makes you happy? Traveling to new places, to disconnect from the material world and connect with nature and remember to appreciate what life is.
• What’s in your iTunes/Spotify/CD player? On a personal “note”: music is a main key in my designs because it sets the mood that I’m looking for. Some favorites include scores by Hans Zimmer, John Williams, a variation of cinematic orchestral music, 2Cellos, Andre’ Rieu, and of course, classical is always on the list (especially Vivaldi).
• Side pursuits / hobbies you enjoy that relate to your craft (or not!) Portraits in any style, even animated, if I could find the time of course. People’s facial expression is a storyline that is clear, yet unspoken
• You’re all creative and offer a unique perspective on what makes a space work and flow . What would you share as your best tip — or general words of wisdom? Designing around human needs and activities is designing for success. Challenges are masters of our creativity, so put your heart into everything you do because if passion isn’t infused in our work, it becomes lifeless; something will be missing.
• Favorite field trip that feeds into your sense of design? Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Broad contemporary art museum, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour
• What’s your favorite room in the house? The garden

Taylor Haight INTERIOR DESIGNER II

• Over 5 years of experience in the architecture and design field
• Master of Science; Environmental Design, Texas Tech University
• Bachelor of Interior Design with a Minor in Architecture, Texas Tech University
• Favorite part of life / what makes you happy? I love spending time with my family and friends and making memories together.
• Where do you find your design inspiration? I find my inspiration everywhere I go. I am inspired by nature and architecture and finding different motifs or aspects that I can incorporate into my own designs.
• What’s your favorite room in the house? My favorite room in the house is my bedroom. It is my space to unwind and relax after a long day and maybe watch a little Netflix or read a book before its time to go to bed.
• What’s in your iTunes / Spotify / CD player? Currently my favorites include: Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Phil Whickham, and Carrie Underwood.
• Favorite field trip that feeds into your sense of design? One of my favorite places that I have visited is Chicago. I attended a study tour during undergrad where we were able to see every famous building and museum that we learned about in school. It was a great trip and I came back more inspired than ever.

Emily Pieshefski INTERIOR DESIGNER II

• Joined Benco Dental in 2020
• Over 6 years of experience in the design and architecture field, previously worked in residential / small commercial design
• Bachelor of Fine Arts; Interior Architecture & Design, Marywood University
• Where do you find your design inspiration? I find inspiration in everyday objects/processes and nature. I love taking something unexpected and translating it into an interesting design or finish scheme for a space.
• Side pursuits / hobbies you enjoy that relate to your craft (or not): I always like to learn or just try out a new creative skill. I’m currently loving working on little renovation and furniture projects around my house.
• What’s your favorite room in the house? My kitchen! I feel like it reflects my design style the most and I love to bake.
• What’s in your iTunes / Spotify / CD player? A little mix of everything – pop, alternative rock and pop, top hits, rap and indie.
• What would you share as your best tip – or general words of wisdom? My motto all through design school and my career so far has been to keep it simple.
• Favorite field trip that feeds into your sense of design? I’ve always liked visiting and experiencing a new city. It doesn’t really matter where I go, I’m just always so interested in seeing how things are done differently than what I’m used to.
• Over 3 years of experience
• Associate of Applied Science; Architectural Drafting & Design Technology, Johnson College of Technology
• Where do you find your design inspiration? Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
• Mentor in design or the world at large? Why? My Mom because she is a very hardworking person who I look up to.
• What’s in your iTunes/Spotify/CD player? My Spotify playlist consists of music from all different types of genres and artists.
• Side pursuits / hobbies you enjoy that relate to your craft (or not!) My side pursuits consist of building cars, computer building, and drawing.
• What would you share as your best tip – or general words of wisdom. It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.
• What’s your favorite room in the house? My favorite room in the house is the entertainment room.

Amy Hnat INTERIOR DESIGNER

• Over 11 years of experience
• Joined Benco Dental in 2021
• 9 year of experience in Design and Architecture field
• Master of Arts; Interior Architecture and Design, Marywood University
• Bachelor of Fine Arts; Interior Architecture and Design, Marywood University
• Named one of Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal’s Top 20 under 40 in 2017
• 2018 Graduate of Leadership Lackawanna
• Recipient of the 2022 Award for Outstanding Designer
• Favorite part of life / what makes you happy? I love adventuring, sometimes that means travel, other times a hike in the woods with my husband and dogs, but it always involves me seeing the world from a new perspective.
• Side pursuits / hobbies you enjoy that relate to your craft (or not!) I am a volunteer for a few non-profits and I spend my free time doing yoga, reading, making art, and just about anything outdoors.
• Where do you find your design inspiration? I find inspiration in visiting a new place, in great design and art, and in nature.
• What’s your favorite room in the house? My favorite place in our home changes constantly. I always have a project that I want to accomplish, so my favorite space is usually the one that I just finished renovating, rearranging, or organizing.
• You’re all creative and offer a unique perspective on what makes a space work and flow. What would you share as your best tip – of general words of wisdom? Spaces are, of course, about the function that they perform, but that space becomes so much more when that space is unique to you. There is a real beauty in seeing someone’s personality reflected in a space, and, in turn, that space feels better and productivity increases.

Allison Simenkiewicz BRAND DESIGN SPECIALIST

• 8 years of experience in design
• Bachelor of Fine Arts; Integrative Media and Art, Wilkes University
• Side pursuits / hobbies you enjoy that relate to your craft (or not): My spare time consists of hiking when the weather is nice, playing video games when it is not, and designing calendars and objects with faces in the times in between.
• What’s your favorite room in the house? •My kitchen – but not because I like to cook. I painted the walls a dark forest green that makes it super cozy and in the back corner I have my drip coffee station and all my house plants that definitely are not dead.
• What’s in your iTunes / Spotify / CD player? I like listening to funky little EDM noises and British people singing without their accents somehow.
• What would you share as your best creative tip – or general words of wisdom? I grew up hating routine to my very core, but now I feel like I need it. That way, when I break it (in small ways, like going to a new place), it really stands out in mind and switches things up – helping me to feel refreshed and have capacity to be more creative.
• Favorite field trip that feeds into your sense of design? If I could spend all of my time in an art museum or gallery, I would. My favorite museum is the Corning Museum of Glass, and while glass is not my medium, I love to see all the contemporary designs, colors, patterns, and shapes. I love seeing what other people create – it inspires my own work.

Patrick Nolan DRAFTER

• Joined Benco in 2023
• Over 12 years of experience in the Design field, specifically in Dental Laboratory Project Management
• Computer Science and Business Major, Western Illinois University
• General Studies Major, Elgin Community College
• Favorite part of life / what makes you happy? I loved the years when my kids were small, however, I’m really enjoying life now that they’re adults. ? I also really enjoy my significant other, Friends, and my 7 siblings. They’re all a very important part of my life.
• Side pursuits / hobbies you enjoy that relate to your craft (or not): 3D CAD Modeling, 3D Printing, Drone Photography
• What’s your favorite room in the house? My office because it’s a small but comfortable space that’s decorated with Chicago sports memorabilia, and has my PC, 3D printers, and a large TV.
• What’s in your iTunes / Spotify / CD player? Classic Rock, Modern Country, Alternative Rock, 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s, and much more. Eagles, Kenny Chesney, and Creed are a few favorites.
• You’re all creative and offer a unique perspective on what makes a space work and flow. What would you share as your best tip – or general words of wisdom? Be who you are and not who someone else thinks you should be. Be Honest. Don’t be afraid to try new things.
• Who inspires you? My Significant Other. She’s been a positive influence for me since the day I met her. She’s always going out of her way to help others.

Michael Warden INTERIOR DESIGNER

• Over 15 years of experience in the Design / Architecture field
• Bachelor of Arts; Interior Architecture, Interior Designers Institute
• Associate of Arts; Interior Design, Interior Designers Institute
• Tell us more about your background in design: I have always had a preoccupation for some sort of design, painting, original creativity, which I trust was heavily inspired by watching my grandfather build homes and my uncle (architect) who was designing these buildings.
• Favorite part of life / what makes you happy? When I met my wife and we got married. My family
• Side pursuits / hobbies you enjoy that relate to your craft (or not): Enjoy plein air painting, drawing/sketching old buildings.
• Where do you find your design inspiration? Nearly anyplace I go provides inspiration. Typically, my wife is getting after me when we are out in town or at a restaurant and she asks, “what are you staring at?” I am evaluating the space, trying to determine why the designer chose the design scheme or colors, or the general layout.
• What’s your favorite room in the house? The Kitchen for sure. It’s the heart of the house and depending on how you have it set up in your home, it’s always the gathering place.
• What’s in your iTunes / Spotify / CD player? I am country thru and thru, but enjoy nearly all music.
• You’re all creative and offer a unique perspective on what makes a space work and flow. What would you share as your best tip – or general words of wisdom? As a designer you are not designing the space for yourself, the space is for your client. You can, however, develop your own preferred style and allow some of that to be influential within your design. It’s kind of like the ‘Hidden Mickey’ at Disneyland’ it’s a unique private signature.
• Favorite field trip that feeds into your sense of design? Not a field trip per se, but I enjoy arts and crafts, rustic design, and I really enjoy touring the older parts of Orange County, looking at all the Craftsman style bungalows.
• Mentor in design or the world at large? Why? No real mentor, but I am cognizant of other designers and their struggles for perfection.
• Who inspires you? Disney, he thought like a designer, three dimensionally. He took what he saw in his vision of a place for people to visit, have fun and forget about the monotony and chaos of the world outside. And like most designers, we’re constantly evaluating our design looking to make it better.

Eunice Lee JUNIOR DESIGNER

• Over 2 years of experience in the architecture and design field
• Master of Science and Bachelor of Science; Bioengineering, UCLA
• Certificate of Achievement; Interior Architectural Design, Santa Monica College
• Favorite part of life / what makes you happy?: Spending time with family, pursuing hobbies, travelling, geeking out about design with other designers
• Side pursuits / hobbies you enjoy that relate to your craft (or not): Being outdoors, choir, Zumba, reading
• Where do you find your design inspiration? Nature and other forms of visual arts like sculptures or paintings
• What’s your favorite room in the house? Always the room with the most natural light! At my current apartment, it’s the kitchen.
• Favorite field trip that feeds into your sense of design? The Huntington Beach Central Library, designed by Richard Neutra, is a beautiful harmony of the indoors and out.

Conceptualization: Floor Plan Samples

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Creations: Sample Drawings

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Larry Cohen

CHIEF CUSTOMER ADVOCATE

Larry Cohen graduated from Wilkes College with a B.S. in Accounting in 1957 and Columbia University Graduate School of Business, earning an M.S. in Management and Finance, 1958. He served in the U. S. Army Reserve from 1958 through 1964.

He is the second-generation owner of Benco Dental Company, which was founded by his father, Benjamin Cohen in 1930.

Joining Benco Dental in 1959 as manager of the Tooth Department, in 1960, Larry became an outside sales rep, a position he enjoyed full time until 1972. Beginning that year, Larry began reducing his outside sales role and increasing his managerial duties, later becoming the president of Benco Dental from 1965 - 1996.

Larry is the Founder of the American Dental Cooperative; Board, American Dental Trade Associate, plus Various ADTA committees. He sits on the Board of Wilkes University, Board of Visiting Nurses Association and the Board of Jewish Community Center.

• 10 Best Dental Office Design Ideas and Trends

Your dental office layout plays a crucial role in creating a welcoming and comfortable environment for patients while optimizing workflow for your team. Whether you're looking to revamp your existing dental practice space or start creating a new one, it's crucial to prioritize dental office design .

This blog post will serve as a valuable resource to inspire and guide you toward creating a remarkable dental office that reflects your vision and enhances the patient experience. Let's dive into the exciting world of dental office interior design!

1. Vibrant Colors and Illuminating Elements

In dental office design, vibrant colors and illuminating elements can help create an inviting and functional space.

Key Features:

• Consider a fresh coat of paint to revamp your dental office's design.
• Embrace the current trend of bright white walls with accents of fresh and vibrant colors.
• Popular hues like invigorating oranges, blues, reds, and greens bring liveliness to the interior.
• Metallic colors are trending, adding sophistication and modernity.
• Lighting fixtures are crucial; thoughtfully selected bespoke fixtures enhance specific areas like sitting areas, game rooms, and the reception area.

Harmonizing Effects:

• When colors and lighting harmonize, they create a dynamic and unforgettable space.
• This leaves a lasting impression on patients while also establishing a functional workspace for your staff.
• The combination of vibrant colors and illuminating elements transforms the dental office experience.

Conclusion: Utilizing vibrant colors and illuminating elements in your dental office design brings life and functionality to the space, leaving a lasting impression on patients and creating a dynamic, unforgettable environment for both patients and staff.

2. Open Floor Plan

A shift toward open floor plans is bringing significant transformations to treatment areas when it comes to dental office interior design.

• Modern dental office designs are departing from traditional layouts with rows of private, enclosed rooms.
• They opt for open floor plans that often have minimal or no walls between treatment chairs.
• This creates a seamless and spacious environment for both professionals and patients.
• Even when dividing walls are present, they typically don't extend to the ceiling, allowing natural light to fill the rooms.
• The intentional design choice results in a bright and welcoming atmosphere in the dental office.

Benefits of Open Floor Plans:

• Embracing open layouts enhances patient experience by creating a refreshing and inviting space.
• The design doesn't compromise productivity, offering a balance between comfort and efficiency.

Conclusion: The shift to open floor plans in dental office interior design introduces a refreshing and welcoming atmosphere for patients while maintaining productivity. It promotes a seamless, well-lit environment that departs from traditional, enclosed setups, ultimately enhancing the dental experience for all.

3. Entertainment as Décor

In modern dental office design, creating an environment that patients appreciate goes beyond mere functionality, with entertainment emerging as a prominent feature.

• Dental offices are incorporating entertainment elements like movie rooms and televisions above dental chairs.
• These additions have received positive feedback from clients for enhancing the patient experience.
• Design in dental clinics has evolved; televisions are now framed as contemporary pieces of art, adding an aesthetic dimension.
• Some offices even offer dedicated media rooms with decor that transports patients to unique settings.
• Gaming systems and arcade-style machines introduce vibrant bursts of color that complement the overall neutral yet glamorous office aesthetic.

Importance of Entertainment:

• Entertainment elements are now a defining feature in contemporary dental office interior design.
• They play a crucial role in enhancing the overall patient experience.

Conclusion: Entertainment as decor in modern dental office design has transformed the patient experience. It includes a variety of creative elements, from movie rooms to framed televisions as art pieces and dedicated media rooms. These additions bring vibrancy and an aesthetic dimension to dental clinics, highlighting the importance of patient satisfaction and comfort in contemporary dental office interior design.

When considering modern design ideas for your dental office, it's crucial to avoid the temptation of DIY approaches, as they may not benefit your practice or patients in the long run.

Key Points:

• DIY approaches may seem cost-effective, but they can be detrimental to your dental practice and patient experience.
• Instead, it's advisable to hire an experienced interior designer specializing in dental clinic design like Masterdent .
• These designers have the expertise and knowledge to utilize the right tools and strategies for a successful dental practice design.
• Discuss all design ideas, including those in this list, with your interior designer to tailor solutions to your unique practice's needs and goals.
• Each dental office is unique, and an experienced designer can identify potential design challenges and provide customized solutions.

Conclusion: Resisting the temptation to take a DIY approach in dental office design is important for achieving a successful and patient-friendly practice. Hiring an experienced interior designer with dental clinic design expertise ensures that your design ideas align with your practice's needs and goals and results in a more effective and professional environment for both your staff and patients.

5. Comfort of Home-Inspired Amenities

In the realm of modern dental office design, waiting rooms have evolved significantly from traditional setups.

• Waiting rooms no longer resemble rows of chairs and a few toys.
• Modern medical office design includes flat-screen televisions on the walls for an engaging atmosphere.
• Fireplaces are integrated for added warmth and comfort in the waiting area.
• Multiple sitting areas resemble cozy living rooms or chic coffee shop settings, promoting relaxation and conversation among patients.
• Patients have the freedom to choose their preferred seating arrangement, moving away from rigid seating norms.

Homely Touch:

• Many dental offices now offer snack stations complete with mini-fridges, coffee makers, and snack bars.
• These amenities provide a homely touch, making patients feel at ease and well cared for.
• It's a thoughtful way to enhance the patient experience, recognizing that comfort extends beyond the dental chair.

Conclusion: The transformation of waiting rooms in modern dental offices prioritizes patient comfort and experience. With engaging elements like flat-screen TVs and fireplaces, along with multiple seating areas resembling cozy living rooms, patients have the freedom to choose their seating preferences. The addition of snack stations adds a homely touch, emphasizing the importance of patient well-being and comfort in contemporary dental office interior design.

6. Patient-Focused Office Theme

A patient-focused office theme in dental interior design prioritizes a welcoming environment, with careful attention to color palettes and seating arrangements.

• Neutral colors dominate major walls and provide a versatile backdrop for accentuating bold colors and artistic expressions.
• Color palettes often include soothing shades like beige, white, blue, light brown, or taupe, promoting comfort for both patients and visitors.
• Seating areas receive special attention, with nearby tables or surfaces for personal belongings to enhance comfort during extended wait times.

Furniture Considerations:

• Furniture for the reception or waiting area is chosen with a focus on timeless designs.
• Easy maintenance and durability are paramount, especially in a busy dental office.
• Functional pieces ensure both comfort and longevity, making them suitable for the high-traffic environment.

Conclusion: A patient-focused office theme in dental interior design prioritizes comfort and aesthetics. Neutral color palettes and thoughtful seating arrangements create a soothing atmosphere, enhancing the patient experience. The selection of furniture with timeless designs, easy maintenance, and durability ensures functionality and longevity in a busy dental office, maintaining the welcoming environment that’s crucial for patient satisfaction.

7. Glam Dental Office Interior Design

In today's design revolution, dental office interiors are breaking free from traditional notions of being strict and clinical, embracing creativity and innovation.

• Modern dental office designs depart from rigid and uninspiring aesthetics.
• They prioritize creating vibrant and welcoming environments.
• Stylish and comfortable waiting areas are designed to enhance patient comfort and experience.
• Treatment rooms are modernized with a focus on relaxation, aesthetics, and a positive atmosphere.

A Refreshing Departure:

• Contemporary dental offices are a refreshing departure from the strict and conventional designs of the past.
• The emphasis is on creating spaces that prioritize patient satisfaction and comfort.

Conclusion: Glam dental office interior design represents a shift from traditional and clinical aesthetics. These modern spaces prioritize patient comfort, relaxation, and a positive atmosphere, breaking free from the constraints of rigid and uninspiring design. It's a refreshing departure that enhances the overall dental experience for patients.

8. Minimalist Design

Minimalism is a powerful interior design trend that dental offices can leverage, offering numerous benefits in terms of aesthetics and functionality.

• Minimalist design revolves around simplicity and a focus on natural elements.
• It encourages the use of basic furniture, minimal artwork, and the avoidance of unnecessary decorations.
• In a minimalist dental office design, sharp lines, solid surfaces, and neutral colors play a key role.
• A sleek check-in counter with sharp edges and cutting-edge computers can create a contemporary look.
• Waiting rooms feature low-profile furniture in neutral tones to maintain a minimalist aesthetic.

Benefits of Minimalism:

• Embracing minimalism creates a clean and modern atmosphere.
• It promotes a sense of calm and simplicity, contributing to a soothing environment for patients.

Conclusion: Minimalist design in dental office interiors focuses on simplicity, natural elements, and a clean, modern aesthetic. By incorporating sharp lines, solid surfaces, and neutral colors, dental offices can achieve a sense of calm and simplicity that enhances the overall patient experience while providing a contemporary and inviting look.

9. Kid-Friendly Interior Design

Kid-friendly interior design in dental offices aims to create a welcoming and less intimidating experience for young patients, recognizing that a positive experience for a child benefits both the child and their parents.

• Kid-friendly decor themes are designed to make dental visits more enjoyable for children.
• Incorporating televisions can keep children happily occupied during their visit.
• Adding interactive games can further enhance children's excitement for the dentist's office.
• Dental offices often create specific nooks tailored exclusively for children.
• These spaces are perfectly sized for kids and make dental appointments a positive and memorable experience.

Impactful Design:

• The incorporation of kid-friendly elements can transform a daunting dental appointment into a genuinely positive and memorable experience for children.
• It helps create a welcoming and reassuring atmosphere for both children and parents.

Conclusion: Kid-friendly interior design in dental offices focuses on creating a welcoming and less intimidating environment for young patients. It includes elements like televisions, interactive games, and specially tailored spaces that make dental appointments positive and memorable experiences for children. This design approach benefits both children and their parents by creating a reassuring atmosphere that encourages regular dental visits.

10. Privacy Focus

Patient privacy is a critical concern in busy dental offices where staff and patients are constantly on the move. It's essential to ensure that sensitive information is not compromised.

Key Measures:

• Keeping each patient in individual rooms helps reduce the risk of inadvertent exposure.
• Separating staff essentials, such as computers and paperwork, into a dedicated room adds an extra layer of privacy protection.
• Designating specific rooms for patient-related duties further enhances confidentiality.
• These measures demonstrate a strong commitment to maintaining patient privacy in a bustling dental office environment.

Importance of Privacy:

• Protecting patient privacy is crucial for maintaining trust and confidentiality.
• It ensures that sensitive information remains confidential, fostering a sense of security among patients.

Conclusion: In a busy dental office, maintaining patient privacy is paramount. Keeping patients in individual rooms, separating staff essentials, and designating specific rooms for patient-related duties are crucial steps in enhancing confidentiality. These measures not only protect sensitive information but also demonstrate a strong commitment to maintaining patient trust and privacy, fostering a secure and confidential environment for all patients.

Elevate Your Dentist Office Design with Expert Support from Masterdent Group

When designing your dental office, prioritize patient-focused elements that'll be appreciated both in the short and long term. Incorporating modern lighting, opting for an open floor plan, and selecting comforting details are all essential factors that contribute to creating a standout office space.

At Masterdent Group, our team is dedicated to assisting you in designing your ideal dental office in Chicago that caters to your needs and delights your clients. With our expertise, we can optimize your practice's set-up and create an exceptional environment. Get in touch today to embark on the journey of transforming your dental office into a space that truly shines.

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Michael Topf

Using the knowledge from my 30 years of experience on a 1 operatory equipment upgrade to ground-up design and construction of a 10,000 sq ft dental practice, I've had the great pleasure to help dental professionals transform their spaces. We will customize a solution that delivers for today and thinks about tomorrow.

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DENTAL OFFICE DESIGN MADE SIMPLE.

Floor plans. Design Trends. Equipment. Budget.

As with any project, there are a lot of things to consider in a Dental Office Design Project:

• Do you actually need a new theme and what about your current floorplan--will it work? 
• How can you handle the financing on an office renovation, without interrupting business?
• Should you consider new equipment at the same time?

As all of these thoughts roll through your head, we are here to simplify matters! Our Goetze Design Team has put together these 7 chapters to help you evaluate what your project might entail. It is COMPLETELY FREE with no obligation to move forward. 

What's included in the FREE DENTAL OFFICE DESIGN GUIDE?

Principles of Dental Office Design

Dental office design projects can range from redoing a single operatory to building a brand new office. Regardless of the size and specifics of your project, there are a few key principles to keep in mind throughout the process. Here we will walk you through each one!

Planning Your Design Project Planning your dental office design project is a big undertaking, but proper planning can make all the difference in how smoothly the project runs. We break your planning process into 3 easy-to-follow steps.

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At Goetze Dental, we work on hundreds of dental office design projects every year, ranging from single operatory redesigns to full build outs of new offices. Here are the 9 tips we encourage every dentist to remember as they plan their new dental office--from design, equipment and even the actual construction process!

21 Office Design Ideas for the Modern Dental Practice

Well of course we are going to give you some inspiration!! Check out some of our favorite projects. Our clients are amazing--just wait till you see their Dental Office transformations!

Dental Office Floor Plans

The dental office floor plan is one of the most entangled parts of a dental office design project. It impacts every other aspect of the project– aesthetics, equipment, location, budget– but is also determined by these aspects. This relationship results in a circular planning process that can be difficult to navigate.  Whether you’re building, renovating, or expanding your existing office, we provide some solid floor plan advice and best practices from our design team.

Dental Office Equipment Guide

The importance of dental equipment is obvious; these are the tools you use every day to serve your patients and run your practice. With the advances in dental technology and diagnostic tools, there are more choices now than ever before. As you plan your new practice, now is the time to evaluate your current equipment and compare it against new options. Let us help!

Financing Your Dental Office Design Project

Financial concerns are often top of mind for doctors and play a major role in shaping the rest of the project; however we offer some insight into what to expect and answer your top questions. Common questions include:

• How risky is it to take out a loan?
• What does the application process look like?
• Will I have to use personal assets as collateral?
• What can I afford while remaining profitable?

Yes, I want my FREE Dental Office Design Guide!

Get the design you want. .

No matter the size or scope of your next office project, Goetze Dental is ready to help you walk through the process. We also answer some of these common questions all in our FREE GUIDE!

• Will my patients worry if I spend too much on my new office? 
• Will I lose patients if I move offices? 
• How long with a new office design project take?
• What is the cost of an office design project?

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Designing Efficient Layouts for Dental Clinics of All Sizes

Big or small, regardless of the size of your dental practice, your layout plan is one of the most important aspects when it comes to designing your clinic.

A one-chair dental clinic, mid-sized multi-dentist practice, or a substantial 500sqm specialist clinic all rely on the right layout to be efficiently-run and successful.

A well-laid out practice with carefully placed equipment can improve your efficiency, minimise risks and reduce stress for patients, staff and dentists.

In this article, we explore a few principles for designing efficient layouts for dental clinics of all sizes.

Start with Your Floor Plan

An efficient floor plan is the literal foundation for an efficient practice layout.

Your floor plan should be designed with staff and patient traffic in mind. Ask yourself the following questions:

• How many dentists, staff, patients etc. does your practice need to accommodate?
• What will your patient’s “journey” be throughout your practice during a typical visit?
• Do you anticipate future growth for your practice while in this premises?

In most cases, the answers to these questions will help guide you in your floor plan design to maximise efficiency of movement between the different spaces in your dental practice.

The 460sqm Today’s Dentistry clinic is a large facility that features 8 surgeries, OPG and CBCT operations as well as a state-of-the-art laboratory workshop with a 3D printer, sterilisation room, refresh rooms, offices and staff facilities. To provide natural orientation and simplify wayfinding for patients in such a large space, the practice features an open central arbour arcade, reducing stress and anxiety of visitors. 

Map Out Your Equipment

An efficient dental practice layout not only accommodates any necessary equipment, it also makes using and storing this equipment as easy as possible.

Check to make sure your design also allows space for the efficient use of your equipment. You should also consider how the equipment may affect your use of space. For example, you may need to adjust wiring or power point locations to operate it.

Planning where your equipment will go is particularly important for smaller practices, as you have less room for error.  Think about co-locating your equipment, such as your steri area and lab, like the two-chair Esk Dental practice.

Right-size Your Waiting Room Space

Smaller spaces don’t mean you should sacrifice style.  The two-chair JR Howard dental practice is a boutique 60sqm, however the cozy waiting and reception area are perfectly sized and suited to the heritage building which houses the clinic.

If your practice is on the smaller side, don’t waste valuable space with an over-sized reception and waiting area.  Calculate how many patients you will see (on average) per day, and plan your space to accommodate this number along with a few accompanying family members.

If your clinic sees a lot of patients, consider having more than one waiting area, with a separate area to cater for those who desire a quiet environment, and a dedicated space for families complete with toys and entertainment.

The 437sqm Melbourne Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery has a large number of patients through the practice every day.  The layout of the reception and waiting room was specifically designed to maximise patient comfort and streamline traffic flow throughout this busy space.  A dedicated area for booking and payment separates the check in and check out process, with seating also provided for patients and families.

Are you looking to fitout or refurbish your dental practice? As dental practice design and fitout specialists, Elite Fitout Solutions can help you turn your plans for your dental clinic into a reality.

Our in-house design team can work with you to make your practice layout efficient and effective – regardless of its size.

To discuss your plans for your dental clinic fitout, give the team a call on 1300 765 344.

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Floor Plans | DENTAL OFFICE DESIGN

The right space plan is the first step to a productive and successful office. We at Kappler believe that every single office is unique and therefore every single space plan should be. We don’t offer pre-configured dental office floor plans because there is no one-size-fits-all space plan.

We carefully design customized Dental Office Floor plans for every one of our clients according to their needs and vision.

You tell us your vision and how you work today, and we will create a game plan for how to elevate your practice to another level. Space planning for us is not just laying out rooms but considering the way you and your staff work and who your clientele is. We carefully analyze your workflow using our decades of global experience in the dental world to implement staff, patient, and instrument workflows .

DENTAL OFFICE FLOOR PLANS

The 2D space plan we create for you is the foundation of your new office and plays a significant role in creating a successful, efficient, and productive future for you, your staff, and your patients.

Main Line Dental Club

There’s already a confidence in us and the team because of the space.It’s almost like the space is another team member that’s winning them over before I have to do anything.

Dr. Gulia Omene

The aesthetic experience.

You're paying for a product, but really it's designing your flow for the day. Overtime, it's the little things you don't even think about that make the difference. Now, being in the space is pushing my limits and pushing the boundaries to where I expect more from myself and want my designs to be better.

Dr. Olesya Salathe

High quality company.

They listened to what we wanted in our office and helped draw a floor plan that had a great flow with the most efficient use of the space. We cannot speak highly enough of Holger, Julia, and their entire team! We love them as people and we loved doing business with them. High Quality company, High Quality people, who I highly RECOMMEND!

Dr. Marisa Zitterich

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For over 70 years the Kappler Company has been delighting clients and patients with their stunning designs and elegant workflow efficiencies.

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Discover the insider secrets to launching a successful practice while avoiding costly mistakes. From optimizing your office layout to harnessing the power of technology, this ebook has everything you need to thrive in the competitive world of healthcare.

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Five principles for designing your dental practice

Successfully building, upgrading, or expanding your dental practice requires a good deal of advance planning and careful thought to generate a realistic and functional design. As you work to visualize and define your practice design, consider incorporating the five principles used by the Dental Office Design Competition (DODC) panel of judges when evaluating competition entrants.

Following are the five design principles that help DODC judges differentiate among good — and winning — practice designs.

1 . M ee t s s t a t e d o b j e c t i v e s

Before starting any practice design project, whether it’s a complete start-up or a small upgrade, it’s important to understand what your business objectives are for the project. Are you solving a functional problem, or expanding capabilities? Do you have a vision for your practice that you are seeking to execute in your design — for instance, more space to add patients, a higher level of technology, greater functionality, or an open, friendly environment? An effective practice design reflects your vision for your dental practice and supports the objectives outlined in your business plan. The key is to think through your design project carefully and fully understand why you are doing it. The better you understand your objectives, the better you will execute your plan.

2 . A chi e v e s functional b a l a n c e

Functional balance means that your project incorporates the principles of architectural design, clinical function, technology integration, and ergonomic design — all within the scope of your budget. These elements work together to produce a balanced, functional, well-designed practice that expresses your personal vision while effectively meeting the needs of your patients.

3 . Utili z e s an effective floor pla n

The floor plan is another key component in increasing office efficiency and building an effective practice design. You want room to move and expand your capabilities, but not so much room that you’re wasting steps and time. You need a balance between efficient traffic flow and comfortable movement between work zones for both staff and patients, from public to private spaces.

To get the most from your floor plan, ensure it can support your strategy for practice growth and is effective for the long-term, with adequate space for adding equipment or accommodating an increase in patients.

4. Incorporates updated equipment

Staying current with technology is a critical way of staying competitive in today’s dental market. Using up-to-date technology not only improves the overall proficiency of your practice, but also communicates to your patients that they will receive the utmost in care from you.

Usually, one of the key motivators for a practice redesign or upgrade is the desire to create a more contemporary and attractive presentation. It is indeed important that your practice has general physical appeal to patients and presents professionally in order to instill confidence. As one of the DODC judges points out, new patients have no way of evaluating the quality of services you will provide, and will take into account other factors that are tangible and subject to evaluation. In this context, the physical environment can communicate the level of excellence of the practice, with professional, current practice designs helping to assure the patient’s confidence in the doctor’s abilities.

To get a head start in outlining your practice design project, contact your Business Development Manager at Wells Fargo Practice Finance to request a complimentary Project Planner — a step-by-step guide for expanding, remodeling, and upgrading your practice.

Then, once your practice start-up, redesign, or expansion is completed, consider entering it into the Dental Office Design Competition. If you follow these five principles, your practice could be a winner!

For an entry form and complete Competition rules, visit wellsfargo.com/dod c .

Sp onsors do not participate in the D ental O ffic e D esign C omp etition judging panel and do not participate in the C omp etition judging process in an y w a y .

Allison Farey, President of Wells Fargo Practice Finance, has more than 25 years of experience in dental practice lending. Wells Fargo Practice Finance specializes in helping dentists acquire, start and expand their practices with its customized financing and signature Practice Success Program.

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5 Steps to a Better Dental Office Layout

Many people find a trip to the dentist to be a daunting and stressful experience. Modern dental practices that incorporate appealing contemporary designs into their workplace can alleviate patients’ fears and create a more productive and enjoyable work environment for their whole team. 

Trends in dental office design lean toward more open spaces, less clutter, modern furniture, and natural colors and materials. Too many offices are far from those standards, leaving their offices looking antiquated and their customers looking elsewhere.

Creating a modern dental office layout with attractive design features starts by focusing on a welcoming reception area and waiting room, which is the window to your dental practice. This guide will walk you through five steps for designing a modern dental practice that will help your business thrive.

Key Design Principles for a Modern Dental Office

Dental offices in the past were sterile, drab, and dark environments. They had lots of wood paneling and cluttered waiting rooms featuring piles of magazines on old coffee tables. It’s fair to say that look is outdated. Consider the following fundamental principles to get ideas for a more modern aesthetic:

• Invitation is key

Create a reception area and waiting room that is calm and inviting. The entrance to the practice is the first thing that patients will see and creates that vital first impression.

• Sound matters

Control sound to make sure patients in the waiting room can’t hear drilling in the treatment rooms. Ensure that patients making appointments and paying bills can speak to reception staff in relative privacy without conversations being overheard.

• Pay attention to lighting

All your offices are well-lit, hopefully with some natural daylight, and well-ventilated. Lighting should be a combination of natural light and ambient indoor lighting.

• You need the right spaces

Create separate patient spaces for triage, treatment, and recovery, always keeping in mind that their privacy is paramount.

• Nature helps

Use natural elements in your building materials (wood, brick, and glass) and combine these to create a positive clinical experience for patients.

Focusing on these elements and using a minimalist, ergonomic design can create a calming environment for patients, lowering their anxiety and giving them a positive feeling about your practice.

Questions for the Pre-Planning Stage

It’s essential in any design process to start by putting some thought into what you want and don’t want. Any thorough pre-planning stage should include asking the following questions:

• Are there problems with your current layout ? Is it too dark? Is your waiting room too crowded, and are patients able to hear drilling or surgery from the reception area?
• What are your design goals ?
• What is your budget, and which experts can you afford to engage?
• Will you need a quick remodel or refresh or a complete refit of the premises?
• What are the best ways to optimize the space in your commercial premises in a practical sense without over-cluttering the work areas?
• Decide on your budget and find the best interior design professionals to consult.

Once you have answered these questions, you can start planning a modern dental office that will enhance your practice’s reputation and improve patient satisfaction.

5 Steps to Creating a 21st Century Dental Practice

Creating a modern dental practice can feel overwhelming, with so many choices of colors, styles, furniture, and other elements. Follow these five steps to simplify the process:

1. Consider a Dental Architect 

A professional dental architect can be an excellent investment toward creating calming, beautiful spaces built to deliver the best oral health care to patients while preserving their privacy and dignity. Dental architects focus on designing environments that have clean lines and allow a productive and safe workflow. They also have specific experience in including plumbing delivery systems for compressed air, dental suction systems and medical gas. An experienced dental architect will likely find alternatives to those ugly dental cabinets cluttering your offices.

2. Create Areas That Optimize Your Patient Experience 

This starts with the reception area and waiting rooms and focuses on design fundamentals: lighting, colors, sounds, furniture, and artwork. Consider repainting the reception area with light colors (avoid institutional greens), choose aesthetically pleasing art, and provide comfortable modern seating. Use a mixture of different building materials such as wood floors or a brick feature wall, and include white spaces to create a modern look and feel.

You can also optimize your patients’ experience by removing clutter from the waiting and treatment areas. You want to be creating an office environment where you can proudly deliver a 3D walkthrough on your website to showcase your practice.

3. Use Technology and Equipment Intelligently 

Only choose ergonomically sound technology that will improve efficiency and productivity. Starting at the front desk, choose dental practice management software that efficiently manages appointments and billing. Practices combine these with dental AI programs, which use computer-assisted diagnostics with built-in artificial intelligence (AI) to suggest treatment options. Modern dental AI software allows you to transfer imaging and patient files to laboratories and other dental specialists for rapid turnaround. 

All other equipment – such as nitrous oxide delivery systems, movable dental chairs, and operating arms of x-ray machines – should be based on modern ergonomic principles so the dentists can treat patients safely and efficiently. 

4. Optimize and Declutter Treatment Rooms

Create a dual-entry treatment room with walls separating it from other operating areas to ensure patient privacy and allow more effortless movement of patients and staff without creating traffic jams. Decide on what room size is best for your patients – this design element will be in your floor plans . Consider whether you can remove partitions to make the room larger, if necessary, or smaller if it is too open. Ensure that your treatment room is soundproof so that patients in the waiting room can’t hear drilling or the sounds of surgery.

A modern dental office neatly integrates all its auxiliary technology. All power and computer wiring and dental utilities, nitrous oxide tanks, and lines are stored safely and out of patient view. 

5. Choose Clever Storage Solutions – No More Dental Cabinets

Integrate cabinetry and equipment into your walls so your patients will never see clunky wooden dental cabinets. Modern dental delivery systems work closely with dental carts, and these should be designed to complement each other and deliver safe and efficient treatment. 

We live in an age where patients can immediately express their satisfaction – or their displeasure – with a few taps on their smartphone before they even leave your building. A thoughtful dental office layout put together with some professional help can give them a tranquil, calming experience that will enhance patient satisfaction and retention and provide your team with a more pleasant workspace. 

Modernize Your Dental Office With Help From Our Experts 

The importance of a clean, modern office design is undeniable for meeting your practice’s business goals. The Genau Group team can help you create a dental office layout that puts patients at ease and keeps them coming back. 

Our design team can advise you on ways to refit or remodel your existing commercial premises, including selecting furnishings and drawing up a floor plan. Contact our expert team today with any questions you have about creating that perfect modern dental practice in the Washington, D.C., area.

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Dental Office Design Floor Plan – How to Review and Revise

• July 5, 2021

You’ve just received your first dental office design floor plan for YOUR VERY OWN office – but you have NO idea what you should be looking for when reviewing the plan.

It’s crazy! First, you’re just super excited to see the drawings of your own office in front of you. You may be associating at another office or this may be your second office.

But there’s no feeling like it, every office feels like your first office!

Once you’re done drooling over your design, it’s time to make sure the plans actually fit your vision without costing you an arm and a leg.

So what should you be looking for?

Where can you look to avoid unnecessary expenses without sacrificing quality of service patients will receive and maximize efficiency?

How do you design for good patient flow?

Understand that I’m no expert in office design, but now having gone through the process and realizing the mistakes, I sure wish there were things I did differently.

I’m going to tell you all about it in this post, which is our second in the series of posts on Dental Office Design and Construction.

If you haven’t yet thought about what it is you want in your office, refer to the previous post Dental Office Design and Construction – How to Get Started before going forward.

When you’re looking at your dental office design floor plan for the very first time, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. You don’t know where to start. Don’t worry, I’ve been there!

Like with any big project, I find that it always helps to break the entire process down into major areas / elements you need to think about:

• Cabinetry / Storage
• Front Desk / Reception area
• Operatory size / design
• Other rooms and areas

Let’s dive right in!

Download the PDF version of this ENTIRE blog post so you can reference all the valuable content at a later time, or print in a printer-friendly format!

1. cabinetry & storage for your dental office:.

How much storage space do you really need?

Think about the other offices you’ve worked in. Recall the cabinetry inside the operatory you worked in.

Now think, most of the drawers in the cabinetry are usually filled with lots of junk you barely used. You may have even thought about organizing it differently, but usually you take things you need and onto the next patient. That’s what I did because I didn’t know any better.

The random stuff stored in those drawers can be organized better to save space. It could be arranged by procedures most commonly done in the dental operatory. I won’t get into the best practices for storage and organization. That’ll be for a future discussion.

Well, all that cabinetry is expensive! Chances are those operatories were filled with “Dental” cabinetry installed by a dental equipment company.

What if you could avoid the cabinetry completely within the operatories and had centralized storage and mobile carts with drawers for most supplies you needed for procedures?

The answer is – you CAN avoid the cabinetry that is most commonly found along the side walls of the operatory.

Going from my residency training and having worked in two offices after as an associate, I knew I did NOT want the side cabinetry.

I submitted my first sketch of what  I was looking for to the equipment company I worked with, they sent me their FIRST floor plan design.

Here’s what it looked like (notice no side cabinetry on the walls in the operatories):

The office  design floor plan you see above is AFTER I told them I want minimal cabinetry.

The pink arrows point to all areas of cabinetry: For the sinks in each operatory, under the counter in the front desk reception area, insurance / office manager room, private consultation room, sterilization, bathrooms, and kitchen area.

The green arrows point to huge storage closets – huge because I have high ceiling.

At the first round of revisions, I got rid of one of the storage closets (1st green arrow on left) and instead turned the nitrous room into closet space (with no cabinetry).

I turned the the last storage closet (3rd green arrow) into maintenance storage and added a mop-sink to it.

I got rid of the nitrous room because I don’t plan on using plumbed nitrous in my office.

I opened the doors to my office with two plumbed ops – both of which had the cabinetry under the sink . At this point, I really didn’t know any better.

When I added the third operatory, I did away with the cabinetry and kept a sink only. As I add more ops in the future, I will keep the same design as my newly added third operatory.

I decided to leave out the cabinetry under the counter at the front desk reception area  and replaced it with a mobile file cabinet from Ikea. I still have more than enough room for storage of folders and organization. Patients don’t see this area anyways as it’s hidden under the counter.

You don’t need tons of filing cabinetry when there are no paper charts and office is mostly digital.

For sterilization , I left the cabinets on the left wall, but on the right wall – I went with open shelving instead.

Here’s a pic below:

Don’t be afraid to make revisions. I made tons of revisions before signing off on a final invoice.

For the company I was working with, balances are paid 1/3 at the beginning and final at install.  After signing off on the final invoice, I was able to find one year old Progeny x-ray units for the operatories and once again I changed my mind to remove the ipad station at the front desk area.

I was always nervous to keep asking for revisions (even though it’s my money at the end of the day), but I once again sent an email to my dental equipment company as you can see in the picture below.

Of course the company was not happy since I wasn’t going to move forward with their brand new x-ray units. But I bought four Progeny x-ray units for the price of one brand new one.

Here’s a drawing of the planned cabinetry for the staff lounge:

Here’s my revision of what I wanted:

The initial drawing by the equipment company included space for only a small fridge. But for staff lounge, I wanted a bigger fridge because there’s never enough room for all the food and birthday cakes we have throughout the year.

With a quick search at the Home Depot near me, I found a reasonably priced tall fridge that was 29 inches in width – so I had to have the company revise the width of that area as well.

I did away with the cabinetry above the sink because I was able to have my contractor place a wooden shelf with some support to hold a microwave.

As of now, we have kept our last operatory (top right on the office drawing), which is already plumbed, as our staff lounge, with a dining table, chairs, some mobile cabinet carts – so staff can relax.

So after removing all this cabinetry, let me show you the difference it has made:

Here’s a picture of the FIRST invoice I received from them:

Here’s page 2 of the invoice with the grand total:

And here’s what the last page of the final invoice looked like after I made my revisions and removed some cabinetry:

Here’s a summary of the minimal cabinetry that I removed which resulted in savings of $3835:

2. Dental Front Desk / Reception Area:

When reviewing your office design floor plan, take a look at the number of check-in/check-out stations you have.

Think when you’re busiest, how many front desk personnel you’ll be able to accommodate.

If you’re going to have multiple hygienists and doctors seeing patients, you should take into account of the time when the hygienists and the providers are walking their patients out for check-out and at same time next set of patients are waiting to be seated or being checked-in.

This situation is referred to as bottleneck, and your design should as much as possible prevent it from occurring.

It’s not to say that design/layout is the only thing that affects the possibility of a bottleneck occurring.

If you have a small office space, you may be able prevent bottleneck with better patient flow .

For example, by offsetting some of the responsibilities of the front-desk to the clinical personnel (hygiene, or clinical assistant), you can have a patient walk out of the operatory and out the door of the office without stopping at the front desk.

Your hygienist can pre-book next hygiene appointment. The clinical assistant can set up the next procedural appointment as dictated by the doctor right from the operatory (considering all the financial arrangements are in order).

You could take it a step further by having the clinical assistant collect the out of pocket co-pays for the patient right from the operatory with a mobile payment device.

If your floor plan doesn’t prevent a bottleneck, by planning your patient flow and delegating front desk responsibilities to other staff members, you can prevent a bottleneck from occurring.

Make sure to have a door separating the clinical and waiting area . This will help with separation for noise control from the clinical area, as well as keep kids from running from waiting area into hallway lining the clinical ops.

3. Operatory size / Design:

Depth and width of the operatory:.

Before coming up with a right size, the kind of dentistry you do will dictate YOUR “ideal” operatory size.

Mine are 9 x 11 and they work perfect for me. My hygiene ops are a little bit smaller – 8 x 11.  Since I have no side cabinetry, I have plenty of room on both sides of the patient chair. I have plenty of room to roll my mobile carts in and out of the room. That way my assistant can quickly turn over an operatory to do procedures such as endo or implant surgery.

Even if my ops were a little bit smaller, I’d still be fine.

If you plan on getting a microscope, unless you’re going to mount it on a ceiling, they need a lot of room if you’re going to roll them from one operatory to another.

Go visit a colleague or two who has the type of office you may be thinking about.

Dual vs single entry operatory: 

I have dual entry doctor ops and single entry hygiene ops. Because of the dual entry in the doctor ops, the assistant can go in and out without me moving out of the way. It helps with patient flow. 

Just because the hygiene ops are single entry ops, doesn’t mean a doctor cannot work out of the same operatory doing an operative procedure. Due to our usage of mobile carts, any operatory can quickly be turned over into getting any procedure started.

In terms of the width of the entries into the operatories, you need to check with your architect in your state to see how wide entries need to be for ADA compliance.

If dual entry, both entries may not need to comply with ADA (so one can be wider than the other to save space) – but be sure to check with your architect.

4. Other considerations :

• Mechanical room: It should be placed far from operatories as possible. If your space doesn’t allow it, you need to consider sound proofing, so make sure to talk to your architect / contractor as well.
• IT closet: Don’t forget the IT closet. You don’t need a ton of space, you can have everything placed in a stacked arrangement.
• Try to keep the sterilization room centrally accessible to all ops if possible. This will be important if you’re going to have minimal to no cabinetry in your operatories. Storage units / compartments for storing small dental supplies can be set up in the central sterilization area easily accessible by the clinical staff.
• You may want to consider having air, vacuum into sterilization area if you’re thinking about putting in a handpiece lubrication system. Because some lubrication systems run on compressed air, you’ll need it.
• I didn’t do this. I don’t use a lubrication system. I have my assistant do it manually with a bottle of oil into the handpiece per the manufacturer’s instructions.
• ADA Compliance:  Make sure to check with your architect if he or she’s aware of ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) compliance requirements when it comes to bathrooms, operatory entrance, front-desk reception counter heights, etc.
• Consultation room:  If your total office space allows, make sure to have a separate consultation room built for discussing finances with patients, or treatment plan presentation, etc. Keep this room close to the waiting area / front-desk / check-out area.
• Utility room: You should place a mop sink with water tap in the utility room. This will make clean-up much easier for staff instead of dumping dirty mop water into a sink in the patients’ or staff bathroom, or kitchen or the lab.
• Plumbing: Plumbing is $$$$$. If you can do sinks for every two to three operatories, you’ll save a ton of money on the plumbing, the fixtures, etc.

Closing remarks on Reviewing your Dental Office Floor Plan Design:

I don’t proclaim to be an expert on clinic design. But from my experience of having gone through the process and been practicing in it for 2.5 years, there are things I wish I had done, but I’m happy I did not go with the bells-and-whistles I see in many other offices.

My suggestions may not be ideal for everyone, but it’ll SAVE you money for sure.

As you’re reviewing your dental office floor plan design, don’t be afraid to go back and forth for multiple revisions.

If you know a colleague or a friend who has started out and gone through the process, share with them your office design floor plan – get their feedback.

You can email me your floor plan and I’ll tell you what I think.

When you think you’ve got the perfect design and it’s ready for construction, you’ll realize later “Oh I wish I did it this way”. And that’s OK!

But it’s more important to push ahead!

Feel free to comment below if you have questions or comments!

Dental Office Design and Construction - How To Get Started

Dental office contractor: choosing the right one and reviewing your contract.

the startup dental practice Blog

From ideal practices, read the top concepts every week, dental floor plans and layout designs – how to get them free for your dental practice, by jayme amos.  get free updates of posts here, the first, easiest way to get free dental floor plans and designs is to try and do them yourself. that would be one version of “free”…..

But please don’t do that to yourself!

But let’s call free what it is: nonexistent.

I’m sure we’ve all gotten a real-life lesson from that “ free offer” or that hidden charge. The fact is that if something is offered as free, there is a trade-off.  

And if the trade-off is used wisely, that can be a VERY good thing!  

Some free dental floor plans are horrible. I’ve seen some. They limit the clinicians’ abilities to work efficiently and they hinder the patients from having a stellar experience.

But this is when free dental floor plans and Layout Design for your new dental practice can be a “VERY good thing”….  

It’s OK to get your dental floor plans done at no charge when the plans are being created by the hand-chosen “ Practice Project Team ” that you have assembled.

  And who is your Practice Project Team?

I write extensively about the Practice Project Team in my book on Choosing the Right Practice Location (it’s the only book like it in the dental industry and it’s loaded with useful Location selection criteria) but, in short, it’s not your typical supplier, accountant, lawyer and contractor.

Each member of the team must be outstanding in each of those qualifiers AND they must be able to show you a minimum of 10 stunning projects that they personally have completed. Anything less is not worthy of your new dental practice, your biggest investment and your biggest step forward in your career. 

For example, on my team, we offer a client free dental floor plans if they choose us as their equipment and project team. We have designers on our team with years of experience and dozens upon dozens of successful projects to lean on.  

Your new dental practice is your defining moment for the next stage in your profession and legacy. Don’t let members onto your Practice Project Team who aren’t the absolute best of breed.  

If free layout and office design and dental floor plans happen to come from one of them, then the trade-off is worth it and free is worth it.  

Good luck choosing the best Practice Project Team possible!

Ideal Practices is the leading consulting firm for startup dental practices. The consulting team guides dentists to open successful startups across the country.  This website  is a free resource founded by Ideal Practices.

As part of our passion for global entrepreneurialism, we fund 10 new startup businesses in 3rd world countries every time a client opens a new practice. By the year 2024 this effort will empower 4000 new entrepreneurs worldwide.

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Annual Planning: The Lifeline of Your Practice

Annual planning is like budget planning but on steroids.

It will help give you financial stability, plan your workdays, and set goals. It creates a blueprint to successfully manage the financial side of your practice, as having a profit/loss statement handed to you does not help you manage the office.

Every CEO knows their numbers and how they’re important to running a successful business.

I recently talked with another dental spouse who had just opened a practice. They were struggling to understand the business side of the office.

I remember being in her shoes 38 years ago. Every March, our accountant would hand us a profit and loss statement that said we made a profit. The funny thing was, our bank account didn’t show that. Then, he would tell us we owed the IRS money for making a profit.

After going through this cycle for a few years, I figured there had to be a different way. We thought we were successful until we went to the bank for a loan to pay the taxes. They made us feel like we were failing as a business.

It wasn’t until we switched to a local credit union and they looked at our numbers to tell us how great we were doing compared to other dental practices they worked with. I knew right then that I needed to understand the numbers.

Fortunately, I met a dental consultant who taught me about annual planning; it changed my business world.

Why Annual Planning is So Important

Making an annual plan allows me to know where our money goes and what our budget is .

It takes time to do, so we do ours during our annual corporate meeting.

You must have good information and categorize your expenses.

How Can a Dental Practice Start Annual Planning?

The first order of business is to have a chart of accounts . You need to know what you are spending on payroll, dental supplies, and office supplies.

Next is understanding what percentage of your production is being spent on each category and how it compares to the industry. This is important for making business decisions like what you are spending in payroll before you decide to give raises. By basing the numbers on production, you can account for increases in your lab and supply bills as your produce more.

Track your adjustments to production to understand how much dentistry you are giving away or what the cost of being in network with an insurance company is costing you.

How to Plan for Upcoming Expenses

The next step in the annual plan is to forecast next year’s expenses.

There needs to be a discussion on:

• purchasing new equipment
• office improvements
• benefits for staff
• marketing changes
• and adding an associate

There will be some variable expenses that change based on your production. If you do more crowns, your lab fees will increase.

We keep a “wish list” folder all year and add ideas of things we would like to do or add to our practice. It helps forecasting if we know what these ideas will cost. Once you have numbers, you need to figure out how much you need to produce to afford your forecasted expenses.

We create a worksheet to calculate a maximum pay raise percentage and then figure out how much this increase will cost us. Sometimes, we have to adjust the percentage we give, but we know how it will affect our expenses.

Learn More Now

Plan for Scheduled Days Off

Goal setting and determining workdays are my favorite parts.

Have this meeting with the staff to look at the upcoming year and plan when the doctor and staff will be taking days off. We look at holidays, dental meetings, and school schedules to lay out the calendar for the upcoming year.

The staff can plan days off when they know the doctor will be off, which helps them plan for their personal budgets and how they will use their PTO. It helps reduce stress when we know the plans for the upcoming year and can plan accordingly.

Take Time to Discuss Yearly Goals with Your Team

During this same meeting, we look at our production numbers for the previous year. We talk about how we can increase production and whether we will raise our fees, add new services, and add new staff or hours. The staff keeps track of their daily and monthly production numbers as they set new goals based on the decisions we make.

After the daily goal is set and number of workdays is determined, we can adjust next year’s production goal to see if our forecasted expenses will work. If not, we will go back through those forecasted expenses and make changes.

Adjust Your Budget Accordingly

We have “ numbers meetings ” each month to look at where we are with our expenses and meeting our goals. Sometimes we adjust our expenses to add things from our wish list folder that we had to cut.

Looking at these numbers each month helps the staff understand where the collections are going and if we are collecting enough to pay the bills.

How Our Dental Office Benefited from Creating an Annual Plan

The first year we created an annual plan, we had unexpected expenses like having to replace a broken sterilizer and handpiece. We went over our annual plan and decided to do less marketing and add to our new equipment.

When we understood we could handle the unexpected expenses, our stress levels went down.

We added our forecasted expenses in QuickBooks and ran a comparison each month to see how we were doing.

Don’t be afraid to start; ask for help.

You have to understand your numbers in order to make decisions like “Can we afford to hire a new hygienist?” and “Can we pay her what she is asking?”

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Dentist Office Floor Plans: The Benefits of an Open Floor Plan

July 22, 2022 - Arminco Inc.

Are you thinking about opening a dentist's office? People are putting more effort into taking care of their health, and their smile is no exception! If your region is lacking in dental professionals, you could start a lucrative and helpful career by beginning your practice there.

That said, one of the first things you'll need to think about is your dental clinic design . Dentist office floor plans are very important, as they allow you and your patients to navigate your building easier and make sure your clinic stays organized and safe.

For this reason, you may want to consider the benefits of an open floor plan. Read this article to find out how this medical office design can work for you!

It Makes a Great First Impression

A lot goes through the mind of a patient when they first lay eyes on a clinic, and opinions are quickly formed right afterward. In fact, one of the quickest ways for a practice to lose patients is by not being up to their standards.

Open floor plans allow patients to see the full scope of what your office offers. It also enhances details such as lighting and gives the appearance of more space in the building, which looks good in anyone's eyes.

More Room for Storage

Have you ever tried to stuff your belongings in a tight space? It's never a fun thing. As your practice grows, you'll quickly find that between the equipment, patient records, and general files, you'll need a lot of room to make things work and keep the business flowing smoothly .

An open dental office interior gives you the highest amount of access to storage possible. The open plan also helps you move around the practice easier, as there would be a minimal amount of narrow archways and corners to slow you down.

Easier to Modify the Area

When it comes to more traditional designs, the rooms of the building are rigid and cannot be removed without professional contractors. This could lead to a problem of you need to expand or change the shape of a room.

With an open floor plan, modifying a room is very easy with the help of dividers. You can use them to give your patients the privacy that they need without changing the essence of the interior. Plus, you can change the room to any shape at any time you please, so upgrading your practice will be a breeze!

Try Open Dentist Office Floor Plans for Your Practice

Open dentist office floor plans offer a clear advantage for any medical clinic, and they would undoubtedly help you succeed in your practice. Would you like help creating your doctor's office design for your business? We would love to work with you!

Arminco Inc. has been creating floor plans for many years and has become a leader in the industry. We've successfully helped new companies start their businesses with our step-by-step process and expert guidance, and we're sure that we can strengthen your practice, too.

Please take a look around our site to learn about what we have to offer, or reach out to us if you're ready to get started. We can't wait to help you build your business!

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