A great way to improve your patients’ experience at your dental practice is by updating your waiting room. The first thing your patients will do when they arrive at your practice is enter your waiting room. If the area boasts a poor design or the waiting process is uncomfortable, it can give them a bad first impression and tarnish their experience. In turn, this can hurt the reputation of your practice. To learn how to improve your patients’ waiting room experience, continue reading.
Update your seating
Uncomfortable furniture can make any amount of wait time feel endless. To avoid making your patients uncomfortable, invest in padded seating with a comfortable amount of support. Including chairs with arms is especially beneficial for older patients as this feature makes it easier for them to get up.
Rearrange your seating layout
The way that you arrange the seating in your waiting room can have a large impact on your patients’ experience. A quality dental practice waiting room seating layout should vary to provide your patients with an ample amount of options depending on their preferences. Your seating should include solo spaces for patients who prefer privacy as well as grouped seating where families can sit together.
Provide entertainment
Waiting for a dentist appointment to begin isn’t exactly the most enjoyable pastime. To help curb your patients’ boredom, make sure to provide a few forms of entertainment. Placing a few magazines out on the coffee table or even mounting a television to the wall can help make their waiting time pass quicker. For your younger patients, adding a small children’s play area with toys and games will help keep them entertained and calm their anxiety during the waiting process.
Inform patients of wait times
Keeping patients informed during the waiting process is a great way to help improve their waiting room experience. This is especially important when long wait times are unavoidable. Giving them an estimated wait time will help manage their expectations rather than endlessly waiting with no end in sight. Patients tend to be a lot more patient if you keep them informed.
Henry Schein Dental Practice Transitions is the leader in dental practice transition planning, sales and valuations, dental practice financing, and buyer representation. Whether you’re looking to purchase a new dental practice or putting your oral surgery practice up for sale, we can help. Our team will provide you with the knowledge, resources, and expertise necessary to facilitate a smooth and advantageous transition. For more information regarding our services, contact us today.
