Being a dentist involves more than medical expertise – you also need to have business savvy when you’re faced with key decisions, such as when to invest in new equipment and remodel your office. A dental office remodel can be expensive and disruptive in the short term, but it can give your practice the technology and layout it needs to keep both your staff and customers happy. To make the most of your redesign, you’ll want to take into account the impacts of your timing and the overall design.
Timing is Everything
An article in the professional journal Dental Economics gives some insights into which seasons make the most sense for major business changes like a remodel. The data suggests that May and September are the slowest months for dentistry, whereas business peaks in August, October, November and April. If you were planning to temporarily close your office in order to modernize and refurbish it, the early summer would impact the fewest patients.
Envisioning the Final Product
Wells Fargo bank published a thoughtful article about dental office trends that points out the importance of making the office look professional without appearing unapproachable. Two key design concepts stand out: using all of your office’s square footage to its fullest potential and sticking to classic design principles.
The article also suggests the following design guidelines:
- Never let treatment zones be on public display.
- Lay out your business area so the receptionist can easily swivel to greet patients and then swivel back away from them to take care of other tasks. This way, transactions and conversations with patients who are checking out can be kept private and separate from the waiting area.
- Plan for a space where patients can discuss fees with your staff privately.
- Break rooms and private offices should be isolated from the practice’s patient-activity areas.
- All treatment rooms should have identical equipment and similar layouts to avoid staff having favorite rooms.
- Make sure you budget for and lay out all the technology you need in the treatment areas for patient education, practice management, treatment co-diagnosis and even entertainment.
- Leave some room for expansion over time.
- Choose a classic, timeless color scheme. Reserve bold colors for walls and other paintable surfaces.
- Use quality, durable finish materials for countertops and cabinetry. It might be a little more expensive up front but will last over the life of the current office design.
- Work with your interior decorator to plan inexpensive seasonal updates so you can keep your décor fresh over the next 10 years.
Financing Your Project
A key component to project success is lining up the right kind of financing. A small business loan is from the right lender can mean the difference between staying on schedule or delays that impact your bottom line. Online lenders like IOU Financial offer quick turnaround and flexibility that a traditional bank loan can’t match. Want to figure out your costs for financing your dental office remodel? Visit our loan calculator to learn about our financing and how to make sure you qualify for a loan.
