Article paper for MDes magazine – Spark

Avoid Dental Phobia
----- Five tips forwards designing a healing interior space for patients

Every year, millions of people experience unnecessary discomfort, distress and even depression because of health problems with their teeth, gums and mouth. So dental health should be very important to everyone at least to who has teeth because we need teeth to do the first digestion – chewing. The good teeth associate with good health. But dental treatment always associates with pain and uncomfortable. What do dentists do during this situation?

Querying Yes/No questions as patients lie on dental chairs during their treatment is a specialty for dentists to achieve in order to distracting patients’ attentions from pain or discomfort. “The dentist should be good at asking Yes/No questions, I think.” A young postgraduate client said, “It is a beneficial method my dentist uses during teeth treatment and it makes me think about other things and not focus on the pain from my teeth.” But if the dentist is not skilled in communication and chat, why not using the interior space to heal them?

After interviews and observations in dental practices, hospitals and some similar institutions as well as literal review, there are at least five usual solutions have been used in contemporary dentists to deal with dental phobia in interior design.

Firstly, putting some attractive pictures on the wall or hanging decorations on the ceiling opposite the dental chair is a traditional mode that has been used in many dental surgeries, and it has worked to some extent. In many surgeries, dentists like using scenery photographs or pictures, especially, a beach, a sea, a lake or a forest. And hanging toys like birds or fish is another common practice. However, from first hand experience in dental practice, when people lay on dental chairs, their view is always filled with dentists’ hands, treatment facilities and ceiling. At that time, there is no space for pictures or decorations and as an obvious result they do not work. Sometimes the images and decorations are too small to absorb patients’ interests.

Why not a TV in the treatment room? Actually, this is controversial. From the patients’ view, watching TV series during treatment is an enjoyment and the pain seems to be forgotten with the help of funny programmes. But from the dentists’ view, the TV programme also distracts them from treatment. A dentist stated: “It is dangerous! If there is a TV set and it is playing interesting programme, I will pay attention to that not on my work. In my opinion, even a lot of patients advise me to install a TV set in treatment room to alleviate their pains during treating; I prefer images to a TV set.” In many case, the opinion of patients and staff is that the TV set is suitable only for waiting room.

Furthermore, to decorate the ceiling as a focal point in the treatment room is an appalling disregard for the ceiling design and aesthetic dimension of a ceiling. With smart interior design through the use of creative materials and finishes the ceiling can become the focal point or an important backdrop for other interior elements. Add welcoming dimensions to dental surgeries by bringing decorative ceiling element. In this way, patients could enjoy the creative ceiling design during treatment. But the disadvantage is the ceiling decoration is not easy to change in a short time. People have a habit of abandon the old for the new, so a beautiful decoration, mural or image will lose its charm after long time use.

So what about changing the images in an easy way? The technique of back-lit film images or transparencies is always used in CT scan room and radiation therapy room and it can be introduced into dental treatment room. In this method, it could give patients different views of nature and open the interior space, providing a psychological escape for patients and a stress- reducing diversion.

Last but not least, there are other modern techniques to be used – a Snoezelen room. This is consists of a system of lights that are programmed to gently move and change throughout a room’s interior; it is intended to relax and calm those who are agitated, whether because of mental illness, learning disability or behavioral problems. This room is specially designed to deliver stimuli to various senses, using lighting effects, color, sounds, music, scents, etc. Ideally, Snoezelen is a non-directive therapy and can be staged to provide a multi-sensory experience or single sensory focus, simply by adapting the lighting, atmosphere, sounds, and textures to the specific needs of the client at the time of use. There is no formal focus on therapeutic outcome - the focus is to assist users in gaining the maximum pleasure from the activity in which they and the enabler are involved. An advantage of Snoezelen is that it does not rely on verbal communication and may be beneficial for people with profound autism, as it may provide stimulation for those who would otherwise be almost impossible to reach.

In conclusion, it is hard to think of anything more depressing to patients than the view of empty, dreary walls and ceilings as they lie on the dental chair that unfortunately still characterize so many of today’s surgeries. Dental practices need the balance of elements such as wholeness, happiness, health and fun because for hundreds of years dental practices were associated exclusively with suffering, pain and anxiety. No one is ever happy over the prospect of having to enter a dental practice, even when the patient knows it will be of great benefit to do so. A well designed interior space especially ceiling will attract patients’ attentions and heal their depression from painful and horrible treatment and place them in a holistic environment.