Küster Dental Weblog

Colors, Colors, Colors!

This past weekend I’ve been working on the paint colors for a dental office design project I’m currently working on. Many may feel this is no big deal; however, I tend to spend a considerable amount of time on this portion of a dental office design project to make certain that the feel and flow is just right. While paint is relatively cheap and wall colors can change easily, not so true of the flooring, lighting, and furnishings that have been purchased as part of the project. Besides, who wants to repaint all the time? Not me!

Colors impact our mood. I think most school kids are taught that some colors are warm colors and some are cool colors. The warm colors (red, yellow, orange) arouse and stimulate, while the cool colors (blue, green, violet) calm us down. My high school used yellows and oranges in the halls to excite us and help us speed from class to class during the five minutes between classes. Then, the classrooms were painted in blues and greens to calm us down and get ready to learn. I visited the school a few years ago and found that the entire school had been repainted using the school colors of blue and white in the halls and tans in the class rooms. Obviously, whoever was in charge of the new color scheme missed the point of the original one. Makes me wonder if kids still make it to class on time?

Back on my current dental office design project, I’m down to just the right shade of beige for most of the walls. “Why is this such a big deal,” you ask? Well, some have more yellow in them than others, so they coordinate with the other tones that are fixed, such as the furniture and upholstery than others. The monkey wrench in this particular dental office design project is the available colors for the vinyl base. I’m not happy with any of my choices relative to everything else on the project. Today I’ll be in search for other base manufacturers to see what color choices they have as options. I’ll keep you posted. After all, not all beiges are created equal!

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Come Join Us at the November IDERA Meeting!

Posted in general with tags dental practice marketing, IDDS, IDERA, Indiana Dental Association, Indianapolis District Dental Society on 6 November 2009 by James

Join us for the November Indiana Dental Education and Resource Association (IDERA) meeting on Friday, 13 November from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. This month the meeting will be held in the offices of Midway Dental Supply at 6451 Saguaro Court, Indianapolis. Many thanks to Jeff Paden and the team at Midway Dental for being our hosts!

Our guest speakers this month will be Dr Dave Wolf, President of the IDDS Foundation and Carolyn Hansen, Executive Director of the Indianapolis District Dental Society (IDDS). They will be sharing with us the important work that the IDDS Foundation performs in helping those in need.

Come mix and mingle with other dental industry professionals, meet Dr Wolf and Carolyn, make new friends and connections, and learn why it is so important to support the IDDS Foundation.

I look forward to seeing you next week!

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Getting the Proper Flow

Posted in dental design, dental office design, ergonomics, interior design with tags dental design, dental interior design, dental office design, dental office ergonomics, dental office interior design, ergonomics, fine motor skills, interior dental design, interior dental office design, interior design, interior design for dental clinic, office design on 5 November 2009 by James

When working with your designer on your new dental office design there are two areas that you want to make sure you spend adequate time so that a good plan is achieved. One is the front reception area and the other is your sterilization room. If you have an on-site lab, you might also want to spend some time on this area, too.

Why do I say this? There is a lot of detail in these areas. While your dental office designer may have laid out dozens of reception areas and sterilization rooms for other clients, your particular collection of equipment and work habits directly impact an efficient design of both the space and casework. The casework should incorporate your equipment to provide for easy reach and access. This will diminish the chances for repetitive use injuries amongst your staff. The heights of cabinets and counters should also make for easy and comfortable working conditions. Plus, they must accommodate the physically handicapped whether they are currently on your staff or not.

Working with my clients on mapping out these areas is a real joy for me. The time spent learning about their particular dental practice so I can design a flow and create a plan that serves their needs is one of the most enjoyable parts of being a dental office designer. So, when scheduling time with your dental office designer, remember to allow for adequate time to be spent on these critical areas. Improved efficiencies in both reception and sterilization which translates into healthier bottom lines await you if you do!

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3-D Digital X-rays are Cool!

Posted in branding, dental design, dental office design, interior branding, interior design with tags interior design, dental office design, dental office interior design, interior dental design, branding, dental office branding, interior branding, office design, dental design, dental interior design, interior design for dental clinic, interior dental office design, cancellations, dental cancellation rates, client experience, dental office technology, dental experience, customer experience, IDERA on 2 November 2009 by James

Last week I attended a seminar on 3-D digital X-ray. What amazing technology! The things that are able to be done with cone beam systems and the improvement in patient diagnostics and care that are possible are simply mind-blowing. Okay, the real engineer geek in me was coming out during the seminar, as I was really getting excited about this.

So, what does this have to do with dental office design? Well, my third element of interior branding is the Application of Technology. In this element we make use of technology to improve the patient experience. There are many ways to accomplish this task and now, I’ve learned about another one that fits the bill. Being able to show a patient, in brilliant, 3-D images, exactly what is going on inside their mouth and with their care can only heighten the level of trust and comfort level they experience under care. An increased level of trust and comfort translates into fewer canceled appointments and more referrals; both of which are crucial to the bottom line of any dental practice.

My job as a designer is to help my clients integrate such technology into their overall branding message. All of the elements need to work together to create a complete dental office design. Focusing too much on any one element to the detriment of the others will leave the branding message weak and vulnerable and diminish the potential returns from the investment made in that area.

While I’m at it I need to put in a plug for Jim Pienkowski from Planmeca. If you have an opportunity to hear Jim speak, I recommend you do so. He is a charming and engaging speaker and he knows his subject matter well. The members of the Indiana Dental Education & Resource Association (IDERA) were able to schedule Jim to speak at their Fall Workshop courtesy of Jeff Paden and the good folks at Midway Dental Supply.

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What’s in a Sign?

Posted in branding, dental design, dental office design, interior branding, interior design with tags bosma enterprises, branding, client experience, customer experience, dental design, dental interior design, dental office, dental office branding, dental office design, dental office ergonomics, dental office interior design, interior branding, interior dental design, interior dental office design, interior design, interior design for dental clinic, office design, visually impaired on 10 October 2009 by James

As a business that serves the public, a dental office needs to be concerned with what accommodations are made to serve the handicapped. The accommodations that most frequently come to mind first are wheelchair accessibility in the form of ramps, lower counter heights, and bathroom layout and fixtures. What is often overlooked; however, are accommodations for the visually impaired.

This past week I’ve been working with the folks at Bosma Industries on the design of signage for a current dental office design project. Beyond the purely technical requirements of the signage, the folks at Bosma are a great resource for better understanding the true needs of the visually impaired. I like to utilize them to review floor plans and room arrangements to ensure that signs are placed where they will be most beneficial to someone who is visually impaired. As a person of sight, I tend to take certain things for granted; however, through working with the folks at Bosma, I’ve learned to try to imagine what it would be like to walk down a hallway and not be able to see into the various rooms and immediately know what their function is. Getting proper signage to identify rooms, including storage and mechanical closets, so that someone who is visually impaired can navigate the complexities of a dental office has become a key component of my dental office designs.

Additionally, by designing the signs rather than just going with standard, off-the-shelf signage, I can incorporate a dental office’s branding message into the signage itself; thus strengthening the interior branding message that we build into every dental office design.

Lastly, one additional fact that I’ve learned from the folks at Bosma is that that off-the-shelf signage, since it is produced by people of sight, often contains errors in its Braille. Since Bosma employees visually impaired individuals and they are the ones that proof-read every sign they fabricate, my clients and I can be assured that the signs read the way they are supposed to.

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Some Project “Before” Pictures

Posted in dental design, dental office design, interior branding, interior design with tags branding, dental design, dental experience, dental interior design, dental office, dental office branding, dental office design, dental office interior design, dental practice marketing, interior branding, interior dental design, interior dental office design, interior design, interior design for dental clinic, office design on 7 October 2009 by James

Construction will be starting soon on a dental office design remodel project I’ve been working on. Before we get into showing progress shots in a couple of weeks, I thought I’d share some “before” pictures today. Keep these in mind over the next few weeks as I update this dental office design project with progress photos and then the finished deal!

Enjoy!

View of the lab

View of one of the operatories

Looking into the Pan Alcove

Current reception desk

Staff Lounge view 1

Another view of the current Staff Lounge

Blue Sterilization Room

Pink Sterilization Room

And, the waiting room...

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Don’t Miss October IDERA Meeting!

Posted in dental office design, general, practice management with tags IDDS, IDERA, Indianapolis District Dental Society on 5 October 2009 by James

Join us for the October Indiana Dental Education and Resource Association meeting on Friday, 9 October from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Abuelo’s at Trader’s Point. While we have no guest speaker this month, we have lots to review for the upcoming CE Event on 29 October at the JA Center from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.! Be sure not to miss this important meeting!

Come mix and mingle with other dental industry professionals, make new friends and connections.

Also, mark your calendars for Friday, 13 November, when Carolyn Hansen, Executive Director of the IDDS will be joining us to share information on the important work that the Foundation performs and why it is important for all of us to get involved.

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A Dental Office Design Project Moves to the Next Phase

Posted in dental design, dental office design, interior branding, interior design with tags dental office, interior design, dental office design, dental office interior design, interior dental design, branding, dental office branding, emotional branding, interior branding, office design, dental design, dental interior design, interior design for dental clinic, interior dental office design, customer experience, american dental association, ADA on 29 September 2009 by James

One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is specifying finish textures and colors that tie a project all together and bring a desired branding message to life for a client. Today, I had a presentation meeting on a remodel that I’m working on and it was a joy as everything is starting to come together. We have the General Contractor selected, the equipment rep is on board, and we are about to narrow down the furniture supplier. Once that is complete, the whole team will be in place. That’s a good thing as construction is scheduled to start 19 October and half of the dental team is leaving in the morning for the ADA Annual meeting in Hawaii for two weeks!

In today’s meeting we were taking a final look at the carpet, tile, and lighting selections and seeing how they work with my recommendations for furniture and furniture finishes as part of the overall dental office design. By having listened to my clients over the past several months, the meeting went very smoothly and they loved what was presented. This is the way I like it. I work hard at listening to my client’s desires, tastes, and wishes so that we can nail the product and finish selections in one sitting. Does this always happen? No, I’m not perfect, and sometimes the client changes his/her mind once the choices are made plain by laying them out in front of them. Also, sometimes budget becomes an issue. In a well managed dental office design project, however, there is good communication along all steps of the process so that budget is not an issue at the late stages.

I left for my clients a Sample Board showing renderings of the finished public spaces and material samples of the finishes that will be used that they can put in their temporary space while the construction on their dental office design project takes place over the next several weeks. I’ll have photos on here soon to show everyone some of the “before” and during shots. Stay tuned!

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A Day in the Rain

Posted in general with tags dental design, dental office design, dental office interior design, Doctor of Dentistry magazine, Dury Investments, IDDS, Indianapolis District Dental Society on 26 September 2009 by James

Yesterday, my good friend Cindy, Publisher of Doctor of Dentistry magazine, and I spent the afternoon sitting at the green on Hole 9 at Hillcrest Country Club. Why, do you ask, would we spend the entire afternoon in a steady rain (sometimes pouring)? We were serving as volunteers for the Indianapolis District Dental Society Foundation Golf Outing. Our assignment: keep a close eye on the pin to see if any of the 64 golfers that were also braving the rain happened to make a hole-in-one. Since Hole 9 at Hillcrest is a 274 yard Par 4, the prize wasn’t ever really in any danger of being won.

Of course, all of the money raised for the Foundation supports their dental work for the underprivileged, and we were happy to serve as volunteers for the afternoon’s event.

Kudos go to Mike Cole from Dury Investments who probably came closest to actually hitting a hole-in-one. Of the three golfers whose ball landed on the green during the afternoon, Mike’s appeared to be closest to the pin. Too bad that wasn’t the contest we were assigned yesterday.

As Cindy and I were sitting there chatting in the rain (thanks to the golf pro that gave us a covered cart to sit in all afternoon), I thought that giving away dental office design services for anyone that makes a hole-in-one would be a great thing to do. Unfortunately, the golf tournament season is about over in Indiana, but look forward to Küster Dental Office Design offering up dental office design services during the 2010 season as a prize for anyone who hits a hole-in-one.

Know of any other dental related golf outings that Küster Dental Office Design should become involved with?

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Bringing on an Intern

Posted in dental design, dental office design, interior design with tags dental office, interior design, dental office design, dental office interior design, interior dental design, office design, dental design, dental interior design, interior design for dental clinic, interior dental office design on 24 September 2009 by James

I’m breaking out into unchartered waters. Today I have my final interview and made an offer to my very first intern. I’ve never worked with an intern before and this will be a learning experience for the both of us. My intern is a senior at The Art Institute of Indianapolis and will be in her final quarter before graduating with a Bachelor in Interior Design degree in December. I’m very excited to be able to provide a budding designer the chance to work on dental office design projects with Küster Dental Office Design.

I’m anticipating getting my intern involved on CAD revisions, project meetings, and product finish selections so she will be able to experience, and provide valuable input, to many facets of the design process.

I’m sure I’ll be writing more about the internship experience as the quarter progresses.

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