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Redefining the Dentist’s Office Heidi Core can’t make the drill disappear, but her designs do make dental offices more palatable
Heidi Core Interior Design
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irmingham, Alabama-based Heidi Core Interior Design has transformed 15 of the state’s practices into upscale spaces that blend the equipment into the interiors to produce a comfortable “at-home” environment. Core shares how she took dental design from clinical to chic.
DB: Dentists’ offices are usually associated with some not-so-pleasant experiences like anxiety and pain. Do your designs address this? Heidi Core: The dental team and our interiors team make changes that promote relaxation. For instance, we started placing X-ray buttons on the walls opposite the treatment room entries. This simple change allows us to place art, sconces, and trim on the most visible walls so the patients don’t notice the buttons. We develop an art collection that is unique to each dentist and showcases his or her hobbies, heritage, or life experiences. This usually sparks an interest among patients and, again, helps to take their minds off of why they are there. DB: What about the dreaded drills? HC: Fortunately, the dental casework of today does a great job of hiding all the intimidating tools associated with dentistry, but we also try to provide extra amenities like beverage centers, gaming stations for kids, and TV monitors at the dental chairs.
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Photos By Sherwood cox, sherwoodcox.com
DB: If you could design the ideal patient experience, what would it be like? HC: I want patients to feel at ease and relaxed in a streamlined, uncluttered space. I also like our interiors to be a ‘mood lifter,’ so to speak. Lighting can help to set the mood. We place soothing indirect lighting above the dental chairs so patients are not staring at glaring fluorescent tubes during their treatments, and add pendants, wall sconces, and art accent lighting so that the environment is not so cold and static.