In a bid to lower the anxiety felt when visiting the dentist, Belgian architect Germain Canon has used glass panels to divide up the clinic, giving it the ambience of a living room as opposed to a clinical dental practice.
The Taiwanese dentist, based in Toayuan City, confirmed its vision of the project was to make people less afraid of the dentist, so enlisted the services of Canon, who is also a recognised photographer and illustrator.
The overhaul of the dental practice saw the reception room connected by a main hallway, placed adjacent to the street. This allowed for the introduction of natural light. Spaces were then divded using a blend of frosted partitions and sliding panels, making the rooms feel like an extension of one another.
Low furniture was then introduced into the waiting room to give the room a homely feel, which included the addition of floor cushions.
A small room has been designed to act as a mini studio that deals with treatment photographs. The room is rectangular and enclosed in glass, and contains shelving that aids with the storing of patients’ documents.
This isn’t the first time that interior design has been used to help alleviate dental anxiety. Casey Vallance created a calming environment for an Australian health education facility to counteract high stress levels that were reported in the profession.
Image: WikiMedia, available under Creative Commons.
