Consulting room used for making financial arrangements© Joye Ardyn DurhamClick here to enlarge imageClinical staff members enter the building through a side door at the basement stairway, change clothing downstairs, and then proceed to the clinical areas upstairs. The tray prep area is centrally located with easy access. An on-deck cabinet provides quick supply access, and a small assistant's desk is available for catalogs and ordering information. Clinical assistants and hygienists can order supplies via the Internet from any workstation in the office.
There are several unique features in the clinical treatment areas:
•A specially constructed doctor/assistant workstation (designed by Dr. Jeff Carter of THE Design and integrated by Ted Takahashi of T2 Consulting) is located in each operatory. The workstation combines an LCD flat-screen monitor and keyboard mounted on the assistant cart. The monitor and keyboard swivel for access by assistant and doctor, and the keyboard can be folded up during procedures.
•A curing light is mounted on the delivery system in every operatory. A utility wall houses a computer; multiple hookups for water, air, and electrical needs, current and future; an Amtel messaging system; an X-ray unit; an intraoral camera; an air abrasion unit; a personal compact disc player; and compact discs.
•Sterilization is centrally located. A Miele dishwasher, temperature rated for disinfection, is installed in the sterilization area.
•The sharps containers and trash bins in every operatory are out of sight and built flush into the cabinetry to keep the treatment areas streamlined and neat.
•There are patient headphone hookups built into each dental chair. A patient monitor is mounted on each operatory wall to view radiographs, intraoral photos, the Casey Patient Education system, or other DVDs. A closet houses the computer server, CD player, radio, DVD player and antenna, and hub and routers for the high-speed wireless Internet service.
•The office utilizes the KaVo DIAGNOdent caries detector, a Digital Doc wireless intraoral camera, and an Olympus C2500L digital camera with ring flash.
When I asked Dr. Nicolls to describe the aesthetic environment, she said: "I have created a wonderfully relaxed, soothing environment for my patients, my staff,
and myself through the use of earth-tone colors - browns, greens, soft lavenders, and muted oranges. Natural slate tiles are in the entryway and restrooms. The consulting room is walled in etched glass, and the ceiling of the reception area is wood with open, rough-hewn beams. Cherry and maple woods, strikingly textured wall coverings, rounded edges, and indirect lighting are featured throughout the office.
"Four of the five operatories have windows that look out onto a sloping landscaped garden planted with small shrubs, flowering plants, and grasses. It is deliberately designed to have something flowering from early spring to late fall. The audio system is a spliced system that can deliver music from either CDs or radio to all areas of the office. The system allows the front area, which includes the reception area, to choose different music from the operatory areas. There are headphones in each operatory if the patient chooses to listen to CDs."
Dr. Nicolls certainly got her wish for a high-tech office. Her office is packed with much of the latest technology for diagnosis and patient treatment. To save space, she eliminated the traditional darkroom and instead uses the Dexis digital radiography system. A digitized Instrumentarium Armamentarium Panoramic X-ray uses a phosphor imaging plate, which, after exposure, is scanned into PracticeWorks, her dental management software. Dr. Nicolls has entered the world of lasers with an Opus 20e hard-tissue laser and an Opus 10 laser for soft tissue.
Dr. Nicolls uses an Amtel office messaging system. She says she prefers a system that features a keyboard that allows the option of typing messages, as well as using preprogrammed messages. A Tel-A-Patient system provides informative messages about her practice and dentistry in general to callers who are placed on hold. All treatment rooms are designed and equipped the same - the chairs and stools are from A-dec.
Dr. Nicolls enjoys going to work in her new office. "Electric handpieces have become one of my favorite and most useful additions," she says. "But the highlight and defining feature of my office now is the laser. I have both a diode laser for soft-tissue procedures and a hard-tissue laser for composite restorations. My patients love not having anesthetic, and I love being their laser dentist!"
For more information on this year's winners, please visit www.matsco.com.
For more information about the next annual Dental Office Design Competition, call Matsco at (800) 810-3778 or visit www.matsco.com.