Week 6

Dr. Smith is not the first dentist to work in this specific office space, so she wasn't the one to decide how each room was set up but she is happy with how the office is set up. What is special about her office is that all of the cabinets and desk space are hidden behind the patient. She said that in a lot of other offices there are tables that come out of the patients chair and sit above their lap which is terrible because the setup itself could cause some anxiety in a patient that would have otherwise been fine and heighten the anxiety of a patient who is already anxious. In her office, everything is hidden so that patients feel more free as opposed to constrained or trapped. Each patient is offered a paraffin wax hand massage so that they don't get fidgety and can relax, and every room is equipped with a TV above the chair so that patients can watch a show or movie of their choosing. Like I mentioned in my week 4 blog post, distracting the patient is a really important part of minimizing the effects of anxiety and the office setup is a huge way of helping comfort the patient.