Instinctively, many people have a deep-rooted fear of going to the dentist. Just the smell of entering a dentist’s practise and the memory of the sound of the drill evokes unease in many people. Our teeth are connected to everything, their roots reach deep into the body’s memory, the surface of the teeth allows us to draw conclusions – even thousands of years back – about how healthy or unhealthy someone is (or has been) nourished physically, mentally and spiritually.
The mouth is one of the few openings into the body. The fear of the intervention in the mouth, as well as the pain that can occur when the dentist is at work with someone’s teeth, clouds the visit to the dentist and probably presents the staff of every practice with the great challenge of making the visit as pleasant as possible.
Objective
From the beginning, the aim of Dr. Petra Klemm’s Dentaya project was to give both the patients and the team a feeling of family atmosphere and wellbeing in combination with a high level of medical expertise.
This impression has been confirmed from the very beginning. Patients come with pleasure, feel at ease and become recurring patients. What is mentioned particularly often is that it does not smell like a dentist’s practise at all and that the waiting area is as inviting as a café and there is much more inner peace because everyone feels completely at ease in all the rooms.
Implementation
The transformation of a former branch of a Schlecker drugstore into a dental feel-good practice with a focus on prophylaxis and endodontics (root canal treatment) was very insightful and unusual: the free floor plan design in combination with many grounding materials such as clay, lime, mineral colours and ceramics as well as great light have created a place that differs significantly from the conventional ambience of a dental practice.
The Dentaya concept in detail
Dentaya – brand and concept development, interior design and colour concept
The task and goal of the project was to create a place that patients love and at the same time supports the practice team in their work in the best possible way. Developing Dentaya as a brand for dental health – for a lifetime – is the result of scientific working methods and sound analysis combined with structured planning. Care and cost-consciousness in the selection of equipment and inventory as well as the scientifically based allocation of colours, surfaces and materials has led to a result that has been convincing right from the start. When a prophylaxis appointment feels like a spa treatment and patients sometimes almost forget that they are at the dentist, it is the best expression of genuine wellbeing and trust.
Practice feeling and name: Dentaya – Eat, laugh, live – dental health for life
Dentaya stands for dental health – for a lifetime. The main focus of treatment in the Dentaya practice is endodontics, dental care and dental prophylaxis.
The mouth is used for food intake and to filter bacteria. A liberated, healthy and confident smile is vital because it influences personality traits and charisma as well as identity and inner wellbeing. “As a dentist, you actually contribute to people’s wellbeing, safety and confidence, especially for children, and you influence if and how much they enjoy going to the dentist. You also control that they receive low-pain treatment as one of the top priorities,” states Dr. Petra Klemm. The practice name is therefore derived from Dentes (teeth) and Surya, (Sanskrit: sun), because the sun provides energy, joy and conditions for growth. The Dentaya logo consists of a wave whose gentle curve serves as an expression of wellbeing and forms a toothbrush that appears approachable and at the same time stands for professional dental care and sustainable dental health.
Wellbeing
“Patients should naturally feel good. They should enjoy going to the dentist without feeling anxious,” Dr. Petra Klemm is convinced. She wants to promote happy smiles and she genuinely cares for each patient. She is not interested in conforming to the cliché of the forbidding doctor by forbidding the consumption of chocolate, cola, sweets, coffee or tea. However, she points out how best and healthiest to deal with these products. Dentaya therefore recommends enjoying culinary highlights and, with the materials and inspirations, symbolically takes patients on a journey of discovery to markets around the world. Life pulsates at markets. Market associations are a colourful interaction of trade, exchange, products, information, stories and feelings. Markets are lively places that ey inspire joy in eating, joy in enjoying and joy in living – and they dispel fear.
Floor plan
The transformation of a space formerly used for other purposes into the Dentaya practice not only allowed for creating a completely new and a free floor plan, but it also provided for an open waiting area with lots of daylight and sunshine coming in. The curved toothbrush logo, which extends through the waiting area as the main wall of the entrance and reception, determines the shape and of the floor plan and its spatial arrangement. It also separates public from semi-public areas and creates a gentle welcome with inner calm.
Colour, light, material
Based on the principles of the five-element theory, the materials are of natural origin, polychrome and harmoniously coordinated. The main materials are clay and lime plasters and pure mineral colours. Clay filters and purifies the air, gives structure and improves noise absorption throughout the space. As a primeval material of man, loam holds associations of stability, calm and grounding, which take away fear. Rammed clay, enriched with straw, centres. It brings golden reflections into the room and symbolises earth (brown-beige) and sun (gold). The lighting concept is diversified and balanced.