The Psychology of Color in the Dental Office

Have you ever wondered why your dental office is decorated a certain way...or maybe why it isn't?  The fact is, color can make a waiting room or an operatory look inviting, or make you want to turn and run!  Imagine that you walked in to a dental office for the first time and the walls were say, a dark shade of ming orange and the chairs were red.  You might immediately turn around and head for the door and see that the accent wall is, eeek!  A deep shade of purple.  Now there is a dentist in serious need of a decorator!
So, would you immediately distrust that dentist?  He or she may be the best technical dentist in the state, but the fact is, color speaks volumes to a patient in a waiting room, and first impressions are everything. There is actually a psychology to color in the medical/dental world.
Green, in pale variations, is a relaxing color.  Seafoam is very popular and is also relaxing.  Blue denotes honesty and security and softer shades of pink and mauve are calming. In contrast, red in darker shades is an angry color...it can enhance an already bad mood, or make an anxious patient more anxious. The idea is that it should be inviting and you should have a sense of being in good hands immediately when you walk in.
Now, that is not to say that you should turn and run if the colors are wrong, but in case you ever wondered why you may feel a certain way or get a certain impression when you walk in to a dental facility, it could be the decor!

Keep smiling!