The Ideal Waiting Room for Your Practice

It Starts With Your Team

First and foremost, your staff play an important role in creating an inviting waiting room, starting with a warm, prompt greeting for every patient.

Be sure a team member is always readily available at the front desk – especially during those busy lunch hours – to check in patients and answer questions.

Every practice runs off schedule from time to time. If you notice you’re running behind on appointments, be sure to have a front desk staff member communicate that with patients.

Patients will appreciate having a heads up on when they can expect to be seen. For severe delays, have your staff call patients who haven’t arrived yet.

Let them know when to come later or reschedule their appointments for another day.

For patients already on-site, thank them for their patience with a coffee gift card or complimentary products. It’s a small but thoughtful gesture that can leave a lasting impression.

Marketing in the Waiting Room

Use your practice’s waiting room to your advantage! This is the ideal space to subtly gain awareness for your practice’s services, especially elective treatments such as tooth whitening, clear aligners, or sleep apnoea devices.

Many dental manufacturers and distributors will offer complimentary or low-cost marketing materials for you to utilise in your practice:

Posters can be hung on the walls, doors, and in windows.
Point-of-sale displays and counter cards can be placed at the front desk countertop, strategically placed to be seen by patients when checking in or paying for their treatments.
Place brochures or postcards on the side tables in the seating area.
Position floor-length banners in empty, underutilised corners.

Ask your sales consultants what in-office marketing support they have available. They would be more than happy to provide you with useful, eye-catching materials.

While marketing materials are great to incorporate in your front office, be careful of clutter. Too many materials can be overload for patients, and they won’t be able to absorb everything.