Dental Surgery Fit-Out Series: Lighting and Colour

At Eclipse Dental the surgery is the most requested design and refurbishment space we receive, and as the heart of the dental practice the environment needs to reduce anxiety for patients undergoing treatment, as well as providing pleasant and operationally effective working conditions, complying with regulations and be easy to clean.

The design of the surgery should incorporate some very important aspects to achieve a harmonious balance of personal preference, aesthetics and functionality.

This series of videos will examine the main areas of consideration in more detail and suggest possible options. We have covered layouts and dental chairs so far and this video will cover lighting within the surgery.

Having a stunning bay window like 1 Harley Street or an amazing view can definitely gain points for aesthetics and patient experience, but this can also be achieved by utilising lighting such as cabinet down lighting, wall lights and image feature lighting.

Most dentists would agree that natural light from a window promotes patient comfort, increases staff productivity and is more effective than artificial lighting for colour matching. Although, specialist dental lighting fixtures are built to mimic daylight as closely as possible, so window lighting is generally a formality and certainly not essential.

The surgery lighting would need to be designed regardless of external lighting from windows, as during the winter and bad weather, this can be non-existent and to maintain the surgery at optimum light levels, windows may need to be screened with film or blinds.

With Quigley dental practice we achieved a much more luminous and cleaner looking surgery by fitting better ambient lighting, lighter coloured cabinetry and white walls. The light reflects and bounces much easier which increases the overall brightness of the room.

Another aspect of delivering a comfortable and modern look is colour.

There is, without doubt, a psychological impact from colour, which can also improve workplace efficiency and relieve fatigue so choosing the right hues and tones can have a very positive effect.

At Calm and Gentle Dental Care, patient experience means everything to their principal dentist, and we were contracted to perform a complete refurbishment of his surgery.

The surgery was stripped-out with a plan to keep a similar layout, but to improve workflow and increase working space around the dental chair. And with the change in colour scheme, we achieved a more aesthetically pleasing space for his patients and a brighter room to work in.

As experienced dental fit-out specialists we see the mistakes made from previous refurbishments and we are experts at designing operationally effective, and efficient layouts, including cabinetry and lighting.

The modern surgery is a completely different environment from surgeries of the past and should ideally create highly rated patient experiences, be clinical, well-lit and above all hygienic; to meet CQC & HTM 01-05 compliance for infection control.

The next video in this series will look at how infection control can be managed in a surgery, especially if there isn’t any space for a separate decontamination room in the practice.

For more information and detail regarding lighting for the whole dental practice see our article – Top Tips for Dental Lighting. This is our dental practice guidance and fact-sheet to get the most out of your lighting design and set-up, offering possibilities and solutions.

Our range of dental practice lighting covers area lights, ceiling lighting, multimedia and image feature systems.