Why New Chairs?

In our newsletter this month, we mentioned several things that we've done around the office to improve the quality of our patient's visits, and the first thing we listed was 'new chairs'. We've had a few people inquire as to why, on a list that includes several high-end new dental machines and other improvement, we chose to put new chairs first on the list.

The answer is simple: it's a matter of dental ergonomics.

The Dentist's Perspective

For Drs. Johnson and Risbrudt and their hygienists, the difference in chairs is important for a few reasons:

• The headrests and narrower shoulder areas allow for better maneuvering around you during a procedure, keeping things moving during a longer, more complex operation.
• Height adjustment on the chair allows the dentist to sit comfortably and work without having to strain upward or downward.

The Patient's Perspective

While you only spend a few — maybe twice that at the maximum — hours in the chair vs. the thousands of hours the dentist will spend maneuvering around the chair, we nonetheless bought these chairs with your comfort in mind:

• Adjustable head/neck rests ensure that you're never supporting the weight of your head or contorting yourself to let the dentist get to whatever he's working on.
• Lumbar and pelvic support mean that you won't get up with a stiff back no matter how long you've been sitting — and even if your muscles do start to feel a little tense, the built-in massager will take care of that in a hurry.
• Highly adjustable head and footrests allow us to adapt our chairs for almost anyone (though if Sultan Kosen comes back for another visit, we'll probably still need a special chair for him.)

Sure, to a degree, it's "just" new chairs — but when you're striving to make your patients comfortable and calm, every difference counts.