While there are a growing number of dental clinics in Korea, such as Minish Oral Spa, that offer professional dental care and luxurious comfort, the luxury and spa trend in dental clinics is also noticeable in the United States and Australia.
According to Modern Luxury, the Atlanta Center for Aesthetic Dentistry in the southeastern U.S. redefined the patient experience as “spa-like luxury” and decorated the hospital like a salon. From the moment you walk in, you’ll notice the art studio-like décor and fixtures.
“We wanted to envision a space that was different from a traditional dentist’s office, where patients would feel comfortable, pampered, and well taken care of,” says Dr. Debra King, the practice’s founder. Each treatment room is equipped with Bose-branded headphones, a comforter, and a neck pillow. There are two TVs, one at the foot of the patient’s chair and one on the ceiling.
There’s also soothing music in the room, and you can wipe your face with a warm towel before your treatment. The clinic has two full-time massage therapists on staff to work on your arms and legs.
The clinic offers a luxury spa-like experience, but without sacrificing quality of care. The clinic is staffed by four doctors who are board-certified by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and have over 100 years of combined clinical experience.
Smile Muse Spa in Fort Worth, Texas, a common stopover for Koreans flying on American Airlines, is a dental clinic, but it puts the spa front and center. According to the Dallas Weekly, Dr. Carmen Blunt, founder of the practice, wanted to change that because she wondered “why going to the dentist is not a pleasant experience for most people.”
“We’re not just about getting your teeth clean,” says Dr. Blunt, “it’s about transforming fear into confidence.” The philosophy is that having a great smile is not an obligation that comes from social norms or expectations, but a confidence that comes from self-love. This is why they maintain facilities and services such as a boutique spa to maintain comfort and luxury.
Dr. Blunt is also very active on Instagram. He often answers common dental questions in videos. For example, he recently shared a video in which he discusses his concerns about mouthwash, writing, “I rinse my mouth more often than the average person.”
Despite its name, Dr. Blunt’s Smile Muse Spa doesn’t just do cosmetic dentistry. It offers all kinds of dental care, including pediatric dentistry. Given the high cost of dentistry in the U.S., there are options like customized treatment plans and video consultations.
Some dental clinics are even named after coffee shops. Such is the case with Tooth Cafe, which opened last year in Louisville, a city in the center of Kentucky known to most of us for its KFC restaurants. When you walk in, you’re greeted by a naturally lit, glass-fronted coffee shop that serves as a lounge. Patients can grab a cup of coffee from the espresso machine while they wait for their appointment, and the coffee shop-style seating allows them to charge their laptops and work in private.
Then, when it’s time for your appointment, you’ll enter the exam room, where you can watch Netflix on the ceiling screen and choose from regular, heated, or heavy blankets. Dr. Aylie Blyston, the practice’s director, says the idea for the retreat café-style dental clinic was to change the “stigma” and “fear” of dentistry.
Spa-style dentistry has become a trend in the United States in recent years. In 2017, Vox described the feeling of a typical dental visit this way. “You walk into a gray office, lie down in a chair, and an unfamiliar dentist examines your mouth, pokes at your gums, and smears fruit-flavored toothpaste on your chin. He or she focuses on microscopic cavities. You leave satisfied with your clean teeth, but you feel like running home to wash your face.”
To fulfill the psychological comfort that even the most perfect dentist can’t provide, these dental clinics have incorporated concepts such as cafes, spas, and retreats into their practices.
Writer. Hyuntaek Lee
<A former newspaper journalist who worked for 18 years at JoongAng Ilbo>, <and Chosun Ilbo>. She is currently working as a freelance contributor and planning the second act of her life. In addition to journalism, she has worked in broadcast public relations and marketing at JTBC and Edelman Global Advisory in the United States. He is the recipient of a U.S. State Department Fulbright Humphrey Fellowship and a Google Asia-Pacific Newsroom Leadership Fellow.
