Toothbar is not your traditional dental clinic.
Walk into the lobby and you will be amazed at the look of a modern hotel lounge with a technology bar; complimentary Wi-Fi and a refreshment bar.
The floor-to-ceiling 15-foot windows offer a 360-degree view of different parts of downtown Austin, Texas, where it is located.
Toothbar has an open floor plan. The patient rooms don’t have doors, just 12-foot-tall soundproof wall partitions with Sonos speakers installed in every wall for patient privacy.
Patients can use the “brush bar” which features dental products and a large vanity mirror so patients can refresh themselves before or after their dental visit.
Patients are welcome to visit the Toothbar Lounge, which has three massage chairs and a lounge with a bar. When requested, patients can also get a pillow and blankets. There’s a charging station for patients to charge their phones.
The lounge can be reserved for teeth-whitening parties, such as for pre-wedding preparations, or if patients want a quick polish and floss in between their six-month cleanings.
To do all these, the dentists behind the innovative clinic went beyond the world of dentistry for best practices from online shopping to hotel customer service, from a branding company to helping build anticipation that Toothbar is something new and different.
“We’re finding that many patients show up to their appointments an hour early just to hang out in the lobby,” said Dr. Lauren Jacobsen, who co-owns Toothbar with Dr. Kimberley Barclay. “When patients leave our office, their words are ‘Wow, I don’t even feel like I’m at the dentist.’”
Drs. Barclay and Jacobsen met as dental students at Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine. They opened Toothbar in April 2018.
For both, Toothbar is a dream-come true. The dream is to offer high quality dental care and expertise in a way that redefines the way people think about going to the dentist.
They understood their target patients: downtown Austin professionals who are tech-savvy and time efficient.
“We decided we were just going to start our own practice from scratch,” Dr. Barclay says. “Some people were really shocked when we told them we would be starting anew. They would tell us that it would be incredibly difficult, but we knew we had a vision and that there was a need in the dental market for something different.”
They understood where Austin was going, says Dr. Jacobsen. “We knew who our patients were going to be. Toothbar is not for everyone and we understand that. Our neighbors and other businesses in the area have been incredibly supportive. There’s a real camaraderie within our community.”
“We always asked ourselves, ‘How can we make it so that patients have an elevated dental experience?’” Dr. Barclay said. This involves allowing patients to do their paperwork before coming to the office, communicating appointments with patients via texts and welcoming patients whether they have an appointment that day or not.
Toothbar is the winner in the “new build” category in the inaugural Design Innovation Awards which recognize excellence in dental facilities that seamlessly combine aesthetic appeal, function and design.
The American Dental Association (ADA) Council on Dental Practice, ADA Member Advantage and BMO Harris Bank organized the Dental Innovation Awards.
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim is the former Associate Dean of the UE College of Dentistry, National University, past president and honorary fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy, and honorary fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, email jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515./WDJ