Reception
No television, no music, no product display. Water, a plant, and the sterilisation room visible through glass — because being able to see how instruments are handled settles more nerves than any poster about it.
Built quiet
on purpose.
Acoustic ceilings, treatment rooms with real daylight and no reception TV. The suction is the loudest thing in the building, and we picked the quietest one on the market.
Havenstraat 12, Rotterdam. Ground floor of a converted grain warehouse, opened in 2014.
The brief
Fear is mostly
sensory.
Dental anxiety is rarely about pain any more — modern anaesthesia handles that. It is about sound, smell and the loss of control that comes from lying flat while someone works above you. So we designed against those three things specifically.
- Four treatment rooms, all with windows to the street
- Sterilisation room visible from reception, by design
- Noise-cancelling headphones and blankets in every room
- Ground-floor access, no steps anywhere in the building
- Ceiling-mounted screens so you can see what we see
- A stop signal agreed before every appointment starts
Room by room
What is where.
Six spaces, one floor, no lift and no corridor longer than eight metres.
Rooms 1 & 2 — general
Street-facing with full-height windows. Ceiling-mounted screen above the chair showing your own intraoral photographs, so what we are describing is on the screen rather than described in the abstract.
Room 3 — surgical
Implant placement and surgical extractions. Separate ventilation, a scrub area and space for a sedationist to work at the head of the chair without anybody stepping over anybody.
Room 4 — hygiene
Quietest room in the building, at the back away from the street. Appointments here are forty minutes, which is roughly double the industry norm and the reason our hygienist has a waiting list.
Scan bay & milling
The intraoral scanner, the CBCT unit and the milling machine, all in one room off the corridor. It is glazed, so you can watch your crown being milled if that appeals to you.
The talking room
A room with two chairs, a table and no clinical equipment at all. Used for first appointments with nervous patients, treatment planning conversations and anything involving a difficult number.
Access
Getting in.
If any of this does not work for you, tell us when you book and we will arrange around it.
Step-free throughout
The entrance is flush with the pavement and every room is on one level. Doorways are 900 mm and the accessible WC has a left-hand transfer.
Wheelchair users
Rooms 1 and 3 have chairs that lower to 38 cm and enough clear floor for a side transfer. We have a transfer board and two staff trained to assist if you would like help; tell us in advance so we book the extra time rather than improvising.
Coming with support
There is room for a companion to sit beside the chair in every treatment room, and we are happy for them to stay for the whole appointment.
Sensory
Lighting can be dimmed in every room, we have ear defenders as well as headphones, and we can run appointments with no radio and minimal talking if you prefer.
Want to see it before you book?
Come in, look around, meet whoever is on reception and leave again. No appointment, no obligation, no examination.