At her dental appointments, Deann Romanick sips green tea and takes in the scent of lavender and the sounds of new-age music. She gets a free paraffin hand wax treatment, blankets, a warm neck pad and video eyeglasses in which she can watch Seinfeld episodes while the dentist works on her teeth.
The pampering eased her through a root canal and a tooth replacement, and now, with her fear of dental work gone, she has moved on to more elective procedures. Romanick, 34, a graduate student from Germantown, Maryland, spent US$399 for teeth whitening and next plans to straighten her teeth with removable plastic braces, which can cost up to US$3,500.
"I was totally afraid of the dentist," she said. "Now I go to the dentist every six months and I just can't wait."
PHOTO: THE NEW YORK TIMES
What's that? Enjoy the dentist's office? That is the hope of a growing number of dentists who are turning their practices into "dental spas" that offer such perks as fresh-baked cookies and overstuffed couches and services like body waxing, facials, massage and pedicures.
About 5 percent of the American Dental Association's members have declared their offices as "spas." And their new services may open the door to more elective cosmetic dentistry -- an additional revenue source for an industry that historically has been restricted by what patients' insurance will cover.
For dentists, the changes can mean that patients see office visits as more routine.
"Going to the dentist shouldn't be this bad thing," said Kimberly Baer, who did Romanick's dental work. "It should be like going to get your hair done."
Baer opened the Bethesda Dental Spa in North Bethesda, Maryland, two years ago, installing hardwood floors and waterfalls and decorating in muted lavenders and greens. All patients receive hand waxes before their appointments. For additional fees, they can get follow-up pain treatment from an acupuncturist, and eyebrow waxes from a staff aesthetician. This summer, the office plans to add free 15-minute facials and massages.
"I view it as a marketing expense," Baer said. "It's what makes other people go back to their office and talk about their dental appointment."
The strategy has paid off. Baer says the spa receives about 45 new patients a month, with many willing to go beyond traditional dentistry and spend US$400 to US$16,000 out of pocket for various procedures -- whitening teeth or attaching porcelain veneers, for example. Sales at the office doubled in the last year, to US$1.5 million. she said.
The spa services go hand in hand with the growth of cosmetic dentistry. Dentists surveyed last year by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry reported that the aesthetic procedures in their offices rose by 12.5 percent, on average, in the past five years. Tooth whitening, they said, was the No.1 requested service. Patients might pay US$300 to US$600 for it, an expense typically not covered by insurance.
The desire for perfect teeth is not limited to the dental office. Consumers have flocked to over-the-counter teeth-whitening products. Together, sales for Crest Whitestrips and Crest Night Effects, two whitening products from Procter & Gamble, tripled from 2001 to last year, to US$300 million.
"Now more than ever people are looking to improve their smiles," said Irwin Smigel, a Manhattan dentist and founder and president of the American Society of Dental Aesthetics.
Technology has improved, and reality makeover television shows have helped to make more consumers aware of it. And many people -- including baby boomers -- have the cash to spend.
"The baby boomer generation has put looking good and feeling good as a priority," said Kimberly Harms, a spokeswoman for the American Dental Association and a dentist in Farmington, Minnesota. "It goes along with people getting Botox, exercising and dyeing their hair."
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