Is Your Dental Office Peter Perfect?

It's an overcast, drizzly Sunday afternoon at the Jersey Shore.

I've been whiling away the day by pounding on my laptop while the Style Channel's Peter Perfect marathon plays in the background.

Yeah, I know - I should probaly be watching the Yankee game or something more macho, but this show appeals to the marketer in me.

Anyway, in case you weren't aware, Peter Perfect is a business makeover program featuring Peter Ishkhans, a British-born hairstylist to the stars who is remarkably effective at reinventing and re-branding floundering small businesses of virtually any type.

He does this by combining his impeccable good taste with common sense principles of corporate branding, interior design, retail layout and employee image.

It made me think that it may be time to for Peter to visit a dental office.

Although dentistry has come a long way from the days of drill and fill, rinse and spit; many dental offices do a poor job of communicating this via their visual appearance.

Half-taped, hand-written signs, dog-eared wall paper and stained carpeting do not enhance the patient experience or the professional image of the practice.

In fact, they actually counteract and devalue the highly-aesthetic, beautifully photographed images provided by the manufacturers of tooth whitening systems, veneers and clear orthodontic aligners.

That's because a cluttered, shabby office makes it hard for patients to believe that the results shown on these slick waiting room posters are possible at the dental practice they are sitting in.

You wouldn't expect a gourmet meal from a restaurant that looks like a greasy spoon would you? And not for nothing, any doctor's office should be spotlessly clean.

But what do I know? I'm just a consumer.