NKC Dental: ADA Design Innovation Award winner

By Olivia Anderson

Bill Busch, D.M.D., has provided patients with oral health care at NKC Dental in North Kansas City for 34 years. Throughout that time he’s accumulated a list of likes and dislikes about the flow and structure of the building, having always dreamt of a more high-tech, sleek and paperless practice. Then, several years ago he decided it was time to make that dream a reality.

“We tried to pick apart all those items and have a place for everything, from supplies to the staff coming in a back door, for them to have their own locker room, for them to have a mail box hole in their locker so the mail doesn’t just sit up in the front — it goes right to them,” Dr. Busch said, noting that the remodeled building has a mail room with a UPS check-in to take account of when packages arrive.

Busch and his team worked with design firm Dimensional Innovations, which helped elevate the room with various activations such as a digital board in the front room that shows the patients’ name to welcome them into the practice.

Dr. Busch, who completed his residency in a hospital, also desired to implement hospital-grade sterilization and cleanliness. This was achieved by equipping every treatment room with virus-killing technology to improve the team atmosphere and put patients at ease, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic.

NKC Dental integrates cutting-edge technology throughout the practice, with each treatment room equipped with digital X-Ray systems and chairside computer stations to both speed up procedures as well as allow dentists to access patient records and images instantly. There is also an onsite lab for same-day procedures such as creating crowns.

Coming a long way: The old NKC lobby before renovation.

Sit back and relax: The waiting room integrates natural light and features white lacquered cabinets.

Welcome: NKC Dental integrates cutting edge technology and clean, minimalist design.

Helping hand: The TeamSmile wall chronicles NKC’s charitable contributions to the community.

Working hard: The practice features an onsite lab for same-day procedures such as creating crowns.

Fight on: Every treatment room is equipped with virus-killing technology to improve the team atmosphere and put patients at ease.

High-tech: NKC Dental integrates cutting-edge technology by placing digital X-Ray systems in every treatment room.

“It was just a snowball of all the ideas and the things I did and didn’t like over the years. I just kind of sat down and put them all on paper,” Dr. Busch said. “We wanted the practice to be the best in the country. We wanted to have all the bells and whistles as far as safety and technology, [and] we want to be able to provide the most efficient, least expensive procedures for the patient so they feel like they got more than what they paid every time.”

The remodeled NKC Dental has Kappler furniture, a world-renowned company that specializes in custom dental cabinets. The furniture includes plugs and chargers for patients to charge their laptops or phones while they’re waiting. Every treatment room has white lacquered cabinets, as well as the reception and conference rooms to create a sense of continuity. Even the supply room has white lacquered drawers, which light up when they’re opened.

“We try to make it fun for people to use the office, because I always think if you make things fun and easy, people will use it,” Dr. Busch said.

The practice also features hidden LED backlights to create a soothing effect for staff and patients, and 8-foot-tall Philips luminous panels that light up the hallway with different colors.

“At night it becomes a light show for people passing by,” Dr. Busch said. “It gives an atmosphere of calmness on the inside, but on the outside if you’re walking [by], you’re wondering, ‘What is that place? It looks pretty cool with those lights.’”

Dr. Busch aimed to seamlessly integrate cutting edge technology while still maintaining a sense of calmness and relaxation, which he achieved by implementing LED televisions on the ceilings that show clouds passing. Other ways to cultivate the feeling of comfortability included integrating more natural light into different areas of the practice.

Because NKC Dental was both renovated during the COVID-19 pandemic and open to patients during the remodel, it took a bit longer than Dr. Busch anticipated so the team had to make some changes and adjustments along the way. Still, about 90% of the process went according to plan, he said.

According to Dr. Busch, all the hard work has paid off. Not only did he reach his goal of creating an efficient, sterile and tech-focused work environment, but he also successfully created an environment that makes patients feel welcome.

“We’ve had great reactions from the patients on how comfortable things are,” Dr. Busch said.

The 2024 Design Innovation Awards are sponsored by ADA Member Advantage and Panacea Financial. The call for entries for the 2024 competition will open in June. Do you have a winning practice? Stay tuned for updates.