Inside a gilded Mayan-inspired skyscraper just off Union Square, there are around 150 dental offices, but you won’t find Highlights magazines in the waiting room of this one. There is, however, a “comfort menu” listing options that include a weighted blanket, an eye mask, augmented reality movie glasses and an option to have a French bulldog sit in your lap during your visit.
It’s hard to register that this isn’t a day spa but a dental practice.
450 Aesthetics Dental Group is not alone. Rather, it’s one of a growing group of dentists taking cues from hospitality, tech and wellness in an effort to make an essential part of everyone’s life less miserable and address a simple truth: Many people hate going to the dentist.
Hospitality meets dentistry
Brian Baliwas and Adam Miller met as undergrads at UC Davis, where they worked at the same restaurant — Baliwas bartended, Miller served. Before opening 450 Aesthetics in 2019, Miller spent time at Studio Dental, another San Francisco practice with a more luxurious, design-centric reputation. What the duo kept coming back to was the same frustration about their profession: It hadn’t changed. People showed up when something hurt; the dentist told them everything that was wrong and threw out a price. The process was repeated when pain returned or a card reminding them of a regular cleaning arrived in the mail…