I always hated going to the dentist. For me, it took too long, the nurses were rough and hurt my teeth, and it always had a “sterile” atmosphere. It just seemed unnecessary to me. Every time that six month mark came around, I would dread the inevitable dental checkup that my mom would force me to go through.

The dentist office I would go to was called “Dental Depot” (There’s one in Norman, you might have seen it). It’s supposed to resemble a train station, fake train and all. There was even a model train that ran along a miniature track around the whole interior of the building near the ceiling. My understanding is that it imitates this design to appeal to kids and make it more accessible for them. While it helped, this did not work on me.

I appreciated the design of the building itself; I thought the train theme was very unique and interesting. Besides that, though, I still had a burning hatred for the dentist, and this design strategy did not aide me well; I was still going to have to wait in a dreary receptionist room, get my mouth poked and prodded at, and I’d still have to be lectured by the dentist about why I should floss. Overall, while it is a very interesting architectural design choice, it did not do me much good.