Feel like royalty while you get new crowns

Woodstock practice part of growing trend of spa, or concierge, dentistry

A waterfall adorns the entrance and heated sidewalks lie underfoot. Leather couches, hardwood floors and free Wi-Fi await visitors.

Tischler Dental, a three-dentist practice, moved from an aging building two miles down the road and opened the $3 million, 10,000-square-foot office on Route 375 in January. Here, patients gaze through large windows toward a wooded landscape and watch movies on TV screens mounted to their chair.

Capitalizing on the new office, quaint town, and proximity of a 4-star resort, the dentists hope to attract cases of tooth decay and stained smiles from New York City and beyond.

Most of its clients are Ulster County adults and children seeking general dentistry, but Tischler Dental wants to be a national destination.
Concierge dentistry, or spa dentistry, is on the rise. A national survey conducted in 2003 found that half of dentists offer some type of amenity, such as headphones, neck rests, warm towels and free beverages. About 5 percent take it further with massages, facials and pedicures.

A hot oil and herb poultice massage certainly takes the edge off the pain and discomfort.

Guests also can choose from a long menu of spa treatments -- from a Bindi herbal body treatment to a maple syrup bath. And of course, the chef will prepare meals that accommodate the guest's dental situation.

Sharon Johnson's hands gripped the armrests of the dental chair, and she watched CNN on the TV through tinted glasses. The Clifton Park resident was in the final stages of a full-mouth rehabilitation under Tischler's care.
"I'm very funny about my teeth," Johnson said. "I like them white and even."

Johnson has stayed at the Emerson during several of her visits to the Woodstock dental office. The resort's high price tag doesn't ruffle her.
Anything that relaxes patients is good, said Matthew Messina, a Cleveland dentist and consumer adviser for the American Dental Association.
"There are dentists that have spas right in their office.

Tischler said his spa package isn't for everybody, but he hopes it appeals to 20 or so patients a year.

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