MIDTOWN — The dentist's chair is a place more commonly associated with pain and terror than peace and serenity.
But a new Fifth Avenue tooth doctor is hoping to de-stress dental care by making his surgery more like a spa than an oral nightmare, swapping the traditional horror-inducing chair for massage beds, piping in meditative music — and even offering soothing rubdowns for weary gums.
Dr. Marc Nock's idea came to him as he tried to figure out why so many patients dreaded the drill.
“It was always a positive experience for me,” Nock, 35, recalled about his own tooth care.
“What I didn’t realize is what a traumatic experience it is for so many people.”
So Nock took it as a personal mission “to change dentistry from something that you fear and that you dread to something that you look forward to.” He is about to open Zenthea, a new dental clinic on Fifth Avenue between East 47th and East 46th streets.
Nock said he has infused Zenthea with spa-like services and ambience. Soothing music hums through the office, piped from speakers in the walls and in the massage beds, which are used in lieu of the typical dental chair.
Teeth-cleaning equipment is discreetly stowed in themed service rooms, each with a different décor. The mother-of-pearl room has a wall of shimmery, iridescent silver. The wall of the hemp room is covered with a woven, earthy design, and the teak room is covered with small, circular pieces of wood.
Nock said that massages, performed by a staff of trained therapists, will be offered for patients to help ease the stress of in-mouth probing.
Although the menu of services has yet to be finalized, he plans to offer hand and foot massages during visits. After cleanings, dental hygienists will perform gum massages, kneading gloved hands around patients’ mouths to stimulate blood flow and release toxins, he added.
“You really can be transported to a different place and sort of allow your mind to not worry so much,” said Nock, who grew up on the Lower East Side and now lives in NoLita. “It’s a much more comfortable situation, and that comes from the surroundings.”
Zenthea has not yet officially opened, but Nock and the other dentists in the practice have begun taking patients, some of which have told him their cleanings have been the most relaxing part of their day.
“It happens to me multiple times a week,” he noted.
The point, Nock said, is not just about indulgence, but about getting people to actually go the dentist, a visit he has seen patients put off for years.
“Zenthea is about getting you in every six months, every four months, whatever it is,” Nock said. “It gets people to maintain that healthy smile.”
