Yesenia Thomas always dreaded going to the dentist. Whenever she was
in the chair, she found herself fixating on the drill.

So when she heard her new dentist powering it up about a month ago to
remove a deteriorating crown, she understandably felt only one way as
it came closer, and closer, and closer: relaxed!

That's because Ms. Thomas was having the procedure done at the Santa
Barbara Dental Spa, one example in the county of a growing trend in
the oral health field. It's called "spa dentistry" and it involves
patients being pampered with all the luxuries you might expect at a
day spa -- like a paraffin wax treatment -- only you might follow it
with, say, a nice, long root canal.

Dr. Kimberly Harms, a consumer adviser for the American Dental
Association, said the trend is a result of an increasing focus on
"taking care of the patients attached to the teeth."

"We realize patients aren't going to get their dental
work taken care of unless they feel comfortable coming
to the office"

Patients can also wear headphones to listen to all kinds of music --
including New Age

With a heated chamomile pillow cradling her head, the only thing
Yesenia Thomas had to worry about while her dentist grinded away on
her teeth at the Santa Barbara Dental Spa was figuring out what to
watch on the flat-screen TV just inches in front of her.

She decided on "Dr. Phil."

"They were suffering a lot more than what I was having to go
through," Ms. Thomas snickered of the guests.

The 30-year-old Goleta resident didn't always feel that way.

"During my pregnancy, I was hoping my OB would say, 'Don't worry, you
don't have to go to the dentist while you're pregnant,' just as an
excuse so I wouldn't have to go."

Then she saw Santa Barbara Dental Spa's Cliff Drive office on her way
to a class at Santa Barbara City College.

"I thought, 'Oh, my God. This is the way to go. There's no way I'm
going to go back to the little office I had been going to,' " she
said. "It was sterile, cold."

She went from being someone who reluctantly goes to the dentist
office to being someone who reluctantly leaves.

"It's a soothing environment here," she said, getting up from the
dental chair on a recent day after Dr. B.K. Rai finished putting on
two new crowns. "You kind of want to stay a little longer."

Not exactly the kind of thing you'd expect to hear about a dentist
office. But, this isn't your typical dentist office. For one, there
are no blinding lights. In fact, they are so low you may even think
the office is closed. But, after walking down the hallway, you'll
find that the doctor is, indeed, working.

By candlelight.

Oh, there are overhead fluorescent lights, to be sure, but Dr. Rai
(pronounced "rye") said they're really only turned on for one procedure.

"The cleaning people probably use them."

Instead, he works by the flickering light of one or two candles in
each room (one pragmatically placed on top of a fridge that stored
bonding solutions -- one of the few reminders that this is still a
dental office) and a small overhead halogen lamp. He even uses
lighted tools to keep the illumination at a minimum.

Like other offices, there's definitely a distinct smell to the place.
But not an aromatic blend of mouthwash and bleaching solution. Each
room actually has its own fragrance -- lemon, eucalyptus and
something called "Bali Sunrise" -- courtesy of scented candles and
diffusers located throughout.

It doesn't really sound like a dentist office, either. Instead of a
symphony of sucking and scraping, with the ever-popular crescendo of
drilling, classical music pipes over the sound system.

All of it is designed to help the patient relax.

"People always said to me, 'You're a great dentist. But, no offense,
I don't like going to the dentist,' " said Dr. Rai, who had a
conventional office on upper State Street for 16 years. "No matter
how good a dentistry I do, people are still afraid. That always
bothered me."

So the dentist decided to polish the image commonly associated with
his field……

Dr. Rai opened the Santa Barbara Dental Spa last November. He accepts
most insurance plans, except HMOs, and offers a number of services,
such as fillings, bridges, root canals and cleanings. But gums aren't
the only part of the body being massaged here. Patients can actually
get a complimentary head, neck and shoulder massage that lasts 10 to
15 minutes before, during or after their procedure or pay extra for a
full-body one using various techniques like Swedish or deep tissue
performed by an on-call licensed massage therapist (one of the dental
assistants is currently attending a local massage school).

After dipping their hands in a complimentary warm paraffin wax to
moisturize the skin and placing them in what looks to be oven mitts,
patients can choose from any number of distractions as they recline
in the chair. One of the most popular is watching TV on the flat-
screen in front of them.

"I'm there working and they're laughing," said Dr. Rai. "I think, 'I
hope they're not laughing at me.' I look up, and 'Ellen' is on."

Dr. Rai, who also has a selection of DVD movies, gets about 70
channels. He recalls one 11-year-old boy whose broken tooth was fixed
while he was engrossed in a show.

"He said, 'I have to go home now?' "

Patients can also surf the Internet by placing a cordless keyboard in
their lap and using the mouse propped up on one of the dental trays.

"I had one man who, every time he came in, would check his e-mails,"
said Dr. Rai. One time, the office manager came in perplexed that the
printer had gone crazy. "He had printed 30 of his e-mails."

Some patients prefer doing such tasks while wearing the 3-D goggles
that are available. That way, the only chance they'll see a tooth
extraction being performed is if they're watching an episode of
"Extreme Makeover."

Dr. Rai gets to play with his own share of high-tech tools. One of
which is called "The Wand" and allows anesthetic to be injected into
the gums at a controlled volume and pressure.

"A lot of dentists like to get the shot over with, so they push in
the solution quickly," he said. "What normally hurts is not the
needle. It's the solution being deposited inside."

Usually, it takes 30 seconds to inject the solution. But with this
device, he said, it takes two minutes.

"I didn't even feel the shots," said Ms. Thomas.

Maria Vayner, of Los Angeles, drives 90 miles just
to see the dentist. The environment, she said, can't be beat.

"But, at the same time, if he offered the services and did bad work,
I would not go."

The 24-year-old real estate agent has been through 10 dentists within
eight years.

A friend recommended Dr. Rai.

"He's a good dentist -- if there is such a thing," said Ms. Vayner.

She has since had a number of procedures -- among them crowns and
"many fillings" -- done at the office. She often begins with a cup of
English Breakfast tea and ends with a massage.

Ms. Vayner's been there at least 10 times already.

"I actually look forward to it, as sick as that sounds."


Complimentary services at the Santa Barbara Dental Spa

• head, neck and shoulder massage
  
• massage pad for the chair that patients can adjust the speed and
  strength of with a remote control
  
• paraffin wax treatment
  
• selection of refreshments, including soy coffee, herbal teas and
  flavored waters
  
• high-speed Internet access
  
• personal flat-screen television to view TV shows and movies
  
• 3-D goggles to surf the Internet and watch TV or movies
  
• heated booties
  
• heated herbal pillow
  
• heated towels
  
  
  Extra services - massages
  
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