Product Design · Healthcare
Designing a companion that reduces uncertainty throughout the dental visit.
A mobile experience that guides patients through every stage of their appointment with contextual reassurance, helping transform anxiety into confidence.
01
Millions of people delay dental care due to anxiety. Existing solutions focus on relaxation techniques or education but rarely support patients during the appointment itself.
Opportunity. Design a digital companion that helps patients understand what is happening, what comes next, and feel supported throughout their visit.
02
Research Methods
Key Insight. Patients weren't afraid of the procedure — they were afraid of the unknown.
What I Learned
Left: the waiting room where it all started, at Lansdowne Pediatric Dentistry. Right: an illustration of the interviews I conducted in that waiting room.
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Design Principles
Product Decision. Instead of designing multiple disconnected screens, I created one persistent journey that evolves throughout the appointment.
04
I explored multiple interaction models before selecting the final experience.
Prototype. Built low-fidelity screens in Figma, then used Claude Code to prototype interactions and AI tools to stress-test navigation before moving into high-fidelity design.
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05
Design System. The interface was designed to feel calm, trustworthy, and approachable through:
Palette
Soft clinical palette
Calm, not sterile
Layout
Spacious layouts
Room to breathe
Components
Rounded components
Consistent timeline patterns
Typography
Accessible typography
Legible under stress
06
Journey. A persistent timeline keeps patients oriented while showing where they are, what's happening now, and what's next.
Contextual Support. Breathing exercises appear as lightweight overlays that can be accessed anytime without interrupting the journey.
Reflection. After each visit, patients can reflect on their experience and build confidence over time.
Below is the actual clickable prototype, not a video. Tap through the splash screen, open today's journey, expand a step to see its reassurance content, and try the guided breathing exercise before your visit.
Note
Try the breathing exercise yourself through all 3 cycles of inhaling and exhaling. In the real product, there's no button to end it early — that's intentional, to preserve the integrity of the anxiety-reducing, grounding exercise. For the sake of this prototype, though, you can click or tap anywhere to end it early.
Live prototype — tap around, it's fully interactive.
Stage 01
A clear view of the upcoming appointment — who, when, and a single "Start Today's Journey" entry point — replaces the blank uncertainty of an unopened calendar reminder.
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Biggest Design Decision
Problem: Multiple screens interrupted the experience.
Decision: Create one evolving journey instead of separate pages.
Another Key Decision
Problem: A dedicated breathing page felt disconnected.
Decision: Turn calming exercises into contextual overlays accessible from any stage.
Tools
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09
Shift in Thinking
This project shifted my thinking from designing screens to designing experiences. I learned that reducing cognitive load isn't about adding more features — it's about presenting the right information at the right moment.
Looking Ahead
If I continued the project, I would explore EMR integration, HIPAA-compliant onboarding, and personalized support based on each patient's appointment and anxiety history.
EMR Integration to skip onboarding:
Appointment scheduled
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Patient receives text
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"Your dentist invited you
to Dentara."
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Open link
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Appointment already loaded
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Begin Journey
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