You step into the practice, and turn your head to glance past the reception desk. You look the other way, and see the hallway leading back to the operatories.

Sounds like any other experience at thousands of dental offices nationwide, right? The only difference is this practice is virtual, and you’re wearing the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset.

Thanks to a new effort of Patterson Dental’s DesignEdge office design platform, that virtual reality is an actual reality today. The technology has been released, and will be available at all of the major dental conferences this spring.

“We’re going to use this tool to change the way we design and the way doctors and team members experience a practice’s design,” said Mike Stark, corporate design manager at Patterson. “DesignEdge already offers 3D office design software, and now we’re introducing the next step.”

With a two-dimensional design layout or a three-dimensional design rendering, you can get an idea of how a practice will look. But you can’t truly be in the space, see how it feels to walk down the halls, and turn into an operatory to see your actual equipment.

Eventually, as virtual reality (VR) technology becomes more integrated into DesignEdge, Patterson will be able to offer a customized VR experience. Through that experience, doctors and team members will be able to walk through a 3D rendering of their own new or remodeled practice, true to scale and with their desired equipment and technology.

“There are a variety of ways we’ll be able to use this, but most importantly, you’ll be able to truly experience a practice before you make the investment,” said Nate Hill, principal architect, systems and development. “It’s the perfect fit with our DesignEdge platform, through which we continue to find new ways to see what it feels like to be in a new space.”

Currently, the DesignEdge VR experience features a sample practice to introduce the platform to dental professionals. It has already been featured at the American Dental Association Annual Meeting.