Everything was going great for Dr Kevin Kok at Oryx Dental in Toorak, Melbourne. He had built up his practice and a name for himself in the area; he’d brought a new associate on board, and his waiting list was getting longer. Then, his landlord decided to sell the building, and the new owners wanted to redevelop.
It was a stressful time, to say the least. Not that you would know from talking to Dr Kok. ‘Running a practice is a completely different beast than treating patients alone. But at the same time, I feel you can choose your way of seeing things,’ he says.
‘I'm forever the optimist, and I'll always look for the silver lining. That's just naturally me. I look towards the sunshine.’
If he was being completely honest with himself, his practice was bursting at the seams – the word from his landlord had come at the right time.
‘It gave us the nudge to look for a new site and really fulfil our vision in exactly the way we wanted. I certainly saw it as a glass half full, where I finally could have this opportunity to really build my vision,’ he says.
A vision years in the making
In dentistry, one of the most important tools is your hands. ‘My father has very, very good hands,’ Dr Kok says. ‘He has this excellent level of manual dexterity and I feel that I've inherited it. I've always enjoyed working with my hands.’
He also loved biology, far more so than any of the other sciences, so studying dentistry seemed like the ideal career path. ‘After getting some experience and talking to numerous doctors, I realised that I enjoyed the autonomy that dentistry provides, as well as that balance between science and working with my hands.’
Dr Kok graduated from the University of Adelaide in 2003. He spent the next few years increasing his training but knew he wanted to have his own practice someday. ‘I really had a strong vision of what I wanted to provide in terms of how I look after my patients. And it was only in having my own practice that I could really facilitate my vision,’ he says.
That vision involved providing a level of care that he himself would be happy to receive. ‘I consider myself a pretty picky guy, and it's the type of service that I really enjoy providing where I'm treating patients at the highest level of service and quality of care that I can. Having my own practice allows me to make my own decisions in terms of the technology that I use, the quality of my equipment, and the type of care that I can provide.’
While that had been the driving force behind his practice to date, what he really needed was a physical space that could reflect those standards. ‘When I look at a lot of dental practices and the type of building companies that specialise in medical or dental fit-outs, I just don't like any of those products. It’s not for me,’ he says.
‘I really wanted to create something which was different in terms of the space. I wanted a space that is very warm, inviting, and has a very established feel, where people feel very comfortable.’
Turning challenge into opportunity
Dr Kok decided to hire an interior architect early on in the process and brought on board Anouska Milstein of Studio A.mi. ‘Their work really spoke to me, and after discussions with them, it seemed like we could really see eye to eye in terms of the type of aesthetic of the practice that we wanted to fulfil.’
Dr Kok points out the other vital element in the process was the support of his wife, Grace. ‘Without her, I would never have been able to achieve this. She has an incredible eye and was also integral throughout the design and vision process,’ he says.
The money side of things was taken care of by BOQ Specialist, who Dr Kok had dealt with previously for his car loan and other banking needs. ‘I value working with people who can spend the time offering an excellent product,’ he says.
‘BOQ Specialist have always provided an exceptional service to me in terms of taking the time and having the transparency to explain the various options available to me. Also, very importantly, they were able to offer very competitive rates.’
Where design meets dentistry
The St Germain building was going to provide the antidote to some of Toorak Road’s more tired buildings; offering a mix of retail, hospitality and high-end apartments. ‘This particular building is one of the biggest developments in the inner southeast, and it was not a building that you could really easily ignore,’ he says.
‘I found out the developers were looking for established tenants in the area at the time. So, I jumped at that opportunity of getting in touch.’
‘I love interior design – it’s one of my little passions,’ says Dr Kok. ‘I spoke to the developers about what I wanted for the space and my idea of how I wanted the site to be. They liked what I was talking about in terms of how I wanted to fulfil that vision.’
The start of a new chapter
Dr Kok oversaw and project-managed the clinic expansion on his previous site. So, while Studio A.Mi was inexperienced in dental surgery design, he had the connections to help with the technical side.
After more than 20 years in the industry, Dr Kok almost surprises himself by how much he still loves it. Now he sees his practice, Oryx Dental, as a modern, established, and impactful dental practice, which offers an exceptional level of care for the community.
‘My practice is a true extension of myself, and I find that extremely rewarding,’ he says. ‘We now have this space which allows us to start this next chapter on a really good footing.’
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