Purpose-designed and built dental clinics are the future, Dr Patrick Rourke believes.

 Recent opening of Orange’s first, ground up, dedicated practice at 147 Hill Street is not only the model for the 21st century, but the realisation of Patrick’s vision for a modern practice.

 After practicing dentistry in Orange for the past 12 years, most recently in the Wellness House — Patrick with wife and business partner, Sarah — have fulfilled their dream of creating their own dental practice now located next to Orange Croquet Club.

 “My father and grandfather were both dentists in Sydney, and they, in effect, had their practices shoe-horned into leased properties or converted Federation houses,” he explained.

 “It was the same when I first came here from Sydney, a converted Federation home in Kite St.

 “That was before I went to the Wellness House, which was suitable for a small dental practice, but we expanded and it was no longer fit-for-purpose,” he added.

 Growth of his clinic provided Patrick with the perfect rationale to realise his dream of a dentistry-specific and architecturally-designed practice that would fulfil the needs of an increasingly-sophisticated market.

 Orange Family Dental has now grown to four practitioners with Dr Rourke, Dr Cheng Zhang, and Dr Stephanie Hollis who will be joining the team in August.

 “With the support of the community of Orange and surrounds, demand for our dental services has

grown and we made the decision to expand and provide more treatment rooms and appointments to ensure our patients don’t have to wait long for dental treatment,” Patrick said.

 The pleasant suburban surroundings and extensive parking are designed to ensure that patients enjoy a stress-free environment for the care, protection, and repair for one of our most important health issues, our teeth.

 “We looked at several places and — due to its location on the main northern thoroughfare,

proximity to the DPI building, and future housing precinct at the old hospital site — with

ample unlimited street parking, decided that this was the ideal location,” Patrick said.

 “We also designed our treatment rooms and working spaces to be north-facing with pleasant views over Jaeger Reserve and the Orange Croquet Club.”

 But the most unique feature of the new building, he says, is its flow-through design creating seamless treatment from reception through to consultation and treatment.

 “To ensure we stay at the forefront of providing quality dentistry, we have purpose-built our new practice with a focus on patient comfort, workflow and the highest standards of clinical safety and diagnostic accuracy.

 “This means we can maintain high-standards of safety in a really-efficient manner,” he added.

 Conceived from the start to be the best facility possible, Patrick used his professional contacts from decades of practice to get it just-right.

 “I had a really good architect, I gave them a rough outline of what I wanted, and we went from there on the principle that, a modern dental surgery is like a mini-hospital with a flow of instruments to be sterilised and equipment ready to use.

 “I took advice from guys, many of whom are now retired, and I asked them: ‘If you were to design a surgery, what would be on your wish-list?’ and started from there. 

 “Due to the time required for autoclaving (intense sterilisation); you’ve got to have enough instruments throughout the day, and this building is designed to create efficiencies around that process,” Patrick explained.

 As well as seamless treatment and care, the clinic also has the best diagnostic tools available with new, state-of-the-art dental equipment including Kavo dental chairs, an OPG and CBCT, and the 3-D Scanner which operates using a full-digital protocol.

 “The practice of dentistry is changing at a rapid rate, with new technologies, techniques and best practices,” he said.

 With Orange fast becoming the health hub for western NSW, the new facility is designed to make the local practise of dentistry as efficient and timely as possible.

 “We’re trying to reduce our waiting lists by having more dentists, hygienists, and therapists… all three of us are flat-out at the moment,” Patrick concluded.

 Orange Family Dental, 147 Hill Street, phone 6362 1100