A practice that feels like home
Tucked into the leafy streets of South Yarra, where heritage homes sit comfortably alongside contemporary retail and cafés, South Yarra Orthodontics feels immediately at ease in its surroundings. There is a sense of quiet confidence as you step inside. Light moves gently across textured surfaces. The palette is calm, warm, and considered. Nothing feels rushed or overtly clinical.
For Principal Orthodontist Dr Theresia Sudjalim, that response was intentional from the dental practice design phase.
“I’ve always believed that the environment where healthcare happens shapes how people feel,” she says. “I wanted a space that felt reassuring and familiar, but still precise and professional. Somewhere patients could relax the moment they walked through the door.”
The result is a practice that feels less like a traditional dental environment and more like a thoughtfully designed home. One where clinical excellence and emotional comfort coexist naturally.
A dental fitout shaped by vision
From the beginning, the design and planning process centred on understanding how the practice should feel, not just how it should look. How would patients move through the space? Where should moments of calm be introduced? How could efficiency sit quietly behind the scenes without dominating the experience?
Materials, colours, and spatial arrangements were considered through the lens of patients, staff, and families who would return again and again over many years.
“OPTIMA came very highly recommended by colleagues and friends in the dental and medical fields,” she recalls. “I had seen several of their projects and was drawn to the modern aesthetic that didn’t feel cold.”
A strong sense of collaboration extended through every phase. “Ronnie guided us through the dental practice design and build journey, while Greg supported the equipment planning. Kerryn and her design team were a joy to work with. We explored colours and materials that moved away from the typical clinical feel toward something more design-oriented, while still maintaining full functionality.”
Project Manager, Tristan, ensured that precision carried through to construction. “The whole process felt fast, efficient, and well organised,” Dr Sudjalim says.
A calm and welcoming space
The completed practice expresses gentleness through detail and proportion. Herringbone flooring adds character underfoot, while soft, neutral tones carry warmth through treatment rooms and shared spaces. Natural light is carefully balanced with layered lighting to avoid glare and harshness. Furnishings and art have been curated with the same care one would show for a private residence, not a healthcare environment.
“I dreamed of having my own practice for years,” Dr Sudjalim says. “What I love most is how comfortable people feel when they walk in. We see patients as young as six and as mature as eighty, and they all respond to the environment. It feels welcoming, familiar, and professional without being clinical.”
Parents linger comfortably in the waiting area. Younger patients appear visibly calmer. The space does much of the emotional work before treatment even begins.
Designed for people, not just patients
South Yarra Orthodontics is as much about people as it is about exceptional dental practice design or a quality dental fitout. “We have an incredible team,” Dr Sudjalim explains. “We work closely, support each other, and genuinely enjoy what we do. That connection shapes how we care for our patients. We treat people, not just teeth. We care for families and often their friends too.”
Her reflections reveal a deep understanding of how space and culture intertwine.
“Their ambition to change how patients feel when they enter a practice is something I really value. Dental environments can feel intimidating, and OPTIMA’s approach – open, functional, and less clinical – changes that perception the moment someone walks in.”
The physical environment reinforces the human-centred focus. Spaces feel open without being exposed. Private without being closed off. It is a careful balance that reflects an understanding of how people behave, not just how rooms function.
Redefining the dental experience
Dr Sudjalim believes thoughtful dental practice design can fundamentally change patient perception.
“Dental environments can feel intimidating,” she says. “OPTIMA’s approach is open, functional, and less clinical. That shift changes how people feel the moment they arrive.”
That ambition to soften the experience, without compromising clinical excellence, is evident throughout the practice. It is not design for design’s sake. It is design in service of wellbeing.
A practice that reflects its values
South Yarra Orthodontics represents a considered approach to dental practice design, one that supports wellbeing as much as clinical excellence.
The practice does not seek attention. It tells the South Yarra Orthodontics story softly, but with certainty. Every decision has been made with intention, from the flow of the space to the smallest detail.
Dr Sudjalim’s practice stands as an example of how dental fitout and interior architecture expertisecan shape experience. It is a space of quiet confidence and genuine warmth, guided by a simple principle: when people feel comfortable, care naturally follows.
“OPTIMA were empathetic, attentive, and genuinely supportive throughout the process and beyond completion,” I couldn’t recommend them more highly.”
You can view the full South Yarra Orthodontics gallery and case study in more detail.
