Keppel Dental is a regional flagship dental practice that transformed the old, unused Mater Hospital into a bright, modern, and expansive facility. With 10 surgeries, a GA room, a recovery room, and extensive back-of-house spaces, the 586 m² fitout meets the growing demand for dental care in Yeppoon. What was once a dark, vacant hospital is now a warm, functional environment for patients and staff, setting a new benchmark for regional dental fitouts in Queensland.

Project Background
Before Keppel Dental purchased the building, the former Mater Hospital had sat idle for years. The space was dated, dark, and difficult to imagine as a welcoming healthcare setting. At the same time, the Yeppoon community faced increasing demand for dental services, with limited local capacity to meet patient needs.

Having previously sought OPTIMA’s advice during earlier expansion discussions, the client reconnected when the hospital opportunity arose. From the outset, they needed a partner capable of delivering a large-scale, fully compliant dental practice in a regional location.

Solution: From Hospital to Turnkey Dental Practice
This project required more than design expertise. It called for the systems, resources, and coordination to deliver a complex, high-capacity dental facility remotely. The design focused on patient flow, privacy, and comfort, with a large reception area, a dedicated payments zone, expansive hallways for efficient movement of staff and equipment, and a spacious waiting area to manage peak patient volumes.

Clinical spaces include 10 fully equipped surgeries, a GA room, and a recovery room, providing flexibility for a wide range of treatments. Oversized sterilisation and laboratory areas support high clinical throughput, while a generous staff lounge promotes wellbeing and retention.

Delivering this scale of project in a regional setting required strategic planning and creative problem solving through design. OPTIMA upgraded all systems to meet dental and GA compliance standards while maximising the functionality of the original layout. Collaboration with the client team throughout ensured the finished practice reflected their vision from day one.

Key Outcomes
Keppel Dental now operates with the scale, efficiency, and clinical capacity to meet community demand well into the future. The fitout provides:

– Ten surgeries with GA and recovery spaces for comprehensive treatment delivery
– Optimised flow between front-of-house, clinical, and support zones
– Enhanced comfort through generous, naturally lit spaces
– A revitalised community asset that brings new purpose to a long-vacant building

At its core, Keppel Dental represents OPTIMA’s capability to deliver complex healthcare environments anywhere in Australia. By combining design intelligence with robust delivery systems, OPTIMA transformed a disused hospital into a high-performing regional dental practice that enhances patient experience, supports a growing team, and restores value to the local community.

Design: OPTIMA
Photography: Big & Small Productions