Best Looking Dental Office: Cornerstone Dental Group

When the equipment around him started to fail, Dr. Tin D. Lam decided it was time to start over. He had grown tired of treating patients in an office that looked like it belonged in the 1980s, and of dealing with outdated equipment that didn’t work as it should. He didn’t know how to update his current office without disrupting patient care, so he made a decision: He would build a new dental practice from the ground up.

The new Cornerstone Dental Office that resulted from this decision opened in 2021, two years after construction began. He worked alongside anterior designer Angèle Hashoule to bring his vision to life, creating a beautiful space designed to make patients forget they’re in a dental practice.

The Décor

Take a tour around the office and you’ll find cool blue tones, mixed metals and woods throughout, all providing the calming effect Dr. Lam was after. The airy 5,000-square-foot office features 12-foot ceilings along with matching arches in the floor and ceiling that add to the practice’s overall look and feel. Utility and machine rooms and other less attractive dental office necessities are hidden away from patients, another key component in keeping them relaxed during their appointment. 

“The entire office,” Dr. Lam said, “from hallways, consult rooms, sterilization and treatment rooms, was designed with colors, patterns and visual features that subtly [show] elegance and excellence.”

The design combines beauty with efficiency, which is what Dr. Lam likes most about his new space. The office, he said, is designed much like a racetrack. Equipment, supplies and sterilization are all centralized for easy access. The consult room is close to the business office, streamlining operations, while everything a doctor or hygienist could need during a procedure is close to the operatory chair.

Setbacks

Of course, there were a few challenges Dr. Lam had to overcome before his dream practice could become operational, namely the “bad soil” the office was built on, a common problem in the area. Dealing with this issue added $150,000 to the office build (the total worked out to about $2.9 million with new equipment) and four months to the project.

The extra time and cost, though frustrating, were well worth it; both team members and patients love the new office, as does Dr. Lam. But after his experience, Dr. Lam does have advice for other dentists who are ready to design and build a new practice. First, complete a comprehensive survey of where you plan to build before you get started to avoid surprises during construction.

Advice

“Plan ahead, stay involved, inspect every inch of the way—and budget an additional 15% over what you think it will cost,” he said.

In the end, Dr. Lam now has a gorgeous, tranquil practice outfitted with new equipment that he doesn’t have to worry about failing every time he picks it up. The design has helped him improve practice efficiencies as well, creating a comfortable space for his patients while also keeping the practice running smoothly.