Having already created an award-winning jungle-themed paediatric dental clinic in Marylebone, the founders of Happy Kids Dental, Dr Roksolana Mykhalus and Dr Yevhen Hunyak, set their sights on something bigger and better when it came to their latest dental practice in Chelsea.
The premises acquired for the new project was an impressive six-storey period building located in Cadogan Gardens, just off Sloane Square, London. With plans for a different theme on each floor, the practice was designed to provide specialist dental treatment environments for young children, teenagers and adults over four treatment floors.
A FUN AND ENGAGING EXPERIENCE
As with the Happy Kids Dental clinic in Marylebone, the Chelsea practice was designed to make children’s visits to the dentist not only positive but as fun and engaging as possible. A nautical cartoon theme runs throughout the paediatric areas, with underwater murals decorating the walls to create a submersive wonderland. Imagination Design Studios provided the pirate ship and giant whale suspended in the reception area (which wouldn’t look out of place in a theme park). Even the windows in the surgeries have been styled as portholes to continue the theme.
CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY
Despite being a fun-filled environment, one thing the Happy Kids team take very seriously is technology. In fact, it’s at the forefront of the Happy Kids concept. The clinic is fully digitalised with cutting-edge equipment, from computerised anaesthesia and digital x-rays to interactive screens and games consoles to keep the patients entertained.
INSTALLING THE LARGEST DENTAL EQUIPMENT PLANT IN THE UK
The whole project took seven months from start to finish, including a large amount of demolition work before the rebuilding could begin. Such a large-scale project wasn’t without its challenges for the Apollo Interiors team. Installing the infrastructure throughout six floors to make the whole building work together was no mean feat.
The clinic has the largest dental equipment plant in the country, with one suction pump system serving all 28 treatment rooms. This meant a complex system of pipework and wiring working throughout the building to ensure each dental chair has the same level of suction. The work was carried out with the specialist help of Simon Hemsted from Henry Schein.
AN INTERNATIONAL WORKFORCE
Another challenge was programming the works and co-ordinating contractors – teams came from as far away as Canada for the murals and sculptures and Poland for the dental cabinetry. The project also involved several specialist companies from closer to home to install the medical gas, dental equipment, IT system, phones, CCTV and security. Meticulous planning, careful coordination and great teamwork helped produce the impressive clinic which is open to the public today.
