Dental Collective was created around a simple idea: patients should not have to travel far from home to access modern dentistry.
Our story began in May 2022, when Dr Isabelle Felice founded Vaucluse Dental with a vision to create a different kind of local dental practice, one that combined gentle, considered care with modern technology, beautiful surroundings and a carefully assembled team.
After years working as an associate dentist, Isabelle had developed a very clear idea of the environment she wanted to create. She wanted a practice where careful clinical work was matched by organisation, preparation and genuine care, where the team enjoyed coming to work, and where patients could feel confident that every detail of their appointment had been thoughtfully considered.
For Isabelle, good dentistry has never been simply about the treatment itself. It is also about the experience surrounding it.
Dental appointments can understandably make people apprehensive. We believe that when a practice is calm, the team is prepared, appointments run smoothly and patients understand what is happening, much of that apprehension can ease. From the way our surgeries are organised to the way treatment is planned and communicated, we place great importance on appointments that run smoothly.
Vaucluse Dental began as a small boutique practice in Vaucluse Village and grew largely through word of mouth.
Despite opening during the challenging COVID period, the practice developed a loyal patient community, with many new patients coming to us because an existing patient had recommended a friend, partner, child or family member.
As the practice grew, so did the team and the range of dentistry we were able to provide.
From the beginning, Isabelle wanted patients in the Eastern Suburbs to have access to comprehensive dental care within their own neighbourhood. Rather than travelling into larger commercial centres for sophisticated treatment, patients could receive contemporary general, cosmetic, preventive and orthodontic care within a familiar local environment.
Being close to a number of Sydney schools has also allowed us to care for families and boarding students who value having dental and orthodontic care nearby.
Then, in 2024, an opportunity arose that would shape the next chapter of the practice.
After many years building his long-established Rose Bay practice, Dr Stephen Chimes decided he wanted to step away from practice ownership and management while continuing to do what he loved most, dentistry.
Isabelle had great respect for Stephen’s experience and clinical ability, particularly his work in implant dentistry, root canal treatment and complex restorative treatment.
Through a series of conversations, it quickly became apparent that the two shared very similar values around dentistry, patient care and clinical standards.
In August 2024, Isabelle acquired Stephen Chimes Dental, with Stephen remaining an integral part of the clinical team.
It has developed into a close and positive professional relationship. Stephen continues to practise three days a week in Rose Bay, while Isabelle and the wider clinical team work collaboratively across both locations.
The Rose Bay practice also brought additional technology and facilities to the group, including 3D imaging and CEREC digital dentistry, allowing us to further expand the complex treatment we could provide within our own practices.
As our patients increasingly began visiting both Vaucluse and Rose Bay, it became clear that the two practices were no longer separate businesses.
They had become one team, caring for one patient community across two locations.
Dental Collective was born.
Vaucluse Dental became Dental Collective Vaucluse, while Stephen Chimes Dental became Dental Collective Rose Bay.
Today, our practices operate through an integrated clinical system, allowing patient records, imaging and treatment plans to be accessed by our clinicians across both locations. Patients can book appointments at either practice and, where appropriate, move between the two depending on the treatment they require.
This allows us to make the best use of the technology, facilities and experience available across the group rather than expecting every type of treatment to fit within a single location.
Our Vaucluse practice retains the boutique character on which the original practice was built and is home to much of our general, cosmetic and preventive dentistry, including veneers and ongoing periodontal care with our resident hygienist.
Our Rose Bay practice provides the same comprehensive general dentistry while also housing technology particularly suited to complex restorative and surgical care, including implant treatment, 3D imaging, and CEREC crowns and restorations, often completed in a single visit.
For our patients, however, it is simply Dental Collective.
We believe good dentistry should feel personal.
Technology is important to us, and we continue to invest in equipment, digital workflows and modern techniques that support how we diagnose, plan and provide treatment.
But technology alone does not create a great dental practice.
The people do.
We are deliberate about building a team of clinicians, hygienists, dental assistants and administrative professionals who are thoughtful, well prepared and genuinely care about the people walking through our doors.
We value kindness, attention to detail and professionalism. We value clean, beautifully organised clinical environments. We value communication between clinicians. And we believe that good systems behind the scenes allow our team to give patients more attention, not less.
Above all, we want our patients to feel that they are being well looked after.
Today, Dental Collective brings together five dentists, a resident hygienist and an experienced clinical and support team across Vaucluse and Rose Bay.
Between us, we provide care ranging from preventive and family dentistry through to cosmetic dentistry, orthodontics, CEREC restorations, root canal treatment, implant dentistry and complex restorative care.
Our patients come from throughout Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, but many simply walk to see us.
And that remains very close to Isabelle’s original vision.
You shouldn’t need to travel into a major commercial centre to access sophisticated, contemporary dentistry.
You should be able to find it in your own neighbourhood, delivered by people you know, in an environment you trust, with a team that understands your history.
That is what Dental Collective was created to be.
