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Friday, 1 May 2026

Calmness, empathy and patience are traits often spoken about in human healthcare. But for dentist Dr Yuenee Teng they are far more than just professional necessities. Since graduating with honours from the University of Sydney in 2010 — and earning the prestigious Walter John Douglas Partridge Memorial Scholarship—Dr Teng has drawn on these traits to navigate both the demands of clinical practice and the realities of raising a young family. Her commitment to broadening her clinical expertise saw her work across a range of private practices, exposing her to a broad demographic mix and a wide spectrum of patient needs. Those experiences, she says, helped cement the patient-first philosophy that has become the cornerstone of her career.

The approach

Dr Teng spent her early years pursuing extensive postgraduate education in orthodontics, implantology, oral surgery, and aesthetic dentistry. While these days her professional interests centre on comprehensive treatment planning, preventative and conservative dentistry, and long-term restorative stability, she continues to prioritise contributing to the profession that has given her so much.

Having made charitable dentistry in developing regions a key priority now and into the future, that sense of purpose has taken her far from home. In recent months, she organised and led a group of Sydney dentists on a volunteer mission to Ladakh in the northern Himalayas.

The excursion saw her and her team deliver free dental care to approximately 300 patients in remote communities where access to healthcare is limited and sometimes even impossible without the support of visiting clinicians.

The turning point 

Drawn to dentistry for its “intersection of science, precision, design, and human connection”, Dr Teng says she values the technical challenge of complex cases as much as the human side that involves supporting anxious patients, rebuilding confidence and restoring function. “There is something uniquely rewarding about seeing the immediate impact of your work on someone’s quality of life,” she says. Two years ago, that desire for impact sparked a turning point. Having reached a juncture in her career where she sought full autonomy over the quality of care, treatment philosophy, workflow, and the technology invested in, Dr Teng made the bold decision to step away from a salaried position and establish her own practice.

The idea of creating a long-term base within her own community—where she and husband, Stan are raising their two children—was a key motivator. Dr Teng was clear on what she wanted her practice to look like and the experience she wanted patients to have. 

What she wasn’t certain of was how she was going to pay for it. With the cost of establishing a new greenfield practice in Australia, including fitout, equipment, licensing and initial working capital sitting at anywhere up to $1,000,000 (dependent on equipment and design choices), Dr Teng understood the financial, emotional and psychological commitment she was about to undertake.

In August 2024, aware of Avant Finance’s experience with dental fitouts and equipment financing, she approached them to begin the process. “Avant Finance stood out for its responsiveness. Staff recognised the reality of upfront capital needs and were flexible in structuring a loan that would support the early months of the business before revenue stabilised,” she states.

Dr Teng shared her early concept plans for a family-based general practice clinic with Avant Finance team member Josh Behn. He readily identified with what Dr Teng was attempting to achieve with the space and helped guide the project towards financial settlement just a few months later.

From concept to construction

While financing is undeniably a key factor, most practice owners recognise that it constitutes only one aspect of a much broader strategic framework. By her own admission, Dr Teng is an individual who is both meticulous and detail oriented. When it comes to business decisions, she prefers to follow strategies grounded in evidence-based practice rather than go by gut feel.

For this reason, Dr Teng insisted on taking her time to find the right location, scouting several different sites before coming across what she saw as the perfect site for her offering. Located around a 30-minute drive north of the Sydney CBD, the space is set in the heart of Thornleigh Marketplace, a busy food and retail hub that has 30-plus stores and free parking. Conveniently, it is also located directly opposite a multinational grocery retailer, therefore offering “excellent accessibility and visibility”, she enthuses.

Even with the location sorted, however, navigating the complex ecosystem of planning approvals and council requirements presented another unwanted challenge. So too, the multiple design revisions the clinic went through before construction. But hardest of all was juggling the day to-day management of the project with full-time clinical work. But the flip side of that, she insists, has been the support from colleagues, suppliers and industry partners, which helped lighten the load. “Once the vision was clearly defined, the right people, services, and solutions aligned far more smoothly than expected.”

Building the vision 

As preparations progress, the vision for Dr Teng’s clinic in terms of planned services, capacity and equipment, is being further refined. Construction and fitout commenced in December 2025, and the practice is projected to open in March 2026. Dr Teng’s clinic will offer a full scope of general dentistry, including fixed and removable orthodontics, oral surgery (including wisdom teeth), implant dentistry and full mouth rehabilitation. Currently, it is fitted for two chairs but has the capacity to expand to a third should it be required. It will be equipped with state-of-the art equipment, including 3D dental imaging technology in the form of cone beam computer tomography, rotary endodontics for increased precision for root canal treatment, DSLR photography for high-quality clinical imagery, and digital scanners. It will also include sedation options for patients. This focus on technology is central to her approach, but patient wellbeing remains at the heart of every decision.

“We want to provide a calming, modern environment that feels more like a wellness space than a traditional dental clinic,” she says. Building strong community ties is another priority. Dr Teng hopes the practice will focus strongly on becoming an active part of the local North Shore community, giving back and contributing, with the clinic’s name hinting at its obvious point of difference. “We have named it Crest Dental Studio. ‘Crest’ represents the anatomical crest of alveolar bone and also symbolises reaching a high point, a standard I strive for personally and professionally. ‘Studio’ captures the artistic side of dentistry. “Dentistry is as much about shaping, symmetry and aesthetics as it is about surgical precision,” she says. “The name reflects both.”

Opening up a practice for the first time is a very timely and costly exercise, and due to this, a lot of doctors don’t tend to make the leap. Avant Finance was able to assist the couple by utilising their financial products to provide a turnkey solution. We were able to provide Dr Teng with the funding she required to pay for fitout works, design works and lease costs. We worked closely with Dillion Phillips from Total Fitouts to finalise the scope of works and design, which allowed us to structure the funding efficiently and keep the project moving.

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Josh Behn - Relationship Director, Avant Finance