Lux dental, cosmetic company in liquidation
A HIGH-END Gold Coast dental company has collapsed, leaving patients unseen and thousands of dollars out of pocket.
StarKlinics Dentistry And Medical, which had clinics at Thrower Dr in Currumbin and at Hope Island Central, went into liquidation on Thursday.
Ingrid Leverrier paid $2700 towards a laminate for a dark front tooth but turned up for her appointment last week to find the doors closed and noone inside.
“It was a gift my mum paid for my birthday because she knows I don’t do things for myself,” she said.
“I can’t even get them to answer the phone, be at a booked appointment or respond to social media messages or emails.
“I won’t hold my breath in regards to getting any money back.”
The sole director and CEO of StarKlinics is registered non-practising dentist Kate Stark, 47, while the company is ultimately jointly owned by Dr Stark and her husband Dr Matthew Stark, a Sports Physician and GP who performed acupuncture at the clinics.
Dr Matthew Stark said questions about the liquidation were best answered by his wife, but said the clinic had struggled to find enough suitably qualified staff for the hi-tech fit-out.
Dr Kate Stark could not be contacted.
Ms Leverrier said she’d contacted the Office of the Health Ombudsman to try and extract a refund.
StarKlinics advertised a philosophy of “pain-free, needle-free regeneration”, using digital technologies including a 3D CT Scanner and CEREC machine, which creates ceramic dental restorations in one sitting without the need for a mould to be made first.
The UK-born medicos, whose home address was listed at swanky Sovereign Islands, launched the business in 2019 and offered acupuncture, sports medicine and cosmetic injectables as well as dental services.
According to an online business profile, the Starks are also “both Reiki Masters and believe in crystal technologies”.
Liquidator Glenn O’Kearney, of GT Advisory, was not available for comment.
Ms Leverrier was shocked by the clinic’s sudden closure after using it as her regular dentist for 18 months.
“They did an emergency appointment for my husband a few weeks ago and were great,” she said.
“They were still advertising on socials two days ago.”